No rain in this morning’s forecast, but foggy again to start. (A lot of moisture in the air lately.) Still, soon enough, the sun began to break through occasionally, and the temperature rose a bit. Another very calm day.
Fewer birds than yesterday, but a few interesting ones—most notable being a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers excavating for food along the upper woodland trail. (And I heard the call of a Great Crested Flycatcher as we began our return trip.)
Finally, I’ve marveled at how many dead or dying Brown-tail Moths litter the trails just now. Many hundreds in the past few days—seemingly more each day. (They must live only long enough to lay a fresh batch of eggs.)
Tomorrow’s supposed to be bright and warm.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:30 a.m. EST (7:30 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 2. Eastern Phoebe** 3. Black-throated Green Warbler (v) 4. Ovenbird** (v) 5. Tufted Titmouse (v) 6. Veery 7. American Goldfinch** 8. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 9. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 10. Blue Jay (v) 11. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 12. Northern Flicker (v) 13. Hermit Thrush 14. American Crow* 15. Gray Catbird** 16. Eastern Towhee 17. Common Yellowthroat** 18. Chestnut-sided Warbler** 19. Alder Flycatcher (v) 20. Song Sparrow* 21. Pileated Woodpecker 22. Yellow Warbler** 23. Field Sparrow (v) 24. Barn Swallow 25. Cedar Waxwing* 26. Eastern Bluebird 27. American Robin* 28. Downy Woodpecker (v) 29. Purple Finch 30. Great Crested Flycatcher (v)
A hazy sun was rising when dog and I arrived at the wooded trailhead this morning. I’d seen where the smoke from big wildfires in Canada might waft this way, and I’m pretty sure that’s the source of some of the haze that turned the sun orange. A very faint smell of smoke, perhaps (but nowhere near as strong as the smell of those western fires while we were in Utah).
Birds were about, though—many of them. Notable was a solitary hummingbird, a calling sapsucker, and a posing Chipping Sparrow. The chippy got me thinking about how thankful I am for the various sparrows I see nearly every day (my favorite being the Savannah Sparrow—don’t tell the others.
First-of-year goldenrod today, and fresh red sumac drupes. Less rain in the forecast, and warm temps. Summer on the coast of Maine.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:30 a.m. EST (7:30 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo 2. Eastern Phoebe 3. Black-throated Green Warbler 4. Ovenbird 5. Tufted Titmouse 6. Veery 7. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 8. American Goldfinch 9. Eastern Wood-pewee 10. Black-capped Chickadee 11. Blue Jay 12. White-breasted Nuthatch 13. Brown Creeper 14. Hermit Thrush 15. American Crow 16. Gray Catbird 17. Eastern Towhee 18. Common Yellowthroat 19. Chestnut-sided Warbler 20. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 21. Song Sparrow 22. Chipping Sparrow 23. Yellow Warbler 24. Field Sparrow 25. Tree Swallow 26. Savannah Sparrow 27. Mourning Dove 28. Northern Cardinal 29. Cedar Waxwing 30. Eastern Bluebird 31. American Robin 32. Downy Woodpecker 33. Black-and-white Warbler 34. American Redstart 35. Hairy Woodpecker
Elsewhere
36. Herring Gull
Mammals
Eastern Gray Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Up the trail in the fog again this morning with dog. No rain, though—just dampness all about. Birds don’t seem as active in this summer fogginess we’ve been having, but of course the job of raising youngsters makes them shy. Had more species on my list than yesterday during the rain.
Ironically, today’s hike was in fog preceding a mostly warm and sunny afternoon. Notable was a vulture floating overhead in the fog and a lovely female towhee that posed.
Tomorrow’s might be a brighter morning.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:01 a.m. EST (8:01 DST), I hiked all trails.
