Northern flicker.
A hazy sort of morning, but without yesterday’s coastal fog. Mild for most of it, though warmer than yesterday. A little breezy, but no match for yesterday’s bluster. Still, today felt a lot like the day before.
Beech Nut.
Even my desk work resembled yesterday’s desk work. I had to remind myself to stand up and walk around from time to time—and finally, about exactly twenty-four hours after my last one, I had a nice bike ride. Still crows on the roadsides, still doves on the utility lines. Unlike yesterday, I heard an osprey. And a spectacular difference was the low-flying flock of geese that sailed, honking, over the Rockport Village post office just as I was leaving. The geese had come from Lily Pond, I feel sure, and were heading north. But still they provided little foretaste of fall. (They also provided a moment of amusement: a rat-a-tat of goose droppings falling on the cars in the post office parking lot.)
Later, at exactly the same time as yesterday, Jack and I arrived at Beech Hill—again to an empty parking lot. As we started up the trail, yesterday’s birds showed themselves: crows, towhees (flitting through exactly the same tangles), jays. I heard a waxwing, too, though, at the beginning of our hike this day.
Common raven.
And that’s when things changed. Instead of a song sparrow, a savannah sparrow flitted along the trail-edge. Then I heard the cry of a flicker down the eastern slope. We headed that way—I found a dozen fat blackberries—and I actually spotted the flicker. Snapped off a few photos, even. And while doing so I heard the chip of a yellowthroat and the mew of a catbird. Many more birds up there.
The evening light, the sun descending, was similar to yesterday’s at the same hour. We met no other hikers, though. And coming back up and over, I noticed a large black bird soaring over—a raven. Soon after, I heard a goldfinch (first one of those in a while). And as we neared the parking lot again, a pileated woodpecker called. Finally, just before hopping back in the truck, I heard the voice of a chickadee.
Blackberries.
A similar day, the same time of day, but so many notably differences. I wonder about that.
Then again, I wonder about a lot of things.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American crow
2. Eastern towhee
3. Blue jay (voice)
4. Cedar waxwing (voice)
5. Savannah sparrow
6. Northern flicker
7. Common yellowthroat (voice)
8. Gray catbird (voice)
9. Common raven
10. American goldfinch (voice)
11. Pileated woodpecker (voice)
12. Black-capped chickadee (voice)
Elsewhere
13. Herring gull
14. Mourning dove
15. Osprey
16. Canada goose
Birch.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Canada goose, Cedar waxwing, common raven, common yellowthroat, eastern towhee, gray catbird, herring gull, mourning dove, northern flicker, osprey, pileated woodpecker, savannah sparrow
