Cooler and damper after yesterday’s rain, sunny with a bit of a breeze. I truly had no expectations, just figured I’d hear and/or see a few birds, maybe learn a thing or two.
And I did—both. Notably, I heard/saw a Least Flycatcher, and spied a Red Crossbill (fem./imm.—first I’ve seen on the hill) high on a spruce at the summit and, in the woods toward the end of our hike, I heard two species of tanager.
First was a Scarlet Tanager, which I hunted for up in the leafy canopy but could not get a look at. Finally I spotted the bird apparently being chased by another tanager. And then I heard the voice of the other tanager—a Summer Tanager. Couldn’t get a good bead on that one, either, although I did watch it fly away
I’ll be keeping my eye peeled for tanagers going forward.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:22 a.m., I hiked most trails.
1. Song Sparrow** 2. Ovenbird 3. Red-eyed Vireo** 4. Black-throated Green Warbler (v) 5. Veery 6. Gray Catbird 7. Chestnut-sided Warbler 8. Eastern Towhee 9. Common Yellowthroat 10. American Crow* 11. American Goldfinch** 12. Black-and-white Warbler 13. Black-capped Chickadee** 14. Field Sparrow 15. Alder Flycatcher (v) 16. Yellow Warbler 19. Cedar Waxwing 20. Red Crossbill† 21. Purple Finch 22. American Robin* 23. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v) 24. Prairie Warbler 25. Least Flycatcher 26. Tufted Titmouse (v) 27. Herring Gull* 28. Broad-winged Hawk 29. Hermit Thrush (v) 30. Pileated Woodpecker (v) 31. Eastern Wood-pewee 32. Scarlet Tanager (v) 33. Summer Tanager (v)
Elsewhere
34. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
Mammals
Eastern Chipmunk
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
A warm morning, with mosquitos about. Cloudless, little wend. Felt a lot like summer.
Speaking of—I heard another singing Summer Tanager down in the bottomlands. Marched off trail for a while but never did get even a peak at the bird. Will try again tomorrow.
A lovely hike, with sweat galore,
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:20 a.m., I hiked most trails.
1. Ovenbird 2. Northern Cardinal** (v) 3. Red-eyed Vireo** 4. American Crow* 5. American Goldfinch (v) 6. Black-throated Green Warbler (v) 7. Chestnut-sided Warbler 8. American Redstart** (v) 9. Summer Tanager (v) 10. Veery 11. Hairy Woodpecker 12. Gray Catbird 13. Black-capped Chickadee** 14. Black-and-white Warbler 15. Eastern Towhee 16. Common Yellowthroat 17. Song Sparrow 18. Yellow Warbler 19. Field Sparrow (v) 20. Purple Finch (v) 21. Cedar Waxwing 22. Eastern Phoebe 23. Savannah Sparrow (v) 24. Mourning Dove 25. American Robin 26. Alder Flycatcher (v) 27. Hermit Thrush (v) 28. House Wren 29. Northern Flicker 30. Tree Swallow 31. Red-breasted Nuthatch 32. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 33.Broad-winged Hawk 34. Tufted Titmouse (v) 35. Common Raven (v) 36 Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 37. Wood Thrush (v)
Elsewhere
38. House Finch 39. Rock Pigeon
Mammals
White-tailed Deer
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
After hearing the song of a vagrant Summer Tanager yesterday, I wondered if I might hear the bird again this lovely June morning. And, sure enough, in the woodlands just below where I heard it yesterday, there it was again.
So I decided that dog and I would slip off trail to see, for the first time, the only fully red songbird in North America—and perhaps even snag a photo. [Note: I saw my very first Summer Tanager, a comely yellow female, a few weeks ago not far from this same spot.] Tell you what, it takes a lot to convince me to leave the trail into the realm of ticks and poison ivy.
We snuck toward the song and got quite near, but the bird seemed to be singing high in the canopy, with smaller leafy trees blocking my view. We moved slowly around for perhaps ten minutes, and it kept singing—until, suddenly, I heard my first real life alarm notes from this species. Decided to call off the search in hopes we hadn’t chased this fancy vagrant away.
Guess maybe we’ll find out tomorrow.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 8:10 a.m., I hiked most trails.
1. Red-eyed vireo** (v) 2. Ovenbird 3. Song Sparrow** 4. Common Yellowthroat (v) 5. Eastern Phoebe* 6. Black-throated Green Warbler (v) 7. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 8. Hermit Thrush (v) 9. Veery 10. Chestnut-sided Warbler 11. Brown Creeper (v) 12. American Crow* 13. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 14. Black-and-white Warbler (v) 15. Eastern Towhee 16. American Goldfinch** 17. Tufted Titmouse 18. Summer Tanager (v) 19. American Robin* 20. Alder Flycatcher 21. Gray Catbird 22. Chipping Sparrow (v) 23. Purple Finch 24. Prairie Warbler (v) 25. Field Sparrow 26. Tree Swallow 27. Turkey Vulture 28. Osprey 29. House Wren 30. Broad-winged Hawk 31. Cedar Waxwing 32. American Redstart (v) 33. Northern Parula (v)
Elsewhere
34. Herring Gull 35. House Sparrow 36. Rock Pigeon
Mammals
Gray Squirrel Meadow Vole
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
