What a difference a day makes, so they say. Yesterday galloped in like a wild river rider, fast and bucking and splashing water all over everything. Today dawned cloudless and merely breezy. As expected, fallen branches littered all preserve trails (along with a couple of toppled trees). I managed to neaten things pretty well, though—and was rewarded with a nice selection of bird species.
Notable were a hummingbird, a fish hawk, a vulture. And elsewhere—including a pleasant drive down a coastal peninsula—a kingfisher, geese, and an eagle.
Simply a lovely September day.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:28 a.m. EST (8:28 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Black-capped Chickadee** (v) 2. Blue Jay** (v) 3. Tufted Titmouse (v) 4. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 5. Gray Catbird 6. American Crow* 7. American Goldfinch (v) 8. Osprey 9. Eastern Towhee (v) 10. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 11. Turkey Vulture* 12. American Robin (v) 13. Cedar Waxwing 14. Northern Flicker** (v) 15. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 16. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
Elsewhere
17. Herring Gull 18. Belted Kingfisher 19. Rock Pigeon 20. Canada Goose 21. Bald Eagle
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
The temperature dipped into the 50s (F) overnight, and a stout breeze was blowing when dog and I headed up the wooded trail. Very few birds made themselves known at first—my list had only five or six species by the time we reached the summit—but one of them (I found out later) proved to be rather exciting.
Not until I looked at my photo of the Swainson’s Thrush did I recognize it. (I’d assumed it was a Hermit Thrush, one of which I’d seen shortly before.) I’ve encountered only a handful of the species at Beech Hill—usually, it seems, at about this season. This one turned out to be today’s highlight.
Tomorrow—for the first time in I cannot remember how long—we might not go hiking in the morning. There’s a tropical storm warning: We’re in the path of Hurricane Lee. Gonna be very wet and very windy. We shall see!
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:14 a.m. EST (8:14 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 2. Tufted Titmouse (v) 3. Hermit Thrush 4. Swainson’s Thrush 5. American Crow* 6. Black-capped Chickadee** 7. Common Yellowthroat (v) 8. Eastern Towhee (v) 9. Song Sparrow** 10. Red-breasted Nuthatch 11. Turkey Vulture 12. American Goldfinch 13. American Robin (v) 14. Blue Jay** (v)
Elsewhere
15. Carolina Wren (v) 16. House Finch (v) 17. House Sparrow (v) 18. Herring Gull 19. Osprey 20. Rock Pigeon 21. Mallard
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Another wet one. Rain early, fog and overcast. And another day—third day?—of migrating birds flitting through the wooded canopy.
Many were warblers: redstart, yellow, black-and-white, yellowthroat. Most were quiet and required an eagle eye to ID. Only one posed for a photo, a Chestnut-sided Warbler.
More rain and sun to come—and the remnants of a hurricane this weekend.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:14 a.m. EST (8:14 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Eastern Towhee 2. Herring Gull* (v) 3. Song Sparrow 4. Blue Jay** (v) 5. American Crow* 6. Pileated Woodpecker (v) 7. American Goldfinch 8. Yellow Warbler (v) 9. Common Yellowthroat 10. Gray Catbird** 11. Black-capped Chickadee 12. Chestnut-sided Warbler 13. American Redstart 14. Red-eyed Vireo 15. American Robin (v) 16. Hairy Woodpecker 17. Northern Flicker (v) 18. Black-and-white Warbler 19. Broad-winged Hawk
Elsewhere
20. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 21. Tufted Titmouse (v) 22. Rock Pigeon 23. House Sparrow (v) 24. Northern Cardinal
Mammals
American Red Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
