Evening sun.
I awoke to sun again, and again a bracing cold. While doing breakfast dishes, I saw a mourning dove pecking around in a patch of open ground on the neighbor’s driveway. And out with dog I heard, in quick succession, a titmouse and a chickadee and a kinglet. I spotted the little kinglet—they have such large voices for such tiny birds—hopping about in a maple at the edge of the parking lot. Crows, of course. And a house sparrow’s large chirp! chirp! across the road. A spring-like scene despite the winter cold.
Beech Nut.
But clouds soon rolled in, and the sun stayed hidden for much of the rest of the day.
Until, that is, we embarked on our ritual Beech Hill trip, Jack and I. Curiously, snow came spitting from what clouds there were as we traveled up Route 1. Sun by the time we reached the Beech Hill parking lot. We were the only ones there, though it looked like there’d been light traffic up there before us. Coming up the trail, I noticed right away that we were heading into the wind. That was a switch—a southeast wind for a change. And despite what had seemed a nice warm-up, the air up there blew cold.
About half way up I thought I heard the call of a flicker. Nearing the summit, I distinctly heard a flicker’s call—but it had to have been a second bird, because this one came from down the eastern slope. The sun emerged briefly, then dipped back behind some clouds in the southwest. It was nice to have the wind behind us while descending.
Beech Nut.
A lovely sky. A crunchy track. The going was hard, each step an adventure. But we arrived back at the pickup none the worse for wear.
Tonight seems warm. Tomorrow might bring snow and rain. And Sunday—from what the forecasters say—all rain.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:15 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Northern flicker
Elsewhere
2. Mourning dove
3. American crow
4. Tufted titmouse
5. Black-capped chickadee
6. Golden-crowned kinglet
7. House sparrow
8. Herring gull
Penobscot Bay.
Tags: American crow, black-capped chickadee, golden-crowned kinglet, herring gull, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern flicker, tufted titmouse
