Yet another warm, humid morning—albeit not quite as warm or humid as the past couple of days. Many more species than yesterday, including a few raptors, among them a first harrier since last spring (sign of early migration).
Several species posed for photos, too, but my favorite happened to be a woodpecker who posed for the last photo I took this day.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:15 a.m. EST (8:15 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Blue Jay (v) 2. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 3. Black-capped Chickadee 4. Tufted Titmouse (v) 5. Gray Catbird (v) 6. American Crow* 7. Hermit Thrush 8. Eastern Towhee (v) 9. Black-and-white Warbler (v) 10. Eastern Phoebe 11. Common Yellowthroat 12. Cedar Waxwing 13. Yellow-rumped Warbler 14. American Goldfinch** (v) 15. Northern Harrier 16. Osprey* 17. Sharp-shinned Hawk 18. Song Sparrow 19. Broad-winged Hawk 20. Hairy Woodpecker
Another nippy morning—low-60s (F) to start—that warmed into a lovely late-summer day. On the hill, birds were stirring, including one species I hadn’t encountered since spring: Scarlet Tanager. I heard a high, loud, abrupt call that I didn’t recognize coming from up in the wooded canopy. Turned out to be a female tanager. (Learned another bird call today!)
A partly cloud morning with plenty of blue sky. And against the blue sky when dog and I reached the summit, fluttered the usual gang of waxwings that hang out there because of the August fly hatch. (Or hatches, I should say—as I believe more than one species swarms up there.) Waxwings are beautiful birds; some are adults, some are juvies; I encounter them quite rarely at other times of year. But they’ve been in my eyes and on my mind these days.
Otherwise, mostly the usual suspects—although not many species today. Tomorrow will be different. Every day is different, its own miracle. That’s what makes life a wonder, to me.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:11 a.m. EST (8:11 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. American Goldfinch** (v) 2. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v) 3. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 4. Blue Jay (v) 5. American Crow* (v) 6. Black-capped Chickadee 7. Tufted Titmouse (v) 8. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 9. Gray Catbird** 10. Cedar Waxwing 11. Song Sparrow 12. Common Yellowthroat 13. Eastern Towhee (v)
Elsewhere
14. Carolina Wren (v) 15. Mallard 16. Mourning Dove 17. Herring Gull 18. House Sparrow (v) 19. Ring-billed Gull (v) 20. Osprey 21. Rock Pigeon 22. Wild Turkey
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
