Beech Nut.
Snowed a little this morning, as predicted. Not much here on the coast. Cold, though. Windy. Crows around in bunches. Chickadees out back. Gulls in the achingly blue sky.
The trail.
Got out in mid-afternoon. Errands. Driving around with the heat on. Then to Beech Hill, where I thought to wear gloves. Good thing, too, since the wind was whipping up there—blew my hat off at the summit, where Beech Nut’s western side showed the direction the snow had come from. Trees, too, were half-icy.
But the sighting of the day came right at the outset of my hike with dog, as we came up the first stretch of trail along the road and looked up the hill. A solitary raven, sitting in the field, like a dark ornament on a scattering of powdered sugar. I raised my camera, but it wasn’t yet ready to take a photo, so I missed what would’ve been a good one, as the big bird rose, wheeled, its wide tail fanned, and sailed toward the south, then back around in the west, then headed northward, to where I know they’ve got a nest somewhere.
Tonight the sky is hazy gray. Breezy. Sub-freezing air. Pin-prick stars, and a big, white moon. The moon has a circle around it.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Common raven
Elsewhere
2. American crow
3. Black-capped chickadee
4. Herring gull
Tags: American crow, black-capped chickadee, common raven, herring gull
