When Jack and I hit the trail, a lusty west wind was blowing the sweet smells of spring up and over the hill. Mid-May—the calendar days when the season explodes in ferns and flowers and greenery. And the birds do sing.

Another birdy one (including a crow haranguing a raven and first-of-year Red-eyed Vireo). The wind carrying birdsong all over the place. The birds themselves didn’t perch very high on the windy side, but still they sang. And on the leafy east side, the enchanting strains of a Hermit Thrush pervaded the understory.

Oh, and also: a loon flew over at one point, calling.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:57 a.m., I hiked most trails.

1. Chestnut-sided Warbler**
2. Ovenbird**
3. Black-throated Green Warbler**
4. Common Yellowthroat (v)
5. American Robin
6. Blue Jay
7. American Crow*
8. Black-capped Chickadee*
9. Hairy Woodpecker (v)
10. Northern Parula
11. Northern Cardinal** (v)
12. Gray Catbird
13. Black-and-white Warbler**
14. Eastern Towhee
15. Tufted Titmouse (v)
16. Ruby-throated Hummingbird (v)
17. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
18. Yellow Warbler
19. Song Sparrow**
20. Field Sparrow (v)
21. White-throated Sparrow (v)
22. Chipping Sparrow**
23. Tree Swallow
24. Broad-winged Hawk (v)
25. Common Loon
26. Common Raven
27. Nashville Warbler (v)
28. Hermit Thrush
29. Red-eyed Vireo†
30. Blue-headed Vireo

Elsewhere

30. Mallard
31. European Starling
32. Herring Gull

(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year