Jack on the trail.
Today was a quiet day. Sun streamed through the blinds first thing, and a little family of titmice made some noise out back, and a cardinal sang—but mostly kind of quiet.
Traffic on Route 1 was high, true, but I had a quiet breakfast, watched a couple chattering chickadees move through, spent a quiet morning at my desk. The sun persisted. A few gulls up there. A couple motorcycles made some racket in the parking lot of the motel across the road, but although it alarmed Jack some, it didn’t bother me much. And in mid-afternoon, I embarked on my usual bicycle ride.
Birch.
Crows on the roadside. A chipping sparrow in Rockport Village. A family of robins winging over Route 1. Ospreys in three places—two screaming, one carrying a fish silently. Pigeons in town.
Did a few errands, then headed with dog to Beech Hill. The sky had grown mostly overcast by that time. We hiked the open trail again. A homeowner near the parking lot was mowing, which drowned out most birdsong, but I did hear a goldfinch in flight. And on our way up the trail, a couple towhees. And then—a nice surprise—the tseet! note of a white-throated sparrow. But not much else. Quiet.
I heard the note of a sparrow that I couldn’t identify and even got a glimpse of the bird—possibly a chippy—but didn’t manage a good enough look. A couple coming down paused as I was checking out the bird, and then we had a nice chat about the birds of Beech Hill. But not many made an appearance up there this evening.
I did see a tight flock of waxwings, and a gathering of crows down the southern slope, but that was all I saw. I did hear a flicker, though. The white-throat and flicker were nice.
Oddly, today was the first day in a good while that I had more birds on my list from elsewhere than from Beech Hill. E.g., a black-back and cormorant at Chickawaukie Lake. The ospreys. Song sparrow, titmouse, chickadee, and cardinal at home. But Jack and I got to eat a few blackberries and a blueberry or two. And the sky up there was nice, if mostly gray.
Beech Nut.
Tonight, I have a premonition of rain. But just now, things are quiet. A soft breeze in the trees is the only sound.
A pretty quiet day overall.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American goldfinch (voice)
2. Eastern towhee (voice)
3. White-throated sparrow (voice)
4. American crow
5. Gray catbird (voice)
6. Savannah sparrow (voice)
7. Northern flicker (voice)
8. Cedar waxwing
Elsewhere
9. Tufted titmouse
10. Black-capped chickadee
11. Northern cardinal
12. Song sparrow
13. Herring gull
14. American robin
15. Osprey
16. Rock pigeon
17. Chipping sparrow
18. Great black-backed gull
19. Double-crested cormorant
20. Mourning dove
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, Cedar waxwing, chipping sparrow, double-crested cormorant, eastern towhee, gray catbird, great black-backed gull, herring gull, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, osprey, rock pigeon, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-throated sparrow
