17 February 2025

Berries

Thursday, July 28th, 2011
Wild raspberries, Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 28 July 2011.

Wild raspberries.

Here at the 44th parallel, the planet brims with life at this time of year. It’s thick with it. Fruitful. The landscape is cloaked with lush greenery—so lush, it’s relatively hard to glimpse the swift creatures that lurk and flit and fly with its shady confines. It’s the season of growth and reproduction. The race to multiply, to pass along genes. And of course, the planet being tilted, there’s a deadline.

Savannah sparrow, Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 28 July 2011.

Savannah sparrow.

Sun, clear skies, mild temperatures. First sound I heard out there this morning was the voice of a northern cardinal. Just about the purest, sweetest bird song you can imagine.

I can’t recall hearing the house finch, oddly—I’ve probably just grown accustomed—but I did see house sparrows, heard song sparrows, saw herring gulls playing in the blue upper breeze. Had some visitors from Texas (who vacation in Maine), which was a nice distraction. After our chat, they headed down the coast and I took off on my bicycle for a really, really nice ride. Faster going north than south, thanks to the direction of the breeze. Heard song sparrows, goldfinches, chipping sparrows. Saw doves, gulls, crows.

After work, I met my friend Liz at the Beech Hill parking lot for an impromptu bird walk. Jack was excited for the extra company. Ascending the brambly trail, we took note of a few quiet peeps and calls—well, other than the vociferous vireos—and batted away some deer flies. Before long, we came upon a few ripe raspberries. Ate a couple. That’s three wild berries I’ve snacked on up there so far (strawberries, blueberries). And great clusters of green blackberries are everywhere. I think blackberries might be my favorite. I can hardly wait.

We heard distant crows, goldfinches in overflight, waxwings. I heard the little rapid-fire notes of a young chestnut-sided warbler. Finally, nearing the upper fields, the birds became less shy, especially towhees and song sparrows. The song sparrows, in fact, were singing—three or four of them, some emitting only partial calls. I had a feeling we were listening to young males practicing.

Spruce cones, Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 28 July 2011.

Spruce cones.

At the little stretch before the final turn up the hill, Liz noticed a large patch of blueberries, and we snacked a little. And by “we,” I mean the three of us. Because Jack learned today that he can just dive in and pick blueberries right off the bush. Good dog.

The phoebes are still hanging around the nest at Beech Nut. And I saw a solitary savannah sparrow dancing about on the porch of the hut, collecting seeds or bugs or something.

Coming back down, came upon a young couple ascending. Each carried a baby sling; each sling contained a tiny (month-old?) baby. (Growth. Reproduction. The race to multiply.) Not long after, in the lower woods, we stopped to listen to chickadees—and there came a thin, high-pitched cry from the canopy. Waxwing-like, but not quite. Liz saw a bird up there, so I grabbed the binoculars and spotted a flycatcher. Although I thought I caught the abrupt, partial call of a least flycatcher, I decided it must’ve been a pewee. Pretty sure there were youngsters up there, and the adult was scrambling to pack flies into hungry young gapes.

Heard a hermit thrush and a veery. Counted sixteen birds today. Not bad at a time when they’re furtive, secretive, laying low.

Jack harvesting blueberries, Beech Hill, Rockport, Maine, 28 July 2011.

Jack harvesting blueberries

Later, at home, from my back deck, I happened to see a tiny bird—a warbler of some kind, I suspect—zip madly into a small break in the greenery, and then I heard the faint peeping of youngsters. The hole in the leaves was no larger than a bowling ball, and this bird was moving fast. Sights like that amaze me.

And now I wait for blackberries.

Addendum: late tonight, from my back deck, I heard the mournful cry of a loon.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:45 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.

1. Red-eyed vireo (voice)
2. American crow
3. American goldfinch (voice)
4. American robin
5. Cedar waxwing
6. Chestnut-sided warbler (voice)
7. Eastern towhee (voice)
8. Song sparrow
9. Eastern phoebe
10. Common yellowthroat (voice)
11. Herring gull
12. Gray catbird
13. Black-capped chickadee (voice)
14. Eastern wood-pewee
15. Hermit thrush (voice)
16. Veery (voice)

Elsewhere

17. Northern cardinal
18. House sparrow
19. Herring gull
20. Mourning dove
21. Chipping sparrow
22. Common loon

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Bird Report is a (sometimes intermittent) record of the birds I encounter while hiking, see while driving, or spy outside my window. —Brian Willson



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