Woodland still life.
Are you a birder who owns a dog? Do you feel obliged to walk your dog while you bird? Well, I’m not sure what to tell you except I hope you’re as lucky as I am. Jack is an outstanding birding dog.
Chestnut-sided warbler.
Today we embarked on our trip up the wooded Beech Hill trail at just about exactly 6:30 a.m. Although the temperature had by that early hour already risen into the 50s (F), I put on a light hooded sweatshirt, thinking there might be wind at the summit. Turned out there was wind at the summit, and I’d dressed appropriately. Then again, in the wake of our tw0-and-a-half-hour hike, I ended up semi-bathed in sweat. In between times, I counted lots of birds.
In fact, a minor warbler wave was occurring in the trees overhanging the Rockville Street parking lot even as we drove up: ovenbird, northern parula, yellow-rumped, black-and-white, black-throated green. From there I also heard a crow, a robin, a common yellowthroat, a chickadee, and a titmouse—a total of ten birds before we even began to roam. Of course the farther we roamed, the more species I got to count.
Yellow warbler.
One unexpected listing was a bobolink, whose distinctive bouncy voice I heard as the bird flew by overhead. And I count a load of redstarts today—a load of warblers generally, in fact. Alas, none posed politely for photos. For instance, I spent a long time standing on the lower open trail’s short new section, which snakes up through young aspens, waiting for the appearance of a redstart that was calling loudly just beyond my field of view. It appeared only briefly: a black-and-red flash. Then a black-throated green turned up, also just beyond my view.
Oh, I got a few semi-decent shots—just not great ones.
Returning up the open trail, I stopped to listen for the crazy-voiced yellowthroat I’d heard yesterday—and sure enough it was calling in the same place again today. Honestly, it sounds like some completely different species. Outlandish.
Later this afternoon, I rode my bicycle 18 miles and was able to add a few uncounted birds along the way.
A sunny day. A warm one. A windy one, as well. And a starry night tonight—with a woodcock out there creating its miraculous flight song.
Savannah sparrow.
Beech Hill List
At 6:30 a.m., I walked all trails
1. American crow
2. Ovenbird
3. Black-capped chickadee
4. Black-and-white warbler (voice)
5. Black-throated green warbler (voice)
6. American robin
7. Northern parula (voice)
8. Yellow-rumped warbler
9. Common yellowthroat
10. Tufted titmouse (voice)
11. Chestnut-sided warbler
12. Rose-breasted grosbeak
13. American redstart
14. Blue jay
15. Red-eyed vireo
16. Eastern towhee
17. Gray catbird
18. American goldfinch
19. White-throated sparrow (voice)
20. Bobolink (voice)
21. Nashville warbler (voice)
22. Cedar waxwing (voice)
23. Mourning dove
24. Song sparrow
25. Tree swallow
26. Eastern phoebe
27. Savannah sparrow
28. Herring gull (voice)
29. Yellow warbler
30. Field sparrow (voice)
31. Hermit thrush (voice)
32. Northern flicker (voice)
33. Chipping sparrow (voice)
34. Blue-headed vireo (voice)
35. Hairy woodpecker (voice)
36. Black-throated blue warbler
37. Scarlet tanager (voice)
Elsewhere
38. White-breasted nuthatch
39. House finch
40. Northern cardinal
41. Great crested flycatcher (voice)
42. Rock pigeon
43. American woodcock
Natural graffiti.
