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Posts Tagged ‘northern harrier’
Saturday, May 2nd, 2015
 American Kestrel. Perhaps the highlight of my long ramble round Beech hill with Jack today was hearing the first song of a Savannah Sparrow this season. I love that thin, subtle, insect-like trill with the hiccup at the end. Truly love it.
 Eastern Phoebe. I didn’t see the sparrow though.
I did see a kestrel, a vulture, a harrier, and a number of other species. Heard even more. Took photos of stuff. Got in the zone I get into while walking in the woods—all senses directed outward, no living in my head.
My life has a few stresses at the moment, but a walk in the woods clear things, diminishes worry, makes me focus on what matters.
Thank you woods.
Thank you, sparrow.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 8:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Tufted Titmouse* (v)
2. Blue Jay
3. Black-capped Chickadee** (v)
4. Northern Flicker (v)
5. Purple Finch** (v)
6. American Crow*
7. Eastern Towhee (v)
8. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
9. American Goldfinch (v)
10. Yellow-rumped Warbler
11. American Robin
12. American Kestrel
13. Wild Turkey (v)
14. Herring Gull* (v)
15. Eastern Phoebe
16. Turkey Vulture
17. Mallard
18. Savannah Sparrow (v)
19. Northern Cardinal** (v)
20. Chipping Sparrow (v)
21. Song Sparrow
22. Double-crested Cormorant
23. Northern Harrier
Elsewhere
24. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
25. House Finch (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American kestrel, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, chipping sparrow, double-crested cormorant, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, herring gull, house finch, mallard, northern cardinal, northern flicker, northern harrier, purple finch, ruby-crowned kinglet, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, white-breasted nuthatch, wild turkey, yellow-rumped warbler
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Saturday, April 25th, 2015
 Yellow-rumped Warbler. Got up early figuring I’d have a nice, long birding hike with dog—but there was a gray overcast, the temperature was in the thirties, and I saw a few tiny snowflakes floating around out there. So, screw that plan. Had breakfast instead, surfed the web a bit. About forty-five minutes later, I saw blue sky, and it didn’t seem so cold anymore, and off we went.
 Eastern Phoebe. The sun never stayed out for long, but, damn, it felt good to be hunting birds again. No leaves on trees, not a lot of migrants, just one warbler species (yellow-rump, of course)—but plenty of excitement.
Met up with a couple descending with their dog—Jack and I had met them before—and they said they’d seen a hawk, and I’d mentioned seeing a hovering Kestrel yesterday, and I motioned toward the sky above the barren, and there was a Kestrel, hovering. (Saw another down the eastern slope.)
Down in the bottomlands, I heard a drumming sapsucker, first of the year.
As we were returning along the wood fringe, a harrier flew over, and I got a nice look through my binoculars, and way above the hawk I saw a vee of northbound birds—I mean waaay above, insanely high and away. Double-crested Cormorants.
Then a kingfisher flew over. (A what? A kingfisher—I heard its rattle.)
And heading back down to the parking lot, out of nowhere, came the loud, strident song of a Carolina Wren. In thousands of Beech Hill hikes, that’s only the second of seen or heard up there.
 April bouquet, Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 25 April 2015. I can dig a Carolina Wren.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 9:15 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Black-capped Chickadee**
2. American Robin
3. Northern Cardinal** (v)
4. Purple Finch (v)
5. Tufted Titmouse** (v)
6. Northern Flicker** (v)
7. Eastern Towhee
8. Chipping Sparrow
9. White-throated Sparrow (v)
10. Eastern Phoebe
11. American Crow*
12. Yellow-rumped Warbler
13. American Kestrel
14. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
15. American Goldfinch
16. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker† (drumming)
17. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
18. White-breasted Nuthatch
19. Brown Creeper
20. Hermit Thrush
21. Northern Harrier
22. Double-crested Cormorant†
23. Belted Kingfisher† (v)
24. Song Sparrow** (v)
25. Osprey†
26. Herring Gull*
27. Carolina Wren† (v)
28. Blue Jay (v)
Elsewhere
29. House Finch (v)
30. Mourning Dove
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American kestrel, American robin, belted kingfisher, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, brown creeper, Carolina wren, chipping sparrow, double-crested cormorant, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, northern harrier, osprey, pileated woodpecker, purple finch, ruby-crowned kinglet, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow-bellied sapsucker, yellow-rumped warbler
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Thursday, April 16th, 2015
 Northern Harrier. Had a nice busy day. Sunny, warm, and windy again—got a hankerin’ to ride my bicycle, but my schedule doesn’t (yet) allow it. My schedule does, however, allow a Beech Hill hike with dog.
This day, I walked around seeking a particularly low-flying female harrier. Much higher, a turkey vulture floated by.
And just now, late tonight, an eerie thing happened: took Jack out for one last pee, and after we’d walked across the dark deck, just as we got to the door, he stopped abruptly whipped his head around and up and looked directly at something high in the bare branches of the big oak behind us. He held the look for about a second, too, before returning his attention to the door.
My dog doesn’t do stuff like that if there’s nothing to see or hear there. Owl? Flying squirrel? I looked up for a few seconds myself but couldn’t see.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:15 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Black-capped Chickadee** (v)
2. American Crow* (v)
3. American Robin (v)
4. Northern Harrier
5. Turkey Vulture
6. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
Elsewhere
7. Song Sparrow (v)
8. Northern Cardinal (v)
9. Herring Gull
10. Red-bellied Woodpecker
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American robin, black-capped chickadee, herring gull, northern cardinal, northern harrier, red-bellied woodpecker, song sparrow, turkey vulture, white-breasted nuthatch
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
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| Bird Report is a (sometimes intermittent) record of the birds I encounter while hiking, see while driving, or spy outside my window. —Brian Willson |
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