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
We had a lovely hike on the hill this morning, dog and I—many birds, big skies, just a very wonderful experience. But the highlight of this day happened at evening. About 8:30 this evening, in fact, at a friend’s house near Clam Cove, less than a mile from me. Off in the woods I heard the voice of a Chuck Will’s Widow.
Decades ago, I used to hear Eastern Whip-poor-wills here on the coast at night—multiples even. But for the past twenty years or more, the only goatsucker I’ve encountered has been (very rarely) a Common Nighthawk in flight. Chuck Will’s Widows aren’t even supposed to range this far north along the coast.
Made for an exciting day for me.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:45 a.m. sun time (7:45 DST), I hiked all trails.
Captain Jack, age 15, has been limping a little (front foot), so I made the hard decision to let him sit out this morning’s hike for the first time in years. A very hard decision.
Memorial Day was sunny and cool and breezy, and people were out and about, and so were birds. Most notable was probably the individual Cedar Waxwing I spied at the summit. Only the second waxwing sighting of the year—although more will show up in summer for the annual fly hatch up there.
Felt bad that dog didn’t get a hike, and a friend suggested a short trail near the house, which we three hiked in afternoon. Jack liked the new smells. We’ll do more of that going forward, for sure.
Supposed to start warming up again. We shall see.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:08 a.m. sun time (7:08 DST), I hiked all trails, and then some.
