Dog and I hiked in the rain this morning. Not a hard rain, but a steady one for much of it. Hardly any birds to start, but I began to hear some in the woodlands—and after the rain let up a bit, got a glimpse of a few species.
The highlight: a juvenile Prairie Warbler that popped up for a photo at the very end of our hike. First prairie I’ve seen this year (although I heard ’em singing in spring).
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:28 a.m. EST (8:28 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Cedar Waxwing 2. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 3. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 4. American Redstart 5. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 6. Broad-winged Hawk (v) 7. Gray Catbird 8. Eastern Towhee (v) 9. American Goldfinch (v) 10. Song Sparrow 11. American Crow* (v) 12. Prairie Warbler
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.
The sun rose this morning, unobscured by fog. And the heat rose slowly, and birds were active—adults and youngsters alike. Fewer species than on recent cloudy days, but more photo ops.
Notable: a singing black-throated blue; a posing black-throated green; a posing flicker; three vultures; the first Broad-winged Hawk in a while.
Feels like true summer around here finally.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:30 a.m. EST (7:30 DST), I hiked all trails.