I awoke at a good time for an early Beech Hill hike, but then I heard the steady rain out the window by the head of my bed. So I rolled over and went back to sleep. An hour or so later, I awoke again—just in time to grab a quick breakfast before work.
Rain all morning. I sat at my desk doing arcane type design–related tasks (you don’t want to know). A few crows in the rain. A titmouse calling. The house finch, as usual. The day had grown long-in-the-tooth before dog and I finally got out in it. By then the rain had turned to mist, and the fog whistles were moaning.
Quick trip to town (herring gulls, rock pigeons), then out Route 17 to the foggy hill.
Not much hopping up there. Took a good five minutes before I sensed any evidence of any bird—some faint peeps from chickadees. A little while later, I heard the caw of a crow. Then the cries of a herring gull off in the humid air. Then, as we reached the top of the upper wooded trail, I heard the song of a hermit thrush. It sang and sang, its jumble of otherworldly notes echoing in the fog. Suddenly, Jack and I both heard the sharp cries of a bird above us—a kestrel’s loud keely-keely-keely!—and I caught sight of it above the treetops. It wheeled around and perched for a moment just at the edge of what I could see.
As we made our way through the final wooded patch before the summit, my mind had begun to wander—work, stories, plans—so when the ruffed grouse burst loudly from the trees only a few years away from us, I liked to had a heart attack. They’re really fast, partridges are, when they’re in a hurry.
At the summit, I had my eye out for the resident phoebes but didn’t see it around Beech Nut. I did, however, heard the call of a towhee from down the trail we’d just ascended. We rounded the Beech Nut, and then I noticed a small furtive bird flit up and around the hut. A phoebe. Suddenly, a song sparrow began to sing from down the eastern hillside.
We descended down the muddy lower trail without seeing or hearing any other bird. But a red squirrel did suddenly pop out from a stone wall. Jack froze, I froze, the squirrel froze. It was kind of a funny standoff.
My mind got wandering again toward the bottom of the trail, and another flushed grouse startled me out of it again. No mallards at the vernal pool. But then, back at the parking lot, I heard a singing robin.
Later, I watched the nesting nuthatches for a bit out on the back deck. And heard the chips of a cardinal.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:15 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Black-capped chickadee (voice)
2. American crow (voice)
3. Herring gull (voice)
4. Hermit thrush
5. American kestrel
6. Ruffed grouse
7. Eastern towhee (voice)
8. Eastern phoebe
9. Song sparrow (voice)
10. American robin (voice)
Elsewhere
11. House finch
12. Tufted titmouse
13. Rock pigeon
14. White-breasted nuthatch
15. Northern cardinal
Tags: American crow, American kestrel, American robin, black-capped chickadee, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, northern cardinal, rock pigeon, ruffed grouse, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch