This first day of autumn brought a morning much like yesterday’s: sunny, cool, and fragrant. It also brought a surprising bird species: a Horned Lark. They’re not rare on the hill, but they typically come in small flocks. I rarely see just one, as I did today. An immature male, the bird was poking around the edges of the main trail—and at one point got very near to dog and me as we stood still, and I took photos.
Another oddball was a Nashville Warbler (haven’t seen any since spring, and few then), adult and juvie Hermit Thrush, and a bunch of the usual suspects.
All in all, a fun one.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:24 a.m. EST (8:24 DST), I hiked all trails.
It was a cool one, this morning. I hesitate to say I smelled a whiff of fall, considering autumn’s still a month away, but the weather conditions weren’t the only signs of the changing seasons. A number of migratory birds seemed to be revving up for a journey.
A pair of sharpies, for instance, circling in the cloudless sky, the smaller male occasionally charging at the larger female. Vultures also circled overhead. And in the woods tiny warblers chased and flitted nervously.
“Time doth flit,” wrote Dorothy Parker. It won’t be long, I suppose.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:06 a.m. EST (8:06 DST), I hiked all trails.
I prepared for light rain to fall throughout my hike with dog this morning, but it was not to be. Overcast, cool, incredibly calm, and a bit humid—but no precipitation until just a faint misting as we headed back to the truck.
Many of the usual suspects showed up, as expected. Waxwings continue to flutter through clouds of treetop flies. But he big news? It didn’t rain.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:53 a.m. EST (7:53 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Eastern Towhee 2. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 3. American Goldfinch** 4. Blue Jay** (v) 5. Downy Woodpecker (v) 6. Cedar Waxwing 7. Yellow Warbler 8. Common Yellowthroat 9. Song Sparrow 10. Field Sparrow (v) 11. Gray Catbird* 12. American Robin 13. American Crow* 14. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 15. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 16. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 17. Tufted Titmouse (v) 18. Purple Finch 19. Northern Cardinal
Elsewhere
20. Wild Turkey 21. Herring Gull
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
