Late hike this morning, thanks to some rain. In the rain’s wake, the birds emerged, the flowers opened—and, eventually, the sun came out. But that was long after dog and I had hiked all Beech Hill trails.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 9:45 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Ovenbird** (v) 2. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 3. Black-and-white Warbler 4. Common Yellowthroat** 5. Black-throated Green Warbler (v) 6. Veery (v) 7. Chestnut-sided Warbler** 8. Eastern Wood-pewee 9. Gray Catbird 10. Black-capped Chickadee 11. Nashville Warbler 12. American Goldfinch (v) 13. Eastern Towhee 14. Alder Flycatcher 15. Blue Jay** (v) 16. American Crow* 17. Great Crested Flycatcher (v) 18. American Redstart (v) 19. Song Sparrow** 20. Yellow Warbler 21. Herring Gull* 22. Eastern Phoebe* 23. Chipping Sparrow* 24. Common Raven 25. Tree Swallow 26. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v) 27. Tufted Titmouse (v) 28. American Robin 29. Eastern Kingbird 30. Mourning Dove* 31. Purple Finch (v) 32. Brown-headed Cowbird (v) 33. Hermit Thrush (v) 34. Least Flycatcher (v) 35. Hairy Woodpecker (v) 36. Northern Cardinal** (v)
Elsewhere
37. Wild Turkey
v = Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
I’m not sure I mention often enough how much I appreciate Veeries. These little burnt-orange-backed thrushes arrive a little late, but arrive they do, to deliver their familiar Veeyur! alarm notes and their cascading fountains of song.
They also seem more friendly than the other woodland thrushes, tending to stick to the trails, hopping along in front of dog and me just around the next curve.
I love all thrushes, of course, have learned their songs and clucks and other sounds. Veeries, though, are highly underrated.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 8 a.m., I hiked all trails.
Sun and clouds and a chill and a breeze. Quite a number of birds moving through, though. The funnest part of this morning’s hike was as Jack and I were returning down the wooded trail, near where warblers use a little spring-fed, hollowed out bowl of stone as a birdbath. Just as we passed, a little passel of migrating warblers flitted through.
Among them was a Blackburnian Warbler. It’s been year’s since I’d seen one. I figure the little bird had to be tired and hungry for flying all last night in the teeth of a brisk north wind.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:30 a.m. I hiked the open trail.
1. American Robin* (v) 2. Northern Cardinal** (v) 3. American Redstart 4. Tufted Titmouse** (v) 5. Ovenbird** (v) 6. Chestnut-sided Warbler** 7. Northern Parula 8. Black-capped Chickadee** (v) 9. Eastern Towhee 10. American Crow* 11. Gray Catbird** 12. Common Yellowthroat** 13. Black-throated Green Warbler 14. Turkey Vulture 15. Blue Jay** 16. Pileated Woodpecker (v) 17. American Goldfinch 18. Yellow Warbler 19. Herring Gull* 20. Song Sparrow** 21. Tree Swallow 22. Field Sparrow (v) 23. Common Raven 24. Nashville Warbler (v) 25. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v) 26. Blackburnian Warbler 27. Black-and-white Warbler 28. Blue-headed Vireo
