It was a warm one. Starting up the trail early, dog and I “enjoyed” a sort of humid room temperature. Once we got out of the shade, the air got summertime-warm in a hurry. Still, what a nice hike.
Mainly because of the variety of bird life. A vireo posed. So did a Broad-winged Hawk and a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Most interestingly, a young Cape May Warbler perched high in a summit spruce and might as well have begged to have his picture took—one of very few of the species I’ve seen up there.
In afternoon, I rode around on my bicycle in 80-something-degree (F) temperatures. Seems we get us a variety of weather around here, too.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:45 a.m. EST (7:45 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo 2. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 3. Blue Jay 4. Gray Catbird 5. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 6. Hairy Woodpecker 7. Broad-winged Hawk 8. American Crow* (v) 9. Black-capped Chickadee** 10. Eastern Towhee (v) 11. Song Sparrow 12. Common Yellowthroat (v) 13. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 14. Cape May Warbler† 15. American Goldfinch 16. Downy Woodpecker (v) 17. Cedar Waxwing 18. Northern Flicker (v)
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 cool, cloudless morning greeted dog and me as we headed up the wooded trail. By “cool,” I mean mid- to upper-50s (F). But once we hit the open fields, the sun warmed us up a bit—and, considering his thick coat, Jack didn’t much mind the little chill.
Birds were about, and moving. Notable, today, were the three flycatchers that showed up. In the woods, a wood-pewee perched on a snag and sang, occasionally making a quick flight to catch a fly. Nearing the summit, I caught sight of a young Alder Flycatcher (a species that prefers open areas)—and, nearby, a Least Flycatcher.
Between those three species and the waxwings that perched high in the summit spruce grove and dined on a fly hatch, the population of flies dipped quite a bit today.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:20 a.m. EST (8:20 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. White-breasted Nuthatch** 2. Black-capped Chickadee 3. Blue Jay (v) 4. Downy Woodpecker (v) 5. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 6. American Goldfinch 7. Eastern Wood-pewee 8. Tufted Titmouse (v) 9. Black-and-white Warbler 10. Gray Catbird** 11. Eastern Towhee 12. Cedar Waxwing 13. Alder Flycatcher 14. Song Sparrow 15. American Crow* (v) 16. Veery (v) 17. Common Yellowthroat 18. American Robin 19. Turkey Vulture 20. Northern Flicker (v) 21. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 22. Least Flycatcher
Elsewhere
23. Herring Gull 24. Belted Kingfisher
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
