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
A damp, overcast morning, with fog on the hill. Most birds on my list today were heard, not seen. The first—just as we began ascending, dog and I—turned out to be a group of turkeys, a pair of adults and many poults, leading us up the trail. Later, we encountered bunch of juvie towhees in the brushy fields, one of which posed for a quick photo.
Those bird empaths among us get a slight feel of urgency at this time of year, when the youngsters need to grow up in a hurry. (And they do.)
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:11 a.m. EST (8:11 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. American Crow* (v) 2. Wild Turkey* 3. Gray Catbird** (v) 4. American Goldfinch** (v) 5. Song Sparrow 6. Northern Cardinal** (v) 7. Common Yellowthroat 8. Eastern Towhee 9. Cedar Waxwing 10. Yellow Warbler (v) 11. Eastern Phoebe 12. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 13. Black-and-white Warbler (v) 14. Brown Creeper (v) 15. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 16. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
They grow up so fast! This year’s new bird crop, I mean. They’ve got to, of course—fall migration is right around the corner (a month or less away for most migratory species). And the young ’uns are starting to come out and introduce themselves to the wider world.
Today’s most cooperative juvie? A young catbird that posed long enough for a fairly decent portrait.
(Also, a Meadow Vole scrambled across the trail in front of dog and me.)
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:09 a.m. EST (8:09 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Blue Jay (v) 2. Black-capped Chickadee 3. American Goldfinch** 4. Eastern Phoebe (v) 5. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 6. Cedar Waxwing (v) 7. White-breasted Nuthatch** 8. Eastern Wood-pewee 9. Eastern Bluebird (v) 10. Tufted Titmouse (v) 11. Black-and-white Warbler 12. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v) 13. American Crow* 14. Eastern Towhee 15. Gray Catbird 16. Song Sparrow 17. Yellow Warbler 18. Common Yellowthroat** (v)
