A cool overcast this morning, with a slight breeze and moisture in the trees. Very quiet in the woods, a bit less so in the open fields. Most notable was an Olive-sided Flycatcher perched high atop a summit spruce and a hummingbird buzzing around my head along the leafy trail below.
Birds are moving around these days, with the time of fall migration approaching. Witness a bluebird and three robins in the woods.
Precipitation expected for tomorrow. I wonder what the day will bring.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:09 a.m. EST (8:09 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Tufted Titmouse (v) 2. American Goldfinch* 3. American Crow* 4. Eastern Wood-pewee** (v) 5. Gray Catbird* 6. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 7. Ruby-throated Hummingbird (humming) 8. Eastern Towhee 9. Yellow Warbler 10. Song Sparrow 11. Olive-sided Flycatcher† 12. Cedar Waxwing 13. Common Yellowthroat (v) 14. American Robin 15. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 16. Ovenbird 17. Eastern Bluebird 18. Eastern Phoebe (v)
Elsewhere
19. Herring Gull 20. Osprey (v) 21. Rock Pigeon
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
It seemed a little early to have a tanager show up on the hill during my morning hike with dog, but there he was. I heard him first—as is nearly always the case—and crept up close enough for a photo. Last year I don’t believe I encountered a tanager at all (not sure), but know I didn’t see one. They used to arrive in late May, early June. A sign of warming? Likely so.
Coincidentally, about the same time I spied the tanager, I noticed an Olive-sided Flycatcher perched high on a small snag, with nothing but blue sky beyond. Those were the only firsts-of-year on our hike this morning.
But what a fun and lovely morning it was.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 6:05 a.m. sun time (7:05 DST), I hiked all trails.
Fifteen species this chilly (50s (F)!) overcast late morning when dog and I arrived at the trailhead. We waited out the rain this time, and the trails were not too muddy. Quite a few more bird species, including some lessd familiar ones.
Hard to get decent photos in the dim-light conditions, but at the very end of our hike, a hawk soared over.
Grandeur Peak Area List At 10:24 a.m. (11:24 MDT), I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
