Barred owl on South Street.
Just another brilliantly sunny, snow-covered winter’s day. Colder than it has been—big icicles hanging from the westerly eaves, cracking wooden steps. Still kind of warm on the south side, and several active roadside crows. Dog and I decided on Beech Hill this afternoon. Brought my snowshoes but figured I might not need them.
Moon over field.
And I didn’t. The hard-packed trail provided sufficient footing—although Jack did limp a little from snow stuck in his right front paw.
Not a lot of wind. A big moon rising. Elongated shadows blue against the snow.
As we neared the summit, I heard a call—a flicker, down the eastern slope. We stopped, I listened. Then I actually spotted the bird at the base of the hill, flitting around in the scrub there. Too distant for decent photos.
On our descent, we met two clusters of people hiking up, but no dogs. Still, from the tracks I could see that dogs had been up here, off-leash, frolicking in the snowy fields.
Along the road, I heard the repeated note of a hairy woodpecker. It called from trees not too far away, but I never did see the bird.
The orange sun was beginning to set as we hopped back in the truck. A few minutes later, en route back home, I spotted a large bird on a utility cable. Stopped the pickup, turned on the emergency flashers, grabbed my camera, jumped out. A barred owl, checking out a roadside field. It let me grab a few photos before taking wing and flying a short distance to a little line of trees.
Moon over bay.
In town: herring gulls and pigeons. I thought I saw a couple ring-bills—and likely did—but I didn’t get a good enough look to list them.
Tonight is a starry one. And moonlit. Jupter, Orion, Sirius, Moon. Winter on the 44th parallel.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 3:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Northern flicker
2. Hairy woodpecker (voice)
Elsewhere
3. American crow
4. Herring gull
5. Barred owl
6. Rock pigeon
Moon over Beech Hill.
Tags: American crow, barred owl, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, northern flicker, rock pigeon
