When Jack and I hit the trail, a lusty west wind was blowing the sweet smells of spring up and over the hill. Mid-May—the calendar days when the season explodes in ferns and flowers and greenery. And the birds do sing.
Another birdy one (including a crow haranguing a raven and first-of-year Red-eyed Vireo). The wind carrying birdsong all over the place. The birds themselves didn’t perch very high on the windy side, but still they sang. And on the leafy east side, the enchanting strains of a Hermit Thrush pervaded the understory.
Oh, and also: a loon flew over at one point, calling.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:57 a.m., I hiked most trails.
1. Chestnut-sided Warbler** 2. Ovenbird** 3. Black-throated Green Warbler** 4. Common Yellowthroat (v) 5. American Robin 6. Blue Jay 7. American Crow* 8. Black-capped Chickadee* 9. Hairy Woodpecker (v) 10. Northern Parula 11. Northern Cardinal** (v) 12. Gray Catbird 13. Black-and-white Warbler** 14. Eastern Towhee 15. Tufted Titmouse (v) 16. Ruby-throated Hummingbird (v) 17. Ruby-crowned Kinglet 18. Yellow Warbler 19. Song Sparrow** 20. Field Sparrow (v) 21. White-throated Sparrow (v) 22. Chipping Sparrow** 23. Tree Swallow 24. Broad-winged Hawk (v) 25. Common Loon 26. Common Raven 27. Nashville Warbler (v) 28. Hermit Thrush 29. Red-eyed Vireo† 30. Blue-headed Vireo
Elsewhere
30. Mallard 31. European Starling 32. Herring Gull
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
A later hike with dog this morning. Foggier than yesterday. But surprisingly birdy, nonetheless.
Highlights were a couple of hummingbird sightings (first-of-year birds), as well as the hoots from the bottomlands of a Barred Owl (also first of year, I guess you could say).
Still several species that haven’t showed up yet. Anticipation.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 8:16 a.m., I hiked most trails.
1. Eastern Phoebe* 2. Ovenbird** 3. Black-throated Green Warbler** 4. American Goldfinch (v) 5. Tufted Titmouse (v) 6. Black-and-white Warbler 7. American Robin 8. Gray Catbird 9. Blue Jay 10. Chestnut-sided Warbler 11. Black-capped Chickadee 12. American Crow* 14. Eastern Towhee 15. Ruby-throated Hummingbird† 16. Common Yellowthroat 17. White-throated Sparrow 18. Hermit Thrush (v) 19. Yellow Warbler (v) 20. Song Sparrow** 21. Tree Swallow 22. Field Sparrow (v) 23. Nashville Warbler (v) 24. Yellow-rumped Warbler 25. Northern Parula 26. Barred Owl (v) 27. Blue-headed Vireo (v) 28. Wild Turkey 29. Hairy Woodpecker
Elsewhere
30. Mallard 31. European Starling 32. Herring Gull
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
It was pretty warm already when Captain Jack and I hit the lower wooded trail this morning, earlier than the past few. Mid- to upper-60s to start (and mid- to upper-70s when we got done). So it was a bit slow for Jack, with his thick coat and all.
But we made it OK—and my list happened to end up with a bodacious number of bird species.
Three of which were firsts-of-year, none of which I saw—but their voices gave ’em away (Wood Thrush, Least Flycatcher, and Scarlet Tanager). Maybe tomorrow I’ll get a photo of one or the other.
Mid-may is a wondrous time of year for a bird nerd.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:17 a.m., I hiked all trails.
