Two Beech Hill hikes today: a quick, early one with Jack-my-dog, and a later, longer one with a group of curious kids on a middle school field trip. Both were fun.
Ten species early and another six later—the latter ones being most interesting (including an eagle accompanied by hawks). Alas, the last bird on my list was deceased: a dead Black-and-white Warbler I found lying along the trail near the summit. My guess is the bird flew into a window of the hut and managed to flutter across the lawn a ways before succumbing to its injuries. Whatever the case, it’s always sad to find a dead bird.
Migration is risky no matter who you are, and some migrants don’t make it to their destinations. I tossed the little warbler into a soft, shady patch of grass.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:30 a.m. EST (8:30 DST), I hiked all trails.
What a difference a day makes, so they say. Yesterday galloped in like a wild river rider, fast and bucking and splashing water all over everything. Today dawned cloudless and merely breezy. As expected, fallen branches littered all preserve trails (along with a couple of toppled trees). I managed to neaten things pretty well, though—and was rewarded with a nice selection of bird species.
Notable were a hummingbird, a fish hawk, a vulture. And elsewhere—including a pleasant drive down a coastal peninsula—a kingfisher, geese, and an eagle.
Simply a lovely September day.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:28 a.m. EST (8:28 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Black-capped Chickadee** (v) 2. Blue Jay** (v) 3. Tufted Titmouse (v) 4. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 5. Gray Catbird 6. American Crow* 7. American Goldfinch (v) 8. Osprey 9. Eastern Towhee (v) 10. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 11. Turkey Vulture* 12. American Robin (v) 13. Cedar Waxwing 14. Northern Flicker** (v) 15. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 16. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
Elsewhere
17. Herring Gull 18. Belted Kingfisher 19. Rock Pigeon 20. Canada Goose 21. Bald Eagle
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
A cool and sunny morning. Still quiet, bird-wise, so it took some gazing in the canopy to spy the little birds along the lower wooded trail. Notable in the open fields were a pair of Broad-winged Hawks and a vulture.
Returning in the upper woods, I got a look at a couple warblers along the trail. Even got a photo of one, a juvie Chestnut-sided Warbler. It was looking right at me.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:54 a.m. EST (7:54 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Wild Turkey 2. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 3. American Goldfinch 4. Eastern Wood-pewee 5. Tufted Titmouse (v) 6. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 7. Black-and-white Warbler 8. Ovenbird (v) 9. Brown Creeper (v) 10. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 11. American Crow* 12. Eastern Towhee 13. Gray Catbird (v) 14. Alder Flycatcher 15. Cedar Waxwing 16. Song Sparrow 17. Broad-winged Hawk 18. Turkey Vulture 19. Northern Cardinal (v) 20. American Robin 21. Common Yellowthroat (v) 22. Chestnut-sided Warbler
Elsewhere
23. Herring Gull 24. Rock Pigeon 25. Bald Eagle
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
