Northern shrike.
A gray, colorless late-winter day. Breezy, with a raw chill in the air. Dog and I got out in it late. No other vehicles in the Beech Hill parking lot when we pulled up.
But there were chickadees bouncing around. Crows cawing. I heard a few finch-like notes from what I assume is a feeding station across the road, but I couldn’t ID the bird. The trail was about half old granular snow, half mud. Didn’t expect much excitement—and then I stopped to take my daily birch photo and saw something perched atop the little nearby oak tree. Right away I knew just what it was: shrike. It sat there as i snapped off a bunch of photos from the trail, but when I took a couple off-trail steps in its direction, it flew.
Saw some distant gulls from the summit.
Returning, I cast about in the tips of the hardwoods where the shrike had headed, and there it was, high in a maple, still standing sentinel, scouting around.
Forgot to mention I heard a singing cardinal this morning—first of the year. Also house finches. And this evening, the voices of geese in the air.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Black-capped chickadee**
2. American crow* (v)
3. Northern shrike
4. Herring gull*
Elsewhere
5. Northern cardinal (v)
6. House finch (v)
7. Canada goose (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
