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Posts Tagged ‘common goldeneye’
Saturday, December 19th, 2015
 Purple Sandpiper. Up early for the annual National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count (CBC) for our neck of the woods. This year, we diverged a bit from our customary first leg—the Rockland Breakwater—to make sure we recorded a noteworthy bird in our region: a Yellow-throated Warbler that had been seen for the past several days on the grounds of the Samoset Resort. Got it.
 Common Ravens. The weather was balmy compared to most CBCs I remember—low- to mid-30s (F). (Typically, it seems like it’s been 12 degrees with a high wind.) But that meant odd birds, and not that many of ’em. Instead of a dozen or so Purple Sandpipers, for instance, we got one. Instead of fifty-plus species, we got forty-something. Since I never do the afternoon trip, I got thirty-four.
But those included two “warblers”: the yellow-throated and a Yellow-breasted Chat (arguably not really a warbler)—only the second of that species I’ve ever seen. Also a pair of vocal ravens flew over, and we had a little flurry of bird activity near the cemetery, and we counted about a hundred coots.
 Ring-billed Gull. Afterward, I rescued a house-bound Jack and we took a quick Beech Hill hike. Only two species up there today.
Windy as hell tonight.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2:15 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American Crow* (v)
2. Black-capped Chickadee* (v)
Elsewhere
3. American Goldfinch
4. Herring Gull
5. Mallard
6. House Sparrow
7. Common Raven
8. Yellow-throated Warbler
9. Ring-billed Gull
10. Canada Goose
11. Common Eider
12. Red-necked Grebe
13. Horned Grebe
14. White-breasted Nuthatch
15. American Black Duck
16. Great Black-backed Gull
17. Long-tailed Duck
18. Surf Scoter
19. Purple Sandpiper
20. Black Guillemot
21. Great Cormorant
22. Bufflehead
23. Yellow-breasted Chat
24. Rock Pigeon
25. Tufted Titmouse
26. Brown Creeper
27. Downy Woodpecker
28. Red-tailed Hawk
29. Hairy Woodpecker
30. Common Goldeneye
31. Bonaparte’s Gull
32. American Coot
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
 Owls Head Light.
Tags: American black duck, American coot, American crow, American goldfinch, black guillemot, black-capped chickadee, Bonaparte's gull, brown creeper, bufflehead, Canada goose, common eider, common goldeneye, common raven, downy woodpecker, great black-backed gull, great cormorant, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, horned grebe, house sparrow, long-tailed duck, mallard, purple sandpiper, red-necked grebe, red-tailed hawk, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, surf scoter, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, yellow-breasted chat, yellow-throated warbler
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 24th, 2015
 House Sparrow. Sub-freezing morning. Windows all frosted up. Brilliant sunshine.
Desk work until early afternoon, then errands and a hike with Jack. Excruciatingly clear 360-degree view at Beech Hill.
Not many people up there today, though—or bird species. Spotted quite a few elsewhere, though, including a pair of goldeneyes at Chickawaukie Lake and a little flock of sparrows at the Good Tern Co-op.
Cold weather birding can be kind of interesting. (Looking forward to shrikes again this winter.)
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Black-capped Chickadee
2. American Crow*
3. White-breasted Nuthatch**
4. Hairy Woodpecker
Elsewhere
5. American Goldfinch (v)
6. Tufted Titmouse
7. Blue Jay (v)
8. Downy Woodpecker (v)
9. Rock Pigeon
10. House Sparrow
11. Common Goldeneye
12. Mallard
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, common goldeneye, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, house sparrow, mallard, rock pigeon, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Saturday, December 27th, 2014
 Clouds. This lovely morning my dog and I took a hike up Beech Hill. Warm, fair, mild, still, colorful, sunny, pleasant, even fragrant. And a bit unsettling. Because, after all, it’s the end of December.
 American Goldfinches. Not that I’m complaining. In a way I suppose I’m a contrarian: I see the imperfections in a perfect-seeming thing, and I see the beauty in discomfort. Maybe that’s a sign of having lived on the planet a while, I don’t know.
I did see some happy goldfinches and heard the note of a White-throated Sparrow.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 10:30 a.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Black-capped Chickadee**
2. American Goldfinch
3. White-throated Sparrow (v)
4. Downy Woodpecker
5. American Robin (v)
6. American Crow*
7. Herring Gull*
Elsewhere
8. Rock Pigeon
9. Common Goldeneye
10. American Coot
11. Canada Goose
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American coot, American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, Canada goose, common goldeneye, herring gull, rock pigeon, white-throated sparrow
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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