A cool, cloudless morning greeted dog and me as we headed up the wooded trail. By “cool,” I mean mid- to upper-50s (F). But once we hit the open fields, the sun warmed us up a bit—and, considering his thick coat, Jack didn’t much mind the little chill.
Birds were about, and moving. Notable, today, were the three flycatchers that showed up. In the woods, a wood-pewee perched on a snag and sang, occasionally making a quick flight to catch a fly. Nearing the summit, I caught sight of a young Alder Flycatcher (a species that prefers open areas)—and, nearby, a Least Flycatcher.
Between those three species and the waxwings that perched high in the summit spruce grove and dined on a fly hatch, the population of flies dipped quite a bit today.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:20 a.m. EST (8:20 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. White-breasted Nuthatch** 2. Black-capped Chickadee 3. Blue Jay (v) 4. Downy Woodpecker (v) 5. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 6. American Goldfinch 7. Eastern Wood-pewee 8. Tufted Titmouse (v) 9. Black-and-white Warbler 10. Gray Catbird** 11. Eastern Towhee 12. Cedar Waxwing 13. Alder Flycatcher 14. Song Sparrow 15. American Crow* (v) 16. Veery (v) 17. Common Yellowthroat 18. American Robin 19. Turkey Vulture 20. Northern Flicker (v) 21. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 22. Least Flycatcher
Elsewhere
23. Herring Gull 24. Belted Kingfisher
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Again Jack and I hiked the Ragged Mountain Snow Bowl trails with our best dog and human friends. Warm again but not as bright, with rain in the late-morning forecast. Not the number of bird species as last time, but still a fun hike in a different place with a lot going on.
Saw my first bluebird fledgling up there perched on a lift cable. Also a starling clearly nesting somewhere up there among the gears.
Tomorrow it’ll be back to Beech Hill, but we’ll hit the mountain again soon, I bet.
(An alphabetized list again.)
Camden Snow Bowl Trails List Starting at 6:48 a.m. EST (7:48 DST), I hiked some Camden Snow Bowl trails.
1. Alder Flycatcher 2. American Goldfinch 3. American Redstart (v) 4. American Robin* 5. Baltimore Oriole (v) 6. Black-and-white Warbler (v) 7. Brown Creeper (v) 8. Cedar Waxwing 9. Chipping Sparrow (v) 10. Common Yellowthroat (v) 11. Eastern Bluebird 12. Eastern Phoebe* (v) 13. Eastern Towhee (v) 14. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 15. European Starling 16. Great Crested Flycatcher 17. Least Flycatcher (v) 18. Mourning Dove** (v) 19. Ovenbird (v) 20. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 21. Red-winged Blackbird 22. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (v) 24. Scarlet Tanager (v) 24. Song Sparrow* 25. Tree Swallow 26. Tufted Titmouse (v) 27. Turkey Vulture 28. Wild Turkey 29. Yellow Warbler (v)
Elsewhere
30. Mallard 31. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v) 32. American Crow
Mammals
Eastern Chipmunk
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Black-throated Green Warbler (singing with its mouth full).
This morning dawned sunny and pleasantly cool, mid- to upper-50s (F). The forecasters suggested it’d get warmer, which gave me the idea of hiking over the hill and down the trail to the Erickson Fields Preserve. So that’s what dog and I did.
Was a long hike—both time-wise and miles-wise—but well worth it. The Erickson Fields trail traverses quite a different habitat from Beech Hill’s hardwoods and barrens (old-growth spruce/pine and grasslands), which support a notably different array of wild birds. Had multiple Black-throated Blue Warblers, saw a bunch of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, even heard the very high-pitched song of a Blackburnian Warbler. And at the far end was a grassy field with Barn Swallows zipping around.
I’m astonished that I waited so long to take that lovely hike. We’ll be doing it again real soon, dog and I.
Beech Hill/Erickson Fields List Starting at 6:09 a.m. EST (7:09 DST), I hiked all trails at both preserves.
