They’re everywhere at this time of year. I’m talking about Yellow-rumped Warblers—a.k.a. (in the lingo of my birding crowd) “Butter Butts” or just “’Rumps.” There they were on this nippy, breezy, cloudless morning, flitting about in their drab fall plumage, delivering their familiar dry chip notes, by far the most abundant of the migratory species.
Also had white-throats and kinglets again, heard the voice of a Red-shouldered Hawk, had a couple other cool migrants. But just about everywhere dog and I walked, we were accompanied by yellow-rumps.
Will miss them when they’re gone.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:48 a.m. EST (8:48 DST), I hiked all trails.
Ah, what a lovely cool, clear, breezy morning. As we headed up through the woods, dog and I, we encountered more birds than in the past few days—and a few notable species not encountered in a good while. A Philadelphia Vireo, for instance, and the call of a Canada Warbler, and a juvie chippy poking about in the canopy.
The largest mouthful of caterpillars, however, belonged to a clucking Hermit Thrush which agreeably posed for a photo.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:09 a.m. EST (8:09 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Blue Jay (v) 2. Tufted Titmouse (v) 3. American Goldfinch** 4. Red-eyed Vireo 5. White-breasted Nuthatch 6. Eastern Wood-pewee 7. Black-capped Chickadee 8. Black-and-white Warbler 9. Chipping Sparrow 10. Philadelphia Vireo† 11. Hermit Thrush 12. Ovenbird 13. Eastern Towhee (v) 14. American Crow* 15. Canada Warbler† 16. Gray Catbird** (v) 17. Common Yellowthroat** (v) 18. Song Sparrow 19. Turkey Vulture 20. Herring Gull* 21. American Redstart 22. Cedar Waxwing
Elsewhere
23. Mourning Dove 24. Northern Cardinal (v) 25. Wild Turkey
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Nice cool, breezy, sunny morning. Lots of bird activity—highlights being a singing Northern Parula, and a Philadelphia Vireo that appeared in the summit spruce grove.
Met a fellow birder and had a nice chat about photography.
Got home and put a tonneau cover on my pickup. (Just threw that in for factual authenticity.)
Beech Hill List Beginning at 715 a.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 2. American Crow* 3. Chestnut-sided Warbler 4. Song Sparrow** 5. Chipping Sparrow* 6. Ovenbird (v) 7. Common Yellowthroat 8. Alder Flycatcher (v) 9. Mourning Dove* 10. Gray Catbird 11. Eastern Towhee 12. Yellow Warbler (v) 13. Field Sparrow (v) 14. American Goldfinch** 15. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 16. Tufted Titmouse (v) 17. Eastern Phoebe 18. Eastern Towhee 19. Cedar Waxwing 20. Veery** (v) 21. Northern Parula (v) 22. Red-breasted Nuthatch 23. Philadelphia Vireo 24. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 25. Common Raven (v) 26. Barn Swallow 27. Purple Finch (v) 28. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v) 29. American Redstart (v)
Elsewhere
30. Herring Gull
v = Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere
