A bright, chilly morning with a breeze. Upper 40s (F) to start, so I wore my birding hoodie—a smooth move. Wild birds, however, seemed relatively undaunted by the fact that the breeze was northeasterly, and dog and I had a nice hike.
That said, I had relatively few photo opportunities for much of our nature walk, which was a tad frustrating. Then, during our return, a long dark bird flitted across the hedgy trail ahead of us. It turned out to be my first Black-billed Cuckoo of the year. And the cuckoo stayed at its perch long enough for me to sneak up and get a few close photos of this handsome bird’s upper half.
Also noteworthy: a flushed woodcock, a vocal Least Flycatcher, and—at home—a fox carrying a deceased gray squirrel across the lawn.
Ah, spring!
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:11 a.m. sun time (7:11 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 2. Ovenbird** 3. Chestnut-sided Warbler 4. American Redstart** 5. Eastern Phoebe** 6. Blue Jay (v) 7. Black-throated Green Warbler (v) 8. Hermit Thrush (v) 9. American Goldfinch 10. Gray Catbird** 11. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 12. Black-and-white Warbler (v) 13. Eastern Towhee 14. Common Yellowthroat (v) 15. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 16. American Woodcock 17. Veery 18. Song Sparrow** 19. American Crow* 20. Yellow Warbler (v) 21. Field Sparrow 22. Least Flycatcher (v) 23. American Robin 24. Alder Flycatcher (v) 25. Scarlet Tanager (v) 26. Chipping Sparrow 27. Purple Finch (v) 28. Eastern Bluebird 29. Herring Gull* 30. Tufted Titmouse (v) 31. Brown-headed Cowbird 32. Northern Parula (v) 33. Red-winged Blackbird (v) 34. Black-billed Cuckoo† 35. Broad-winged Hawk (v) 36. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v) 37. Wood Thrush (v)
Elsewhere
38. Pine Warbler (v) 39. European Starling
Mammals
Eastern Gray Squirrel (live one) Red Fox
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Today I spied (or heard) four species. Other days I’ve had six—or none. They have (vastly or subtly) different calls, different drumming habits, slightly different habitats. IDs can be tricky without visual (or, in the case of downies and hairies, even with a visual).
I like the challenge. I love the drumming. Essentially, I’m infatuated with woodpeckers.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:12 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 2. Black-throated Green Warbler (v) 3. Common Yellowthroat 4. Ovenbird** (v) 5. American Goldfinch** 6. Blue Jay 7. Tufted Titmouse (v) 8. American Robin 9. Downy Woodpecker (v) 10. Black-capped Chickadee 11. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 12. Eastern Towhee 13. Chestnut-sided Warbler (v) 14. American Redstart (v) 15. Brown Creeper (v) 16. Eastern Wood-pewee 17. Hermit Thrush 18. Northern Flicker 19. Gray Catbird 20. Alder Flycatcher (v) 21. Field Sparrow 22. Cedar Waxwing 23. Song Sparrow** 24. Yellow Warbler 25. Eastern Phoebe 26. Purple Finch (v) 27. Savannah Sparrow 28. Prairie Warbler (v) 29. Black-billed Cuckoo (v) 30. Pileated Woodpecker (v) 31. House Wren 32. Common Raven (v) 33. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v) 34. Chipping Sparrow 35. Yellow-bellied sapsucker (v) 36. Veery (v)
Elsewhere
37. Northern Cardinal (v) 38. Mourning Dove 39. Herring Gull
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
A coolish, calmish, dryish morning with plenty of buzzing mosquitos—and a good plenty of bird species, too. An amazing array, in fact: four thrushes, three woodpeckers; a passel of warblers; lots of sparrows.
Most notable—a quiet juvenile Black-billed Cuckoo that showed up in a shady place about 20 feet in front of us, dog and me. We even managed to stay still enough to grab portrait.
I’ll take a day like today any day.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:18 a.m., I hiked most trails.
