What a morning. Nippier than yesterday but much brighter, and with a wide array of bird species. In fact, after five or six days of eighteen or nineteen (mostly nineteen) spp. on my list, today I ended up with twenty-one. (Was happy enough to have had twenty, until I looked at photos this evening and saw one of a raven.)
Captain Jack and I had fun. Didn’t meet anyone else on the trail until we’d nearly finished our round-trip. Highlights for me were the pair of harriers, the pair of red-tails, a posting yellow-rump, and more.
March is about over. Mud Season is nearly here. Soon I’ll be able to report many more firsts-of-year.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7 a.m. sun time (8 stupid DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Tufted Titmouse 2. White-breasted Nuthatch 3. Black-capped Chickadee 4. Downy Woodpecker 5. American Goldfinch 6. American Crow 7. Pileated Woodpecker 8. Brown Creeper 9. Herring Gull 10. American Robin 11. Red-winged Blackbird 12. Northern Cardinal 13. Blue Jay 14. Yellow-rumped Warbler 15. Song Sparrow 16. Northern Harrier 17. Eastern Bluebird 18. Red-tailed Hawk 19. Red-breasted Nuthatch 20. Common Raven 21. Hairy Woodpecker
Elsewhere
22. Mallard 23. Wild Turkey
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
This morning dawned mostly clear with light winds and temperatures right around freezing. What with the sun’s brightness, I had hopes of some decent photos for a change—and I got a few.
Notable was a singing Brown Creeper right by the wooded trailhead. Also singing were chickadees, robins, titmice, Song Sparrows, and bluebirds. The bluebirds were apparently laying claim to a couple of bird boxes, and a yellow-rump posed nearby for photos.
Every day lately has affirmed the certainty of spring. I do love this wet, moist, liquid time of year.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:43 a.m. sun time (7:43 dumb time), I hiked all trails.
1. Blue Jay 2. Northern Cardinal** (v) 3. Brown Creeper 4. White-breasted Nuthatch 5. Eastern Bluebird 6. American Crow* 7. Tufted Titmouse** (v) 8. Black-capped Chickadee** 9. Mallard* 10. Downy Woodpecker** (v) 11. American Goldfinch** 12. Hairy Woodpecker (v) 13. American Robin** 14. Red-winged Blackbird (v) 15. Herring Gull* (v) 16. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v) 17. Song Sparrow** 18. Yellow-rumped Warbler 19. Northern Flicker (v)
Elsewhere
20. Mourning Dove 21. Wild Turkey
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Oddly, it being a Saturday, dog and I didn’t meet anyone else on the trail this morning. Not counting wild birds. Because the air—chilly though it was—still seemed awful springy.
Notable on the list were the cries of a Red-shouldered Hawk, the booming drums of a partridge, and a harrier flyby. Bluebirds and yellow-rumps still, along with woodpeckers, tits, corvids, a couple gulls, and a sweetly singing Song Sparrow.
Supposed to snow a little tonight and rain tomorrow, but I don’t expect it to be any less springy.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:46 a.m. (7:46 fake time), I hiked all trails.
