Quiet again this morning—as things are this time of year—but I managed to spot several shy little birds in the thick August greenery. Most notable were those I spied along the wooded trails: warblers, bluebirds, a pewee. The weather was fairly perfect, with blue sky and a light wind and a moderate temperature.
The photo I picked is of a towhee that led dog and me down the trail from the summit, no doubt to lure us away from her offspring.
Rain forecast for tomorrow. I wonder what the day will bring.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:53 a.m. EST (7:53 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 2. Blue Jay (v) 3. Common Yellowthroat 4. American Goldfinch** 5. Eastern Wood-pewee** (v) 6. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 7. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 8. Tufted Titmouse (v) 9. Eastern Bluebird 10. Black-and-white Warbler (v) 11. American Crow* 12. Cedar Waxwing 13. Gray Catbird 14. Eastern Towhee 15. Song Sparrow 16. Yellow Warbler (v) 17. Chestnut-sided Warbler 18. American Redstart
Elsewhere
19. Herring Gull 20. Osprey
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Cool and bright this morning. The birds remain quiet for the most part, although occasionally I could spy a little warbler poking about in the canopy along the wooded trail. An Osprey soared over the barrens up top, and waxwings crowned the spruces, as usual these days.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:54 a.m. EST (7:54 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 2. Blue Jay (v) 3. American Goldfinch 4. Common Raven (v) 5. Eastern Wood-pewee** 6. Tufted Titmouse (v) 7. American Crow* 8. White-breasted Nuthatch** (v) 9. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 10. Hermit Thrush (v) 11. Eastern Bluebird 12. Cedar Waxwing 13. Gray Catbird (v) 14. Eastern Towhee 15. Alder Flycatcher (v) 16. Herring Gull 17. Song Sparrow 18. Osprey* 19. Yellow Warbler (v) 20. American Redstart 21. American Robin (v)
Elsewhere
22. Mourning Dove
Reptiles
Red-bellied Snake
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Upon rising this morning, the sun emerged, then faded in and out and in again as swirly white clouds floated overhead from the west. And the birds were really quiet. We walked long stretches, dog and I, without hearing a (literal) peep—because (I figured), at least in part, they don’t want to draw attention to their youngsters.
Throughout our hike, scanning the canopy, I caught sight of just three wood-warbler species, poking about for insects and caterpillars. Not one of them uttered a single tweet.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:03 a.m. EST (8:03 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Blue Jay 2. American Goldfinch 3. Black-capped Chickadee 4. Red-eyed Vireo 5. Black-throated Green Warbler 6. Eastern Wood-pewee 7. Hermit Thrush 8. White-breasted Nuthatch 9. American Robin 10. American Crow 11. Eastern Towhee 12. Gray Catbird 13. Cedar Waxwing 14. Song Sparrow 15. Purple Finch 16. Red-tailed Hawk 17. Herring Gull 18. American Redstart 19. Black-and-white Warbler 20. Hairy Woodpecker
