When you keep a nature journal, you feel compelled to use dispassionate scientific language. You use terms like “adult” and “immature.” Or, in the case of birds, you distinguish between “nestling” and “fledgling” and “first-year male.” Other young animals are “kits” or “cubs,” “pups” or “whelps.” But if the sight of a young critter gives you a little inner “awww,” how can you not just break down and call it a “baby”?
The woods are full of baby birds these days. Around my place this cool, lovely morning, I was aware of baby sparrows, finches, crows (yes, baby crows), titmice, and cardinals. While riding my bike, I saw baby mourning doves sitting with their parents on utility lines. And after work, hiking Beech Hill with Jack, we were surrounded by baby warblers, towhees, robins, catbirds, phoebes. Heard, but not seen, were the young of other species, I’m sure—and you know the youngsters are lurking about when you hear the alarm chip of, say, an adult alder flycatcher.
Red-eyed vireos are vocal just now. And when I heard they repeated quay! notes near the wooded trailhead, I feel sure they’re calling to their fledglings. (There’s that word.) For a week or two I’ve watched young speckled robins flitting around. I’ve seen baby yellowthroats, chestnut-sided warblers, black-and-white warblers. And after a sweet, cool hike up—and a spectacular view of the bay from the summit—we came down into a large gang of baby towhees. They were chipping and flitting about. The adults were hollering and scolding. The young would come close and eye us curiously.
Not a lot of species today. (They’re laying low.) But descending the lower woods, I happened to spot something moving at my feet as we strode quickly down. I stopped, pulling Jack up short. Somehow, he never saw it, didn’t even know it was there—but I spotted the tiny mouse just frozen there not two feet away. Got some photos. Deer mouse? White-footed mouse? I’m not sure. But whatever it was, you’d have to call it a baby. It was pretty friggin’ cute.
And I don’t know what you call a baby porcupine, but the one we watched earlier this year waddling slowly up the trail in front of us had to be just about the cutest baby animal I’ve ever seen in the wild.
And what a heavenly night it is out there just now, sweet and cool. If I don’t sleep well, there’s something wrong with me.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:15 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Red-eyed vireo (voice)
2. American goldfinch
3. Common yellowthroat (voice)
4. Cedar waxwing
5. Eastern towhee
6. American robin (voice)
7. Gray catbird
8. American crow
9. Alder flycatcher
10. Song sparrow (voice)
11. Eastern phoebe
12. Black-capped chickadee (voice)
13. Black-throated green warbler (voice)
14. Hermit thrush (voice)
Elsewhere
15. House sparrow
16. Northern cardinal
17. House finch
18. Hairy woodpecker
19. Herring gull
20. Mourning dove
21. Chipping sparrow
22. Ring-billed gull
23. European starling
24. Tufted titmouse
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, Cedar waxwing, chipping sparrow, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, ray catbird, red-eyed vireo, ring-billed gull, song sparrow, tufted titmouse