Another sunny day, and a mild one. My hike with dog was a tiny bit chilly to start—but it was downright hot when we got done. High temps in the 80s (F) today.
The birds were perhaps a bit quieter than on recent days, but my list still added up to thirty-four species. Notable was a persisting Prairie Warbler and a pair of hawks on the wing.
Tomorrow’s high is supposed to be twenty degrees cooler. Will be interesting to see how different my list will be.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:30 p.m. sun time (7:30 DST), I hiked all trails.
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.
A wonderfully overcast day. I love sunny days, of course, and snowy winter days, and days of every other kind of skies—but every so often comes a special overcast that seems to me protective, like a blanket. This was one of those.
What’s more, lots of birds—including a couple of firsts-of-year: Red-eyed Vireo and Great Crested Flycatcher. (Also a two firsts elsewhere.) And plenty of other resident species have yet to arrive, which makes for the certainty of near-future excitement.
Also had the honor of holding a Red-bellied Snake, for a moment, gently. The snake was another first of year.
The trails were dry this morning for the first time in a while, but a few overnight rain showers are forecast, then sun tomorrow. Already imagining what sort of day it’ll be.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:18 a.m. sun time (7:18 DST), I hiked all trails.