Eastern phoebe.
I like the little birds. The sparrows, the flycatchers, the warblers. The big birds are spectacular and awe-inspiring, of course. (Whose breath doesn’t catch at the sight of a peregrine falcon, a great blue heron, an adult bald eagle?) But the little guys—the finches, the thrushes, the tits—seem particularly demure and precious to me. Plus, they tend to sing ear-pleasing songs.
White-breasted nuthatch.
The crazy heat wave abated overnight, and today dawned cool and partly cloudy. But out back came a wave of small birds. I heard titmice and chickadees and the resident (mellifluous) cardinal. A pair of nuthatches showed up. And our littlest woodpecker (downy). Song sparrow, house finch, even the alien, ubiquitous house sparrow. An American goldfinch. The sharp-billed titmouse, chickadee, and nuthatch seem akin to me—I watched as they poked around in the bark of the hardwoods and (in the case of the nuthatch) investigated nesting cavities in the giant overhanging oak.
I thought about a bike ride but, considering the temperature (50 degrees (F), tops), wimped out. However, substituting a hooded sweatshirt for a t-shirt, I did take my daily Beech Hill hike with Jack.
Not many birds up there in the chilly, breezy trees. Saw a crow, heard chickadees. Surprisingly, we had the summit to ourselves—a chilly, breezy summit—but saw no bluebirds or northern harriers. But I heard a faint peep! coming from down the eastern slope, so we stopped to wait for the bird to appear. And it did. A phoebe. First phoebe I’ve seen on the hill this year (they nest dependably in the eaves of Beech Nut). It only peeped, did not sing its eponymous fee-bee! I wonder if it was a female? I’m not well-versed in such things. But what a comely, pretty bird.
Downy woodpecker.
No more LBJs (little brown jobs) that I noticed up there today. A mourning dove on the way home. And tonight, again, the woodcock delivers its call from across the road.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:15 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. American crow
2. Black-capped chickadee (voice)
3. Eastern phoebe
4. Northern cardinal (voice)
Elsewhere
5. House sparrow
6. House finch
7. Tufted titmouse
8. Song sparrow
9. American robin
10. American goldfinch
11. White-breasted nuthatch
12. Downy woodpecker
13. Herring gull
14. Rock pigeon
15. Mourning dove
16. American woodcock
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, American woodcock, black-capped chickadee, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, rock pigeon, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch
