Black-capped chickadee.

I almost didn’t make it. Light-but-steady rain, temps about 49 degrees (F). The world sounded swooshy and felt damp and cold. But Jack, my dog, snapped me out of it. So we took a quick hike at 8 a.m.

We got real wet. Walked swiftly up and down. Didn’t run into many birds—they were laying low. Counted an even dozen, half of them warblers. Heard all twelve, but saw only two: catbird and chickadee. A couple of times I thought I heard some other species—say, a crow or sparrow—but the swoosh of the rain on the newly unfurled spring leaves made the listening difficult.

No matter: the wetness and chill and mud and velocity made me feel alive.

Beech Hill trail.

Beech Hill List
At 8 a.m., I walked the wooded trails.

1. Common yellowthroat
2. Chestnut-sided warbler (voice)
3. American redstart (voice)
4. Gray catbird
5. Eastern towhee (voice)
6. Ovenbird (voice)
7. Savannah sparrow (voice)
8. Blue jay (voice)
9. Northern flicker (voice)
10. Black-and-white warbler (voice)
11. Black-throated green warbler (voice)
12. Black-capped chickadee

Elsewhere

American crow
Common grackle
Herring gull
House finch