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)
A cool overcast this morning, with a slight breeze and moisture in the trees. Very quiet in the woods, a bit less so in the open fields. Most notable was an Olive-sided Flycatcher perched high atop a summit spruce and a hummingbird buzzing around my head along the leafy trail below.
Birds are moving around these days, with the time of fall migration approaching. Witness a bluebird and three robins in the woods.
Precipitation expected for tomorrow. I wonder what the day will bring.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:09 a.m. EST (8:09 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Tufted Titmouse (v) 2. American Goldfinch* 3. American Crow* 4. Eastern Wood-pewee** (v) 5. Gray Catbird* 6. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 7. Ruby-throated Hummingbird (humming) 8. Eastern Towhee 9. Yellow Warbler 10. Song Sparrow 11. Olive-sided Flycatcher† 12. Cedar Waxwing 13. Common Yellowthroat (v) 14. American Robin 15. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 16. Ovenbird 17. Eastern Bluebird 18. Eastern Phoebe (v)
Elsewhere
19. Herring Gull 20. Osprey (v) 21. Rock Pigeon
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
’Twas a cool and quiet morning when dog and I started up the wooded trailhead. A few bird vocalizations greeted us, but not a lot. Adults still talking to their young ’uns, mostly or, rarely, singing—or teaching their young ’uns the family tunes.
Fog at the summit, and dimness elsewhere early, so no award-winning photos, but a chickadee posed toward the end of our hike.
Later in the day the sun came out and giant billowy clouds rose above the bay.
Beech Hill List Starting at 6:58 a.m. EST (7:58 DST), I hiked all trails.