Another foggy morning hike, which dog and I began at the main trailhead—opposite side of the hill from the scene of the toppling of the mama maple. Despite the dim light and dewy atmosphere, a bunch of birds made their presence known (mostly by voice). Many were tending to young ones.
Most notable perhaps was the pair of Northern Flickers that appeared in the woods on the opposite sides of the same dead tree.
And rather amazing was the fact that the talented, responsive staff of Coastal Mountains Land Trust had made such quick work of clearing the trail of the remnants of the age-old maple tree.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:09 a.m. EST (8:09 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Eastern Phoebe** 2. Northern Cardinal (v) 3. American Goldfinch** 4. Chestnut-sided Warbler** 5. Veery (v) 6. Red-eyed Vireo (v) 7. Ovenbird (v) 8. American Crow* (v) 9. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 10. Northern Parula (v) 11. Song Sparrow 12. Common Yellowthroat 13. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v) 14. Field Sparrow 15. Yellow Warbler 16. Mourning Dove* 17. American Robin* 18. Gray Catbird** 19. Eastern Towhee** 20. Cedar Waxwing 21. Northern Flicker 22. Blue Jay (v) 23. Hermit Thrush (v) 24. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 25. Brown Creeper (v) 26. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 27. Pileated Woodpecker (v) 28. Black-throated Green Warbler (v) 29. Hairy Woodpecker (v) 30. Black-and-white Warbler**
Elsewhere
31. Mallard 32. Herring Gull 33. Rock Pigeon
Mammals
Eastern Chipmunk White-tailed Deer American Red Squirrel
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Within seconds after dog and I started up the wooded trail this morning, my world shifted. Up ahead of us I saw that the big mama maple tree near the trailhead, likely progenitor of the many other maples in the sugarbush there, had fallen across the trail. A huge tree she was, and handsome enough that I’ve taken dozens (scores?) of photos of her over the years, and there before us lay her fat trunk and thick leafy branches—some of them broken, some nearby trees scraped from nearby trees… What a surprise, what a shock, what a sound she must’ve made at the end.
Somehow, we wiggled through the obstacles and continued on a hike that was very different from usual—and will surely be a memorable one.
Birds were good—two vocal, chasing ravens among them—but they were not the most notable part of this day.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:09 a.m. EST (8:09 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 2. American Goldfinch 3. Ovenbird** (v) 4. Wood Thrush (v) 5. Veery (v) 6. Blue Jay (v) 7. Pileated Woodpecker (v) 8. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 9. Black-capped Chickadee** 10. Common Raven 11. Osprey (v) 12. Brown Creeper (v) 13. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 14. Gray Catbird 15. Eastern Towhee 16. American Crow* (v) 17. Hermit Thrush (v) 18. Chestnut-sided Warbler 19. Alder Flycatcher (v) 20. Song Sparrow** 21. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 22. Common Yellowthroat 23. Field Sparrow (v) 24. Yellow Warbler (v) 25. American Robin (v) 26. Northern Flicker 27. Black-throated Green Warbler** (v) 28. Tufted Titmouse (v) 29. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v) 30. Eastern Bluebird (v) 31. Cedar Waxwing (v) 32. Eastern Phoebe 33. Black-and-white Warbler**
Elsewhere
34. Mallard 35. Mourning Dove 36. Herring Gull 37. House Finch 38. Swamp Sparrow† (v) 39. Red-winged Blackbird (v)
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
The prognosticators were right: fog this morning. Not real warm, but warm enough to feel the impressive humidity of the air. And the birds—many more birds than just a couple months ago—didn’t seem to mind.
Many more birds because of reproduction, of course. And still the mission of keeping all those fledglings safe and healthy is in the misty air.
I often wonder just how many more birds are fluttering around at this time of year than there were at, say, the beginning of May. Twice as many? Three times as many? More?
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:49 a.m. EST (8:49 DST), I hiked all trails.
