A similar start to yesterday’s hike—rather late up the main trail, overcast, damp, nippy, calm—but with a little sun brightening things up after a while. The sun also warmed things up. And birds were active.
Notable were a pair of larks, a loon in overflight, the croaks of a raven—and a rare glimpse of a Pileated Woodpecker.
Pileateds themselves aren’t rare in the woods, but they’re good at making themselves scarce. Often you’ll hear their loud, distinctive call, and sometimes you can track one by its especially loud hammering. But I do love to get a peek at these lovely birds. Today’s female posed for a photo.
Beech Hill List Starting at 8:04 a.m. EST (9:04 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Song Sparrow (v) 2. Blue Jay 3. Yellow-rumped Warbler** 4. American Crow* 5. American Goldfinch 6. Common Yellowthroat (v) 7. Hairy Woodpecker 8. Northern Flicker 9. Common Loon 10. Horned Lark 11. Tufted Titmouse (v) 12. Eastern Towhee (v) 13. Black-capped Chickadee 14. Hermit Thrush 15. Brown Creeper (v) 16. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v) 17. White-breasted Nuthatch 18. Common Raven (v) 19. Pileated Woodpecker
Elsewhere
20. Herring Gull 21. Northern Cardinal
Mammals
Eastern Gray Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Rained overnight, and the morning trails were watery when Captain Jack and I hit the hill. Chilly enough for a sweatshirt, but calm, with air that had the fragrance of fall.
Plenty of birds—I suppose thanks to a change in wind direction—including a minor fallout of yellow-rumps, a very vocal kinglet, and some vocal woodpecker species. Most notable would be an Ovenbird that was hanging out with a Hermit Thrush. (They do look a little alike, I guess.)
To top things off, in afternoon, another dog (Oscar) and I walked the Rockland Breakwater—which will explain a few species listed below.
Beech Hill List Starting at 8:01 a.m. EST (9:01 DST), I hiked all trails.
This morning felt fall-like (which I guess makes sense, since it’s autumn): chilly, breezy, a little pungent, with a mostly blue sky above and a few fallen leaves below. Not many bird species today—although the Horned Lark was joined by another one today—and few numbers, just one or two of each.
Except for the Black-capped Chickadee. I saw and/or heard eight of those happy little year-round guys. Summer’s gone, but the chickadees are still out and about.
No wonder it’s Maine’s state bird.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:17 a.m. EST (8:17 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Black-capped Chickadee** 2. Northern Flicker (v) 3. White-breasted Nuthatch** (v) 4. Common Raven (v) 5. American Crow* (v) 6. Horned Lark 7. Song Sparrow 8. American Goldfinch (v) 9. Blue Jay** 10. Gray Catbird
