Bay sky.
The day started cold and sunny. I even heard reports of sea smoke on the bay. But the sun warmed the air as the day progressed, and by mid-morning I was shoveling out my pickup bed, the better to run Saturday errands. A titmouse called out back. Crows chased a red-tailed hawk. House sparrows chirped from across the road. I even heard a starling’s voice from somewhere.
Hairy woodpecker.
Trip to the dump and the bottle redemption center—where I ran into Jack’s first foster mom (they got to visit each other)—and then on over to Beech Hill.
We chose the wooded trail today. It seemed the perfect day for it—warm, bright, with a remnant substantial snowfall for winter hiking. It took some acceleration to get into the parking lot, but we managed. (Another vehicle arrived soon after but thought better of even trying.) Others had snowshoed this trail before us, and we were happy for the pack.
That is, until a couple hundred yards in, when our predecessors had apparently given up and turned back. The rest of our climb along the upper trail required a little effort.
Make that a lot of effort. I suspect snowshoeing up a virgin trail requires three or four times the effort than does a simple summer hike. Jack soon decided to follow me, and we both ended up panting like crazy. But the tracks of animals caught my attention: many, many rabbits, plenty of voles and mice, gray and red squirrels, and even a larger mammal—fox? coyote? bobcat? It had apparently just plodded along, not going very fast, so I couldn’t be sure.
Rabbit tracks.
A hairy woodpecker hammered away above us. Kinglets called from the trees. Small gangs of chickadees flitted by. A raven croaked from somewhere. And as we reached the open fields, eleven crows flapped across the sky, cawing. I watched the crows for some time. They made a lot of noise. At one point they all took off toward the north, making a considerable racket. I suspect they were chasing a raptor.
We made the top eventually and turned back down. Considering a cross-country skier had gone before us, our descent down the lower trail was comparatively easy (though still more difficult than mere walking). We got back to the truck a little more than an hour after we set off, both feeling like we’d really accomplished something.
About mid-afternoon, thick clouds moved over. By nightfall, it’d begun to snow. Light, wet snow—a contrast to our recent storms. And later still, when I stepped out onto the deck, I’m pretty sure it was raining.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 12:15 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Hairy woodpecker
2. Golden-crowned kinglet (voice)
3. American crow
4. Black-capped chickadee
5. Common raven
Elsewhere
6. Tufted titmouse
7. European starling
8. Red-tailed hawk
9. Herring gull
10. Rock pigeon
11. Ring-billed gull
American crow.
Tags: American crow, black-capped chickadee, common raven, European starling, golden-crowned kinglet, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, red-tailed hawk, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, tufted titmouse
