Cool again, but not as breezy and somewhat more humid. [The forecast rain—and a thundershower—came this late afternoon, so tomorrow might be less muggy.] A bunch of interesting bird activity, too—a highlight being the surprise appearance of a juvie Dark-eyed Junco along the wooded trail, hunting assorted insects. It stayed about twenty feet in front of dog and me until, finally, I managed a photo.
Young whitetail buck.
Another highlight—shortly after the junco—came when we surprised a young whitetail buck. He didn’t go far, then froze and checked us out for a bit. Again, a photo.
I’m still astonished not to have found a single deer tick since one tiny one appeared in spring on Jack’s nose. Crazy. (Not that I’m complainin’.)
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:07 a.m. EST (8:07 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo 2. Hermit Thrush 3. Blue Jay 4. American Goldfinch 5. Black-throated Green Warbler 6. Hairy Woodpecker 7. Eastern Wood-pewee 8. Northern Flicker 9. Tufted Titmouse 10. Black-capped Chickadee 11. White-breasted Nuthatch 12. American Crow 13. Ovenbird 14. Dark-eyed Junco 15. Red-bellied Woodpecker 16. Eastern Towhee 17. Alder Flycatcher 18. Gray Catbird 19. American Robin 20. Cedar Waxwing 21. Song Sparrow 22. Common Yellowthroat 23. Purple Finch 24. Mourning Dove 25. Red-shouldered Hawk 26. Turkey Vulture 27. Yellow Warbler 28. Barn Swallow 29. Chestnut-sided Warbler 30. Blue-headed Vireo
Another warm and humid one, but with a bit more breeze. A mostly clear sky early, with fine light for photos. The birds were cooperative enough that I managed a few decent shots—including a fair pic of a juvenile Veery.
Notable was a one hummingbird near the summit—and a quick tramp down the Erickson Fields trail, which had cooler temps and more shade.
It’s raining as I write this, which should lessen the humidity tomorrow.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:56 a.m. EST (7:56 DST), I hiked all trails, and then some.
Another warm, humid one. Brought plenty of water for Jack, but still his harsh panting worried me a bit after a while. He was fine, I was fine—and the bird species we encountered seemed fine, too.
Still pretty quiet, what with this year’s immature bird crop learning the ropes. More species than yesterday, though, and a decent portrait of a catbird.
(Supposed to rain tomorrow—but not until after our hiking hour.)
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:04 a.m. EST (8:04 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Blue Jay 2. Black-throated Blue Warbler 3. Red-eyed Vireo 4. Black-throated Green Warbler 5. American Goldfinch 6. Ovenbird 7. Tufted Titmouse 8. Hermit Thrush 9. Northern Flicker 10. Black-capped Chickadee 11. Eastern Wood-pewee 12. Eastern Towhee 13. Northern Cardinal 14. Brown Creeper 15. Hairy Woodpecker 16. White-breasted Nuthatch 17. Alder Flycatcher 18. Gray Catbird 19. American Crow 20. Common Yellowthroat 21. Yellow Warbler 22. Song Sparrow 23. Mourning Dove 24. Field Sparrow 25. Cedar Waxwing 26. American Robin 27. Turkey Vulture
