Ah, what a lovely cool, clear, breezy morning. As we headed up through the woods, dog and I, we encountered more birds than in the past few days—and a few notable species not encountered in a good while. A Philadelphia Vireo, for instance, and the call of a Canada Warbler, and a juvie chippy poking about in the canopy.
The largest mouthful of caterpillars, however, belonged to a clucking Hermit Thrush which agreeably posed for a photo.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:09 a.m. EST (8:09 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Blue Jay (v) 2. Tufted Titmouse (v) 3. American Goldfinch** 4. Red-eyed Vireo 5. White-breasted Nuthatch 6. Eastern Wood-pewee 7. Black-capped Chickadee 8. Black-and-white Warbler 9. Chipping Sparrow 10. Philadelphia Vireo† 11. Hermit Thrush 12. Ovenbird 13. Eastern Towhee (v) 14. American Crow* 15. Canada Warbler† 16. Gray Catbird** (v) 17. Common Yellowthroat** (v) 18. Song Sparrow 19. Turkey Vulture 20. Herring Gull* 21. American Redstart 22. Cedar Waxwing
Elsewhere
23. Mourning Dove 24. Northern Cardinal (v) 25. Wild Turkey
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Pretty sure the bird in the photo above is a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. I don’t see this species often—in fact, I believe my first Beech Hill sighting happened in early September last year—but this particular bird happened to pop up right in front of me as dog and I were moseying along the upper wooded trail. If you’re patient, and attentive, and have developed sort of fine-tuned observatory senses, every now and then you get a gift like this.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:53 a.m. EST (7:53 DST), I hiked most trails.
I prepared for light rain to fall throughout my hike with dog this morning, but it was not to be. Overcast, cool, incredibly calm, and a bit humid—but no precipitation until just a faint misting as we headed back to the truck.
Many of the usual suspects showed up, as expected. Waxwings continue to flutter through clouds of treetop flies. But he big news? It didn’t rain.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:53 a.m. EST (7:53 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Eastern Towhee 2. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 3. American Goldfinch** 4. Blue Jay** (v) 5. Downy Woodpecker (v) 6. Cedar Waxwing 7. Yellow Warbler 8. Common Yellowthroat 9. Song Sparrow 10. Field Sparrow (v) 11. Gray Catbird* 12. American Robin 13. American Crow* 14. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 15. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 16. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 17. Tufted Titmouse (v) 18. Purple Finch 19. Northern Cardinal
Elsewhere
20. Wild Turkey 21. Herring Gull
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
