The forecast rain didn’t arrive, and the fog at the beginning of my hike with dog vanished within about twenty minutes, but still I didn’t list too many bird species this morning. However, toward the end of this daily excursion of ours, we encountered another little mini fallout.
Today’s warbler species included redstart, yellow-rump, parula, and chestnut-sided. Chickadees and a vireo were a part of this antic collection of little flitting birds.
I love this time of year.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:14 a.m. EST (8:14 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. American Crow* 2. Blue Jay** (v) 3. Black-capped Chickadee** 4. American Goldfinch 5. Gray Catbird** 6. Common Raven (v) 7. Common Yellowthroat (v) 8. American Robin 9. Savannah Sparrow 10. Eastern Bluebird (v) 11. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 12. Song Sparrow 13. Yellow-rumped Warbler 14. Red-eyed Vireo 15. Eastern Towhee 16. White-breasted Nuthatch** (v) 17. Pileated Woodpecker (v) 18. Northern Flicker (v) 19. Cedar Waxwing (v) 20. Turkey Vulture 21. Chestnut-sided Warbler 22. Northern Parula 23. American Redstart
It rained for a while this morning, but the rain moved through in a relative hurry, leaving dog’s and my hiking hill cloaked in fog. A few birds made themselves known early—very few—but the excitement waited until we were following the muddy wooded trails.
As often happens, it started with the voices of chickadees, voices I pay attention to, considering they typically have travel with an entourage. And that was the case this morning. And among the species in the chickadees’ little posse flitted a single Wilson’s Warbler—the first Wilson’s I’ve seen since our return from Salt Lake City nearly a year and a half ago.
This was the second straight day with evidence of the start of fall migration.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:14 a.m. EST (8:14 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Northern Flicker (v) 2. Gray Catbird 3. Song Sparrow 4. Common Yellowthroat 5. American Goldfinch 6. Black-capped Chickadee 7. White-breasted Nuthatch 8. Eastern Bluebird 9. Eastern Wood-pewee 10. Hairy Woodpecker 11. Red-eyed Vireo 12. American Redstart 13. Wilson’s Warbler 14. Eastern Towhee 15. Cedar Waxwing 16. Rose-breasted Grosbeak 17. Blue Jay
Elsewhere
18. Carolina Wren 19. American Crow 20. Herring Gull 21. Rock Pigeon 22. Mallard
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Another nippy morning—low-60s (F) to start—that warmed into a lovely late-summer day. On the hill, birds were stirring, including one species I hadn’t encountered since spring: Scarlet Tanager. I heard a high, loud, abrupt call that I didn’t recognize coming from up in the wooded canopy. Turned out to be a female tanager. (Learned another bird call today!)
