A warm-enough-for-t-shirt morning. Windy, too, which seemed to temper the bird activity just a tad. Still, I encountered plenty—many of ’em singing warblers.
I just love the way they toss their heads way back and let fly. It seems like the prototypical way animals project their voices into the air— wolves, humans, Ovenbirds, redstarts, black-throated greens, yellowthroats, black-and-whites, chestnut-sideds, yellows, prairies…
Can’t seem to get enough warbler song.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 8:04 a.m., I hiked most trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo** 2. Ovenbird** 3. Black-throated Green Warbler** (v) 4. Veery (v) 5. American Goldfinch** (v) 6. Common Yellowthroat 7. Black-capped Chickadee 8. Eastern Wood-pewee 9. Chestnut-sided Warbler 10. Eastern Towhee 11. Alder Flycatcher 12. Black-and-white Warbler 13. American Redstart** 14. Gray Catbird* 15. Common Raven (v) 16. Song Sparrow 17. Yellow Warbler (v) 18. Chipping Sparrow 19. Herring Gull 20. Osprey 21. Turkey Vulture 22. Northern Cardinal (v) 23. Prairie Warbler 24. Black-billed Cuckoo (v) 25. American Crow 26. Tufted Titmouse (v) 27. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 28. Great Crested Flycatcher (v) 29. American Robin
Elsewhere
30. Mallard 31. Red-winged Blackbird (v)
Mammals Gray Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Stayed up late last night, slept late-ish this morning. Captain Jack and I didn’t make it to the hill until about 8 o’clock sun time. Sunny and cool and breezy, didn’t think I’d list so many birds at the late hour—but turned out I matched yesterday’s total number of species.
No firsts-of-year, no lifers. Mostly the usual suspects (along with a calling Black-billed Cuckoo, a species I hope to catch sight of one day). Some posed, although my captures tended toward the plain.
Still, what a lovely morning, and what a magical place we get to hang out in every day, dog and me.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 9:01 a.m., I hiked most trails.
Slept well enough last night that dog and I were a couple hours late to the trailhead. A foggy, drippy, luscious day. Many bird species were quieter than usual, but their numbers were high.
Most notable was a first-of-year Black-billed Cuckoo, whose voice came clearly from the bayberry tangles down the eastern slope.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 9:05 a.m., I hiked most trails.
1. Ovenbird** 2. Chestnut-sided Warbler** 3. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 4. American Goldfinch* 5. Song Sparrow* 6. Black-throated Green Warbler* (v) 7. Common Yellowthroat (v) 8. Hairy Woodpecker 9. Gray Catbird 10. Black-and-white Warbler 11. Veery (v) 12. Eastern Towhee 13. American Redstart (v) 14. Northern Parula (v) 15. Black-capped Chickadee** 16. Nashville Warbler (v) 17. Wood Thrush (v) 18. American Crow* (v) 19. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 20. Great Crested Flycatcher (v) 21. Yellow Warbler 22. Blue Jay 23. Field Sparrow (v) 24. American Robin 25. Savannah Sparrow 26. Prairie Warbler (v) 27. Alder Flycatcher (v) 28. Black-billed Cuckoo† (v) 29. Tufted Titmouse (v) 30. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (v) 31. Hermit Thrush (v) 32. Brown Creeper 33. Northern Cardinal** 34. Eastern Phoebe*
Elsewhere
35. Mallard 36. Herring Gull
Mammals
Gray Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
