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
It was nice to have Jack with me again this morning. The weather as we ascended was gray and foggy, but as we hiked, the fog lifted, and the sun emerged. Few species still, and still a nervousness in the air.
Most notably, perhaps: Whereas as soon as we got out of the truck, I heard the call of a Pileated Woodpecker up above us in the oaks somewhere but I never could find it, later, in the woods, we spooked a hawk, which flew off in the canopy, but somehow I spotted it on distant perch. And got its photo.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:46 a.m. EST (8:46 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Pileated Woodpecker (v) 2. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 3. Eastern Towhee 4. Gray Catbird 5. Common Yellowthroat 6. Song Sparrow 7. American Goldfinch (v) 8. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 9. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 10. American Robin 11. Blue Jay (v) 12. Cedar Waxwing 13. Black-capped Chickadee 14. Broad-winged Hawk 15. American Crow (v) 16. Tufted Titmouse (v)
Today was a special day that only happens once a year: Audubon Christmas Bird Count Day. It’d been four years since I’d participated, and I was really looking forward to it. It did not disappoint.
In fact, among the birds we spotted at the Rockland Breakwater (which I hadn’t walked since Jack’s and my return from Salt Lake City back in April) was a lifer for me: Dunlin. Fact is while heading out across the great granite blocks, I nearly stepped on the bird. (OK, it was maybe eight or ten feet away.) There were a pair that I saw (although my birding pals saw a third). Not every day you get a lifer.
Brown Creeper.
Many other species also (see below), and then I returned home for Jack and right away we hiked Beech Hill—albeit a little later than usual.
Notable at the hill were a posing Brown Creeper and the call of an Evening Grosbeak in overflight. Snow up there (not much here, a mile and a half away).
I kinda like the end of the year but, to me, every day is a holiday.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 10:02 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Blue Jay (v) 2. American Crow* (v) 3. Golden-crowned Kinglet (v) 4. Downy Woodpecker** (v) 5. Brown Creeper 6. Evening Grosbeak (v) 7. Black-capped Chickadee** 8. Red-breasted Nuthatch** (v) 9. Northern Flicker 10. Tufted Titmouse (v)
Elsewhere
11. Mallard 12. Herring Gull 13. Great Black-backed Gull 14. Ring-billed Gull 15. House Sparrow 16. House Finch 17. Common Goldeneye 18. Common Loon 19. Horned Grebe 20. Long-tailed Duck 21. Black Guillemot 22. Purple Sandpiper 23. Canada Goose 24. American Wigeon 25. Surf Scoter 26. Bufflehead 27. Red-breasted Merganser 28. Dunlin‡ 29. Common Eider 30. Ring-billed Gull
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year ‡Lifer
