Yellow warbler.
Up early. Cloudy but dry. We hopped out into the parking lot, Jack and I, where there were plenty of birds calling. Ovenbird, black-throated green, three or four other warblers, nuthatch, phoebe, crow, vireo, and a gobbling turkey. And more. By the time we reached the upper-lower trail junction, I’d already listed sixteen species—but had no photo opportunities.
Gray catbird.
In fact, I didn’t expect many decent photo opportunities, considering the dim light. But that’s OK. The birds kept coming.
Goldfinch, towhee, rose-breasted grosbeak. I heard the call of a broad-winged hawk, then saw the bird soar low above the trees on up ahead of us. We ascended slower after that, what with my hopes of maybe spotting the bird perching. And sure enough I did spy it lifting from a perch farther up the trail, but it flew low and was shielded by innumerable tree limbs.
Heard quite a few white-throats pawing around in the old leaves—one or two were singing—along with the notes of towhees, the chips of yellow-rumps, and the screams of distant jays. Another gobbling turkey.
At one point in the trail, Jack grew suddenly intensely interested in something he sensed uphill. (I forgot to mention his extreme anxiety—and raised hackles—yesterday at about the same point in the trail.) Clearly he smelled something. Deer? Moose? Bobcat? I suppose we’ll never know.
At the upper fields, a kestrel was perched in the preferred kestrel tree. Heard song sparrows, savannah sparrows, tree swallows, a catbird.
Song sparrow.
Up at Beech Nut, I didn’t see the phoebes, but I did spot an osprey flying low over the western slope. Down the open trail, a field sparrow was singing, and a cowbird (if you want to call that “singing”), and chestnut-sided and yellow warblers. Happened to notice a chippy perched in a tree above us. Also a turkey vulture sailing over.
Robins down there. And a great crested flycatcher for the second straight day. (Same bird?) Heard blue-headed vireos at both parking lots today.
Before retracing our steps back up and over, we traipsed across to a little island of scrubby trees where the yellow warbler was singing. As I circled this tiny eden, I spotted not only the warbler but also a catbird and a yell0wthroat. Seems all three had their nesting-sights set on that particular plot of ground.
Thirty-six species so far.
Lots of yell0w-rumps in the spruces up top. I stood for a while thinking I might get a photo, but the birds flitted quickly away one-by-one to the southeast. Must’ve been eight or ten of ’em.
Osprey.
Descending the wooded trail, I heard nothing new—just more black-throated greens, ovenbirds, chickadees, towhees, jays. At the vernal pool, I thought sure I heard a single quack! of a mallard, but it was coming from the opposite side of the trail. (Weird.) We waited a while, but I heard nothing more—except for the squeaking, scraping branches of the leafing-out hardwoods. (There was a fairly stout breeze.) Still, thirty-six was a nice number of species.
Coming down the last little wooded rise, black flies began to swarm, as did warblers. I looked up and saw at least a dozen of them flitting about in the trees, moving slowly northwestward. Chestnut-sideds, black-throated greens—and a single black-throated blue. I listened for a while to its buzzy zhu, zhu, zhee, zhee! call just to make sure it wasn’t really a black-throated green I was hearing.
And arriving back at the pickup, I heard the song of a hermit thrush. Thirty-eight species today.
Soon after our return home, the sun came out. Later, I rode my bike. Plenty of chippies around. Starlings and pigeons in town. And coming back down Route 1 from Rockport Village, I caught sight of a handsome broad-wing soaring low over the road. I slowed and watched it veer over to perch in a tree overhanging the parking lot of a physical therapy place. Had I a camera with me, by damn, I could’ve gotten a nice photo.
Penobscot Bay.
Back home, I saw evidence that both the nuthatches and phoebes are nesting still. Heard the chip note of a cardinal and the bright calls of titmice. Even saw a ‘rump foraging around in the low brush out back there. Then I mowed the lawn.
Tonight, dew covers the newly short grass out front, and a waxwing moon shines its light down on everything.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Ovenbird (voice)
2. Black-throated green warbler
3. Northern parula
4. Black-capped chickadee
5. Wild turkey (voice)
6. White-breasted nuthatch (voice)
7. Eastern phoebe (voice)
8. Northern flicker (voice)
9. Black-and-white warbler
10. Common yellowthroat
11. American crow
12. Nashville warbler
13. Blue-headed vireo
14. American goldfinch (voice)
15. Eastern towhee
16. Rose-breasted grosbeak (voice)
17. Hairy woodpecker (voice)
18. White-throated sparrow
19. Yellow-rumped warbler
20. Broad-winged hawk
21. Blue jay (voice)
22. Common raven
23. Song sparrow
24. American kestrel
25. Tree swallow (voice)
26. Gray catbird
27. Savannah sparrow (voice)
28. Osprey
29. Field sparrow (voice)
30. Chipping sparrow
31. American robin (voice)
32. Turkey vulture
33. Chestnut-sided warbler (voice)
34. Brown-headed cowbird
35. Yellow warbler
36. Great crested flycatcher (voice)
37. Black-throated blue warbler (voice)
38. Hermit thrush (voice)
Elsewhere
39. House finch
40. Herring gull
41. European starling
42. Rock pigeon
43. Northern cardinal
44. Tufted titmouse
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American kestrel, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated blue warbler, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, broad-winged hawk, brown-headed cowbird, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common raven, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, gray catbird, great crested flycatcher, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, Nashville warbler, northern cardinal, northern flicker, northern parula, osprey, ovenbird, rock pigeon, rose-breasted grosbeak, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey, yellow warbler, yellow-rumped warbler
