Summit trail.
Cloudy dawned the day. Temps in the 30s (F). Birds about: house finch, crow, junco, house sparrow, song sparrow, chickadee. Spent most of the morning at my desk—as is usual for a Monday—but took time out to drive to Camden for a haircut. Saw many birds flying around, including jays, robins, pigeons, starlings, and a huge flock of Bohemian waxwings up at the top of Powerhouse Hill.
Fox sparrows were here.
Many midday errands, then a little more work. (Heard a titmouse singing it’s love song out there somewhere.) In early afternoon it began to rain a little. A cold rain. Perfect conditions for a Beech Hill hike—which dog and I embarked upon in mid- to late-afternoon.
Some guy was sitting in a car at the parking lot of the wooded trail. We ignored him and headed on in. The rain had begun to mix with snow. I didn’t expect to find many birds up there.
But we hadn’t gone a dozen steps when, lo, I heard the call of a pileated woodpecker. We continued up the slushy track. Next I heard the voice of a robin (and saw some flitting secretively through the brush) then heard the voices of herring gulls off to the east, the direction the wind was coming from—a wind that carried sound. We weaved our way around the lower turns, and suddenly a grouse erupted from the snowy woods. I wached it sail away over little clumps of trees toward the northeast. What a nice sight.
Again I worried that the fox sparrows would have flown. Again, I worried needlessly, as one flitted across the trail right in front of us. Soon after, a pair of them jumped up into low, photogenic perches. I raised my camera, but I was too late—they zipped away.
The snow came more steadily the higher we climbed, an icy kind of snow that stung my cheeks and eyes. Toward the top, I heard chickadees. We walked far enough up to see if Beech Nut was visible through the fog (it wasn’t) then turned back down the lower trail.
Lichen.
Right away, I heard the voice of a brown creeper. Stopped and looked. Never did see the bird—but it called a couple-three more times. Around us lay small broken limbs and branches, victims of the heavy wet snow of a few days ago. A hundred yards or so later, I heard another creeper. And again I couldn’t find the bird. And a hundred yards or so lower, I heard (but didn’t see) another. Brown creepers hanging out in snow on the wooded eastern side of the hill. (Or perhaps it was the same bird, accompanying us down.)
Driving home, I saw a mourning dove on a utility line.
Rain, then snow, then rain. And it’s still drizzling late tonight. The dark landscape seems cold and wet and snow-covered. But that means little when you consider the sure progression of the seasons here on our little tilted water planet.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Pileated woodpecker (voice)
2. American robin
3. Herring gull (voice)
4. Ruffed grouse
5. Fox sparrow
6. Black-capped chickadee (voice)
7. Brown creeper (voice)
Elsewhere
8. American crow
9. House finch
10. Dark-eyed junc0
11. Song sparrow
12. House sparrow
13. Blue jay
14. Rock pigeon
15. European starling
16. Bohemian waxwing
17. Tufted titmouse
18. Mourning dove
Boardwalk bridge.
Tags: American crow, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Bohemian waxwing, brown creeper, dark-eyed junco, European starling, fox sparrow, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, pileated woodpecker, rock pigeon, ruffed grouse, tufted titmouse
