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Posts Tagged ‘brown thrasher’
Monday, May 19th, 2014
 Mallard pair. You might thing a rainy morning wouldn’t be the best day for birding, but you would be wrong—at least at this particular time of year. Before I’d hiked a hundred yards through the woods of Beech Hill this early morning, I’d come upon the first wave of warblers. And before my morning hike was done, I’d happened upon three of them. Listed twelve warblers in all, the most of any day so far this year.
Not great weather for photos, though.
Still, I did get a great look at a pair of Scarlet Tanagers near the summit. And I got a video of a singing Brown Thrasher.
But perhaps the most fitting photo I got was one of the first, a picture of the pair of Mallards that waddled ahead of me for a ways right at the outset of my hike. Then the snuck off into the grass to hide.
 Northern Cardinal. Yep, rain again this morning—and throughout the day. Steady rain tonight. Heck, it’s supposed to rain all week. How many sunny May days will we end up with, I wonder? And the summer is supposed to be hot and dry. #welcometotheanthropocene
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:30 a.m., I hiked all trails—then at 4 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Mallard
2. Northern Parula (v)
3. Ovenbird**
4. Blue-headed vireo (v)
5. Black-throated Green Warbler**
6. Chestnut-sided Warbler**
7. Eastern Phoebe
8. Eastern Towhee
9. Black-and-White Warbler**
10. Veery
11. Black-capped Chickadee
12. American Goldfinch
13. Common Yellowthroat**
14. Magnolia Warbler
15. Blackburnian Warbler
16. Prairie Warbler† (v)
17. Gray Catbird**
18. Canada Goose (v)
19. American Redstart**
20. Mourning Dove*
21. American Crow*
22. Common Raven (v)
23. Herring Gull*
24. Brown Thrasher
25. Yellow Warbler
26. Field Sparrow (v)
27. Blue Jay
28. Song Sparrow**
29. Scarlet Tanager
30. Savannah Sparrow
31. Brown-headed Cowbird
32. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (v)
33. Northern Cardinal* (v)
34. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v)
35. Tree Swallow (v)
36. Nashville Warbler
37. Hermit Thrush
38. Black-throated Blue Warbler
39. Downy Woodpecker
40. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
Elsewhere
41. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
42. House Sparrow
43. Double-crested Cormorant
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated blue warbler, black-throated green warbler, blackburnian warbler, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, brown thrasher, brown-headed cowbird, Canada goose, chestnut-sided warbler, common raven, common yellowthroat, double-crested cormorant, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, field sparrow, gray catbird, hermit thrush, herring gull, house sparrow, magnolia warbler, mallard, mourning dove, Nashville warbler, northern cardinal, northern parula, ovenbird, pileated woodpecker, prairie warbler, rose-breasted grosbeak, ruby-crowned kinglet, savannah sparrow, scarlett, song sparrow, tree swallow, veery, white-breasted nuthatch, yellow warbler
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 6th, 2014
 Yellow-rumped warbler. Early morning, loads of Beech Hill birds. The first was a Blue-headed Vireo poking about low in the sugarbush maples at the trailhead. Damn auto-focus on my camera doesn’t seem to be working right, or I’d have a nice shot to put here.
Instead, I got some yellow-rumped warblers, a bunch of which moved through near the summit.
 Least Flycatcher (I think). Also saw an empid of some kind, I think a Least Flycatcher. It was silent, but small, and hanging out in the wooded areas—not the wood fringe where the Alder Flycatchers roam. Plus, Alder Flys tend to come a little later, in my experience.
Heard my first Common Yellowthroat of the year—which I almost missed, the call is so familiar on the hill—and spotted a pair of Gray Catbirds, just arrived.
Finally, as we neared the end of our hike, Jack and I, I spotted a tiny, solitary Northern Parula high in the grove of tall oaks.
