What a lovely morning. Cool to start, warm to end—nearly 70° (F). The birds were a bit quieter than lately, perhaps due to that warmth. And/or the possibility of fledglings. And/or other reasons. But it was a real fun hike with dog.
Notably, I got a photo of a Least Flycatcher finally. Love those little guys.
A similar day is forecast for tomorrow. Looking forward to a nice surprise or two. (There are nearly always nice surprises.)
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:18 a.m. sun time (7:18 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Tufted Titmouse (v) 2. Red-eyed Vireo 3. Ovenbird** 4. American Redstart* 5. Blue Jay 6. Brown Creeper (v) 7. Eastern Phoebe 8. Black-throated Green Warbler (v) 9. Veery 10. American Crow* 11. American Goldfinch** 12. Eastern Towhee 13. Gray Catbird 14. Chestnut-sided Warbler** 15. Common Yellowthroat (v) 16. Black-and-white Warbler** 17. Field Sparrow 18. Alder Flycatcher (v) 19. Yellow Warbler 20. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v) 21. Song Sparrow 22. Chipping Sparrow 23. Pileated Woodpecker (v) 24. White-breasted Nuthatch** (v) 25. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 26. Least Flycatcher 27. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (v) 28. Brown-headed Cowbird 29. American Robin** 30. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 31. Wood Thrush (v) 32. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (drumming)
Elsewhere
35. Mallard 35. Mourning Dove
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
A bright, chilly morning with a breeze. Upper 40s (F) to start, so I wore my birding hoodie—a smooth move. Wild birds, however, seemed relatively undaunted by the fact that the breeze was northeasterly, and dog and I had a nice hike.
That said, I had relatively few photo opportunities for much of our nature walk, which was a tad frustrating. Then, during our return, a long dark bird flitted across the hedgy trail ahead of us. It turned out to be my first Black-billed Cuckoo of the year. And the cuckoo stayed at its perch long enough for me to sneak up and get a few close photos of this handsome bird’s upper half.
Also noteworthy: a flushed woodcock, a vocal Least Flycatcher, and—at home—a fox carrying a deceased gray squirrel across the lawn.
Ah, spring!
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:11 a.m. sun time (7:11 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 2. Ovenbird** 3. Chestnut-sided Warbler 4. American Redstart** 5. Eastern Phoebe** 6. Blue Jay (v) 7. Black-throated Green Warbler (v) 8. Hermit Thrush (v) 9. American Goldfinch 10. Gray Catbird** 11. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 12. Black-and-white Warbler (v) 13. Eastern Towhee 14. Common Yellowthroat (v) 15. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 16. American Woodcock 17. Veery 18. Song Sparrow** 19. American Crow* 20. Yellow Warbler (v) 21. Field Sparrow 22. Least Flycatcher (v) 23. American Robin 24. Alder Flycatcher (v) 25. Scarlet Tanager (v) 26. Chipping Sparrow 27. Purple Finch (v) 28. Eastern Bluebird 29. Herring Gull* 30. Tufted Titmouse (v) 31. Brown-headed Cowbird 32. Northern Parula (v) 33. Red-winged Blackbird (v) 34. Black-billed Cuckoo† 35. Broad-winged Hawk (v) 36. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v) 37. Wood Thrush (v)
Elsewhere
38. Pine Warbler (v) 39. European Starling
Mammals
Eastern Gray Squirrel (live one) Red Fox
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Another sunny morn, a bit chillier than yesterday but with less wind. And another slow start up the wooded trail—and, yes, another surpringly nice batch of spring birds.
Most noteworthy were two first-of-year Eastern Kingbirds hanging about in the blueberry barrens, catching flies. A total of forty-three species was also nice. And the very last bird of the day: a Broad-winged Hawk in the woods, staring down the photographer.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:31 a.m. sun time (7:31 DST), I hiked all trails.
