Sunny and cool to start this morning, with a bit of haze in the air. Very slight breeze. The birds were still pretty quiet—except, notably, for a raven loudly testing its various calls unseen in a tree on a rise.
Never saw the raven, but I got to see waxwings in a fly hatch again, and got a nice pic of a juvie bluebird.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:54 a.m. EST (7:54 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 2. American Crow* 3. American Goldfinch 4. Black-capped Chickadee 5. Chestnut-sided Warbler 6. Common Raven (v) 7. Eastern Towhee 8. Gray Catbird 9. Broad-winged Hawk (v) 10. Eastern Wood-pewee 11. American Robin* 12. Common Yellowthroat 13. Cedar Waxwing 14. Eastern Bluebird 15. White-breasted Nuthatch 16. Field Sparrow (v) 17. Barn Swallow 18. Song Sparrow** 19. Eastern Phoebe 20. Hermit Thrush
Elsewhere
21. Northern Cardinal (v) 22. Mourning Dove
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Upon rising this morning, the sun emerged, then faded in and out and in again as swirly white clouds floated overhead from the west. And the birds were really quiet. We walked long stretches, dog and I, without hearing a (literal) peep—because (I figured), at least in part, they don’t want to draw attention to their youngsters.
Throughout our hike, scanning the canopy, I caught sight of just three wood-warbler species, poking about for insects and caterpillars. Not one of them uttered a single tweet.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:03 a.m. EST (8:03 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Blue Jay 2. American Goldfinch 3. Black-capped Chickadee 4. Red-eyed Vireo 5. Black-throated Green Warbler 6. Eastern Wood-pewee 7. Hermit Thrush 8. White-breasted Nuthatch 9. American Robin 10. American Crow 11. Eastern Towhee 12. Gray Catbird 13. Cedar Waxwing 14. Song Sparrow 15. Purple Finch 16. Red-tailed Hawk 17. Herring Gull 18. American Redstart 19. Black-and-white Warbler 20. Hairy Woodpecker
’Twas a cool and quiet morning when dog and I started up the wooded trailhead. A few bird vocalizations greeted us, but not a lot. Adults still talking to their young ’uns, mostly or, rarely, singing—or teaching their young ’uns the family tunes.
Fog at the summit, and dimness elsewhere early, so no award-winning photos, but a chickadee posed toward the end of our hike.
Later in the day the sun came out and giant billowy clouds rose above the bay.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:58 a.m. EST (7:58 DST), I hiked all trails.
