Cool again, but not as breezy and somewhat more humid. [The forecast rain—and a thundershower—came this late afternoon, so tomorrow might be less muggy.] A bunch of interesting bird activity, too—a highlight being the surprise appearance of a juvie Dark-eyed Junco along the wooded trail, hunting assorted insects. It stayed about twenty feet in front of dog and me until, finally, I managed a photo.
Young whitetail buck.
Another highlight—shortly after the junco—came when we surprised a young whitetail buck. He didn’t go far, then froze and checked us out for a bit. Again, a photo.
I’m still astonished not to have found a single deer tick since one tiny one appeared in spring on Jack’s nose. Crazy. (Not that I’m complainin’.)
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:07 a.m. EST (8:07 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo 2. Hermit Thrush 3. Blue Jay 4. American Goldfinch 5. Black-throated Green Warbler 6. Hairy Woodpecker 7. Eastern Wood-pewee 8. Northern Flicker 9. Tufted Titmouse 10. Black-capped Chickadee 11. White-breasted Nuthatch 12. American Crow 13. Ovenbird 14. Dark-eyed Junco 15. Red-bellied Woodpecker 16. Eastern Towhee 17. Alder Flycatcher 18. Gray Catbird 19. American Robin 20. Cedar Waxwing 21. Song Sparrow 22. Common Yellowthroat 23. Purple Finch 24. Mourning Dove 25. Red-shouldered Hawk 26. Turkey Vulture 27. Yellow Warbler 28. Barn Swallow 29. Chestnut-sided Warbler 30. Blue-headed Vireo
Welp, we mixed it up this early morning, dog and me—accompanied our human and dog friends up the many trails winding around the Camden Snow Bowl. The day was bright and the winds were light and the grade was steep. Got a few different-than-usual species (and missed a few common at Beech Hill) and couldn’t well keep track of the chronology of sightings—thus, today’s species are listed I alphabetical order.
Ol’ Jack did well for such a warm, steep hike. (I could say the same for myself.) A change of scenery ain’t ever a bad thing.
We’ll be back at Beech Hill tomorrow, though (during what’s supposed to be some light rain).
Camden Snow Bowl Trails List Starting at 6:13 a.m. EST (7:13 DST), I hiked some Camden Snow Bowl trails.
1. Alder Flycatcher (v) 2. American Goldfinch** 3. American Redstart (v) 4. American Robin* 5. Baltimore Oriole 6. Black-and-white Warbler (v) 7. Black-capped Chickadee 8. Black-throated Blue Warbler (v) 9. Black-throated Green Warbler (v) 10. Blue-headed Vireo (v) 11. Blue Jay (v) 12. Broad-winged Hawk (v) 13. Brown Creeper (v) 14. Cedar Waxwing (v) 15. Chestnut-sided Warbler (v) 16. Chipping Sparrow* 17. Common Loon 18. Common Yellowthroat (v) 19. Dark-eyed Junco 20. Eastern Phoebe* (v) 21. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 22. Great Crested Flycatcher (v) 23. Hermit Thrush (v) 24. Least Flycatcher (v) 25. Mallard 26. Mourning Dove (v) 27. Ovenbird (v) 28. Purple Finch (v) 29. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 30. Red-winged Blackbird 31. Scarlet Tanager 32. Song Sparrow* 33. Tree Swallow 34. Tufted Titmouse (v) 35. Turkey Vulture 36. Warbling Vireo (v) 37. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 38. Yellow Warbler (v)
Elsewhere
39. American Crow
Mammals
Eastern Gray Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Another lovely spring day, but cooler, and with a lot of sunshine. Thought I’d have lot fewer species on my list this morning than I ended up with—a nice mix. First-of-year bird (which I didn’t confirm until I downloaded a blurry photo of it): Magnolia Warbler.
The few showers forecast for last night left no trace (if in fact they fell). The trails were drier than they’ve been for many weeks, seemed like. Territorial Ovenbirds were chasing each other though the woods. And had another random junco.
Now we wait for flycatchers, wood-pewee, and several other late nesters. Fun time of year.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:20 a.m. sun time (7:20 DST), I hiked all trails.