It rained later. I didn’t get out again today.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Blue-headed Vireo
2. Hermit Thrush (v)
3. Ovenbird
4. Tufted Titmouse
5. Eastern Phoebe
6. Hairy Woodpecker (v)
7. Black-and-white Warbler
8. American Goldfinch (v)
9. American Robin
10. Northern Flicker (v)
11. Eastern Towhee
12. Black-capped Chickadee**
13. American Crow*
14. White-throated Sparrow
15. Mourning Dove (v)
16. Yellow-rumped Warbler
17. Blue Jay (v)
18. Brown-headed Cowbird (v)
19. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
20. Brown Thrasher
21. Empidonax sp.† (Least Flycatcher?)
22. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (drumming)
23. Tree Swallow
24. Common Yellowthroat† (v)
25. Song Sparrow**
26. White-breasted Nuthatch
27. Savannah Sparrow
28. Eastern Bluebird (v)
29. Northern Cardinal (v)
30. Mallard
31. Red-winged Blackbird
32. House Finch** (v)
33. Chipping Sparrow**
34. Osprey
35. Canada Goose (v)
36. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (v)
37. Gray Catbird†
38. Northern Parula†
Elsewhere
39. Herring Gull
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
 Eastern Towhee.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, brown thrasher, brown-headed cowbird, Canada goose, chipping sparrow, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, gray catbird, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, house finch, least flycatcher, mallard, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, northern parula, osprey, ovenbird, pileated woodpecker, red-winged blackbird, ruby-crowned kinglet, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow-bellied sapsucker, yellow-rumped warbler
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Friday, May 2nd, 2014
 Broad-winged Hawk. Fog this morning, but warmer. And by the time Jack and I got to Beech Hill, the water droplets clinging to the budding twigs were glistening in the rising sun. And I saw a Broad-winged Hawk.
 Palm Warbler. I was still in the truck when I saw the hawk swoop between the tree trunks and perch high in the canopy. When we got out, it flew a bit farther away, perched again. As we approached that perch, it took off again. And this pattern continued for a couple hundred feet—until I finally got a (rather distant) photo of the bird, no doubt just arrived.
I say “just arrived” because I saw another four broad-wings moving overhead during today’s early hike, one pair and two other individuals. They were issuing their impossibly high-pitched squeee! calls. I also saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk.
And a ton of other birds—or, at least many ounces of ’em.
Among the surprises were: two Great Blue Herons flying over (one calling); a very vocal Brown Thrasher; a madly rattling Belted Kingfisher. All first-of-year birds. Also memorable were the new waves of Palm Warblers and Yell0w-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. (A big spring for kinglets.) Still a bunch of cowbirds around, more than any year I can remember. And a solitary, singing Red-winged Blackbird perched at the tip of a tree.
Perhaps most noteworthy, though, is that I overdressed this morning. Today, for the first time in 2014, it truly felt like spring.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Broad-winged Hawk
2. Hermit Thrush
3. Black-capped Chickadee*
4. Palm Warbler
5. Eastern Phoebe
6. Yellow-rumped Warbler
7. Northern Flicker
8. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
9. American Robin
10. Eastern Towhee
11. American Goldfinch**
12. American Crow*
13. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
14. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
15. White-throated Sparrow
16. Great Blue Heron†
17. Brown-headed Cowbird
18. Blue Jay (v)
19. Tree Swallow (v)
20. Field Sparrow (v)
21. Song Sparrow**
22. Savannah Sparrow
23. Chipping Sparrow
24. Brown Thrasher†
25. Red-winged Blackbird
26. Belted Kingfisher† (v)
27. Osprey
28. Downy Woodpecker
29. Sharp-shinned Hawk
30. Northern Cardinal** (v)
31. Tufted Titmouse (v)
32. House Finch** (v)
33. Herring Gull*
34. Mourning Dove* (v)
Elsewhere
35. House Finch (v)
36. Double-crested Cormorant
37. European Starling
38. Rock Pigeon
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, belted kingfisher, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, broad-winged hawk, brown thrasher, brown-headed cowbird, chipping sparrow, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, great blue heron, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, osprey, palm warbler, pileated woodpecker, red-winged blackbird, rock pigeon, ruby-crowned kinglet, savannah sparrow, sharp-shinned hawk, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
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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