View from Beech Nut.
Yet another day that began wet and chilly but transformed into a fair and warmish one—a late-summer phenomenon around these parts. Considering I’d worn jeans and hadn’t opened many windows, I didn’t anticipate the kind of delicious, fast bicycle ride I found myself enjoying late in the day. Beforehand, I pulled on a long-sleaved jersey and fingerless gloves, but by the time I’d returned the gloves were in my pac and I was sweating as profusely as ever. Chickadees, titmice, cardinals, waxwings, crows.
Swirly bay.
Not until early evening did Jack and I make our way to Beech Hill—with a side-trip to the grocery store—via Route 17. (Mallards, cormorants, and a laughing gull at Chickawaukie Lake.) By then the sky was a miracle.
As we ascended the hill, I could hardly count birds for twirling around to absorb the visual alchemy of such combinations of cloud-shapes, light, and distance. Add to this such perfect air—its ideal temperature, its whisper of breeze, its clean, sharp taste and smell—and I soon began thinking it must’ve been the most beautiful evening of the year. Just a miracle.
And also rather birdy. First heard a catbird’s mew! and the wing whistles of a dove. Then heard goldfinch and crow. Coming up the first rise, we stopped at the voice of a robin—or to gaze at the sky, I can’t exactly remember—and also heard a white-throated sparrow, a pileated woodpecker, and a singing yellowthroat. Elsewhere on the hill were towhees, another yellowthroat, another catbird, a flitting savannah sparrow, and another pileated ‘pecker.
Returning down along the road, I heard chickadees the first thick spruce and stopped to look for other species. And there was one, in the shadows, to close to focus on. It looked like it might be a red-breasted nuthatch, but the light was dim and the bird was quick and I couldn’t get a good ID. Same with a few chipping birds I heard behind us by the gate: just to dark to see.
Coastal hills.
But that’s OK. A baker’s dozen works for me—especially on such a memorably lovely evening.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:45 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Gray catbird (voice)
2. Mourning dove (wingbeats)
3. American goldfinch (voice)
4. American crow
5. Cedar waxwing
6. American robin (voice)
7. White-throated sparrow (voice)
8. Pileated woodpecker (voice)
9. Common yellowthroat (voice)
10. Black-capped chickadee
11. Eastern towhee (voice)
12. Savannah sparrow
13. Blue jay (voice)
Elsewhere
14. Herring gull
15. House sparrow
16. Tufted titmouse
17. Northern cardinal
18. Mallard
19. Double-crested cormorant
20. Laughing gull
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, double-crested cormorant, eastern towhee, gray catbird, herring gull, house sparrow, laughing gull, mallard, mourning dove, northern cardinal, pileated woodpecker, savannah sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-thraoted sparrow
