Full sun and humid this morning. Birds feeding fledglings all over the place. Also new plants and flowers and a monarch in the milkweed. More ripening blueberries, too.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:15 a.m., I hiked the open trail.
This morning was sunny and humid and full of busy birds—food to find, multiple mouths to feed, dangers to watch out for. It’s that time of year when the adults will hop up and holler at you, presenting lots of photo ops. Nice.
Wood lilies (first of year).
It’s also that time of year—right around the Fourth of July—when the wood lilies bloom. And when the wood lilies bloom, I know to look for young blueberries. And, what do you know, there they were.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:45 a.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Veery 2. Black-and-white Warbler 3. American Robin 4. Hairy Woodpecker 5. American Redstart 6. Chipping Sparrow 7. Common Yellowthroat 8. Ovenbird 9. American Crow 10. Gray Catbird 11. Chestnut-sided Warbler 12. Yellow Warbler 13. Tree Swallow 14. Northern Flicker 15. Red-winged Blackbird 16. Nashville Warbler 17. Field Sparrow 18. American Goldfinch 19. Song Sparrow 20. Eastern Bluebird 21. Eastern Phoebe 22. Cedar Waxwing 23. Black-capped Chickadee 24. Purple Finch 25. Tufted Titmouse 26. Rose-breasted Grosbeak 27. Mourning Dove
Elsewhere
28. Herring Gull 29. Rock Pigeon 30. House Sparrow 31. Wild Turkey
v = Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
Bright and warmer than yesterday, with a haze and a whisper of wind. On the hill, bird activity is ongoing—albeit in the shadows. Adults feeding keening fledglings, second nests being built, the urgent business of ensuring survival of the species.
I love these warm days of firsts—first-blooming wildflowers, first-appearing butterflies, peek at blueberries. I haven’t seen wood lilies yet, although they should be showing up any any now. As should the first tiny berries of blue.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:15 a.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Red-eye Vireo** (v) 2. American Robin* (V) 3. American Redstart (v) 4. Song Sparrow** 5. Common Yellowthroat** 6. Chipping Sparrow** 7. Ovenbird (v) 8. Mourning Dove* (v) 9. Eastern Towhee 10. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 11. Alder Flycatcher (v) 12. Tree Swallow 13. Gray Catbird* 14. American Crow* 15. American Goldfinch** 16. Field Sparrow (v) 17. Yellow Warbler (v) 18. Blue Jay (v) 19. Chestnut-sided Warbler (v) 20. Eastern Phoebe 21. Eastern Bluebird 22. Purple Finch (v) 23. Cedar Waxwing 24. Northern Cardinal (v) 25. Veery (v) 26. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
