This morning’s forecast rain arrived with a vengeance. Well, not a vengeance, exactly, but it postponed my hike with dog for a couple hours. Had no idea what to expect in the wake of the all that soaking rain—and yet there were birds.
Notable was the flyby of a croaking raven. Also a little flurry of species down in the woods again. Best photo was an immature male yellowthroat.
Beech Hill List Starting at 8:55 a.m. EST (9:55 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Black-capped Chickadee** 2. Tufted Titmouse (v) 3. Blue Jay (v) 4. Northern Flicker 5. Red-eyed Vireo 6. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v) 7. Black-and-white Warbler 8. Chestnut-sided Warbler 9. American Crow* (v) 10. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 11. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 12. Eastern Towhee 13. Hermit Thrush 14. Gray Catbird** 15. Song Sparrow 16. American Goldfinch 17. Downy Woodpecker (v) 18. Common Raven 19. Cedar Waxwing 20. Common Yellowthroat
Elsewhere
21. Herring Gull 22. Mourning Dove 23. Ring-billed Gull (v) 24. Osprey 25. House Sparrow (v)
Mammals
American Red Squirrel (v)
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Again we encountered relatively few bird species this warm, muggy morning, dog and I. However, one of my early sightings was a Broad-winged Hawk in the woodlands. Broad-wings are forest hawks, and I see a few every year. Typically, I’ll spy one when it leaves a perch to fly a little distance away from an approaching dog and human. Most of the time I can find their new perch—which is what happened this morning.
Also noteworthy was a singing Blue-headed Vireo, a sign (to me, at least) that birds are beginning to think about fall migration. Can hardly wait.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:04 a.m. EST (8:04 DST), I hiked all trails.
I didn’t expect to awaken to a foggy morning today, but there it was. The fog made for a cooler ascent for dog and me, however, and when it lifted—before too awful long—things warmed up pretty quickly. But every day is its own miracle, and the bird life will always surprise.
Notable, today, might be the fact that I had four woodpeckers on my list—a fourth of my final species count. Migratory birds are still gearing up for takeoff, clearly. It’ll be happening soon enough.
Can hardly wait.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:22 a.m. EST (8:22 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Gray Catbird** 2. American Crow* (v) 3. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v) 4. Song Sparrow 5. Downy Woodpecker (v) 6. Northern Flicker 7. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v) 8. Pileated Woodpecker (v) 9. American Goldfinch (v) 10. Cedar Waxwing 11. Yellow-rumped Warbler 12. Common Yellowthroat (v) 13. Hairy Woodpecker (v) 14. Black-capped Chickadee 15. Blue Jay (v) 16. Eastern Wood-pewee (v)
Elsewhere
17. Herring Gull 18. Mourning Dove
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
