I had an early appointment this morning, so for the first time in—I think—years, dog and I took our hike in afternoon. The light was bright, the air was cool, the winds were high, the birds were sparser than at earlier hours. However, it was as fun as ever.
A couple dozen species total, with the most notable bird being a Hermit Thrush that popped up on a little snag just in front of us and posed for photos. Also two hawks and a vulture. Several warblers.
The early excursion involved a drive to Portland, so on the way I got some unusual (for me) birds while zipping past.
Tomorrow will be early, as usual. Maybe a first-of-year species or two?
Beech Hill List Beginning at 12:10 p.m. sun time (1:10 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Ovenbird (v) 2. Black-throated Green Warbler** (v) 3. Song Sparrow (v) 4. American Goldfinch (v) 5. Black-and-white Warbler** (v) 6. Brown Creeper (v) 7. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 8. Eastern Towhee 9. Northern Cardinal (v) 10. Chestnut-sided Warbler 11. Hermit Thrush 12. American Crow* 13. Blue Jay (v) 14. Black-throated Blue Warbler (v) 15. Field Sparrow (v) 16. Yellow Warbler (v) 17. Turkey Vulture 18. Red-tailed Hawk 19. Broad-winged Hawk 20. Chipping Sparrow 21. Herring Gull* 22. Eastern Phoebe** 23. Tufted Titmouse (v) 24. Purple Finch (v)
Elsewhere
25. Mallard 26. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v) 27. European Starling 28. Double-crested Cormorant 29. Osprey 30. Rock Pigeon
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
The sky was blue, the air was warm, the wind was high, the trail was dryer than it’s been in a while—and the overall feeling was one of spring.
And by golly, the birds showed up. A year-so-far record of 28 species, including eagles, a harrier, kestrels, a red-tail, a flushed grouse, three woodpecker species—I could go on and on.
The coming weeks will fly by, and then the months, yet I hope to slow myself down to soak ’em right up. (Also took my bike in for a tuneup.)
P.S. First deer tick today, too.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:27 a.m. real time (7:27 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. American Crow* 2. Northern Cardinal** (v) 3. Black-capped Chickadee* 4. Brown Creeper (v) 5. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 6. Downy Woodpecker** (v) 7. Tufted Titmouse** 8. Red-winged Blackbird 9. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (drumming) 10. American Goldfinch 11. Ruffed Grouse 12. Pileated Woodpecker (v) 13. American Robin* 14. Eastern Bluebird 15. Herring Gull* 16. Blue Jay (v) 17. Golden-crowned Kinglet 18. Song Sparrow** 19. Common Loon 20. American Kestrel 21. Turkey Vulture 22. Wild Turkey* 23. Eastern Phoebe** (v) 24. Bald Eagle 25. Red-tailed Hawk 26. Northern Harrier 27. Canada Goose 28. Snow Bunting
Elsewhere
29. Mallard
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
What a morning. Nippier than yesterday but much brighter, and with a wide array of bird species. In fact, after five or six days of eighteen or nineteen (mostly nineteen) spp. on my list, today I ended up with twenty-one. (Was happy enough to have had twenty, until I looked at photos this evening and saw one of a raven.)
Captain Jack and I had fun. Didn’t meet anyone else on the trail until we’d nearly finished our round-trip. Highlights for me were the pair of harriers, the pair of red-tails, a posting yellow-rump, and more.
March is about over. Mud Season is nearly here. Soon I’ll be able to report many more firsts-of-year.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7 a.m. sun time (8 stupid DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Tufted Titmouse 2. White-breasted Nuthatch 3. Black-capped Chickadee 4. Downy Woodpecker 5. American Goldfinch 6. American Crow 7. Pileated Woodpecker 8. Brown Creeper 9. Herring Gull 10. American Robin 11. Red-winged Blackbird 12. Northern Cardinal 13. Blue Jay 14. Yellow-rumped Warbler 15. Song Sparrow 16. Northern Harrier 17. Eastern Bluebird 18. Red-tailed Hawk 19. Red-breasted Nuthatch 20. Common Raven 21. Hairy Woodpecker
Elsewhere
22. Mallard 23. Wild Turkey
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
