30 May 2023

Posts Tagged ‘swamp sparrow’

Bunting

Tuesday, November 1st, 2022
Snow Bunting (fem.), Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 01 November 2022.
Snow Bunting (fem.).

I expected another sun-soaked morning, but that was not the case: a low overcast cloaked Beech Hill—foggy, hazy, quiet. I didn’t mind, though. Especially the quiet. The light was dim, so I didn’t expect many decent photos, but the birds surprised me.

Sparrows (white-throated, swamp), robins, woodpeckers (downy, hairy, flicker), two nuthatch species, two corvids—and, randomly (and most noteworthy), a Snow Bunting in the lawn at the summit. Preening.

Down in the woods, we flushed a Ruffed Grouse, which I watched sail swiftly away into the trees.

(Still nice and wet in the woodlands, as well it should be.)

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 8:25 a.m., I hiked all trails.

1. Black-capped Chickadee**
2. White-breasted Nuthatch**
3. American Crow*
4. American Robin
5. American Goldfinch (v)
6. Yellow-rumped Warbler
7. Northern Flicker (v)
8. Snow Bunting†
9. Red-breasted Nuthatch
10. Dark-eyed Junco
11. Song Sparrow (v)
12. White-throated Sparrow
13. Swamp Sparrow
14. Hairy Woodpecker (v)
15. Downy Woodpecker
16. Blue Jay** (v)
17. Ruffed Grouse
18. Brown Creeper (v)
19. Eastern Bluebird (v)
20. Tufted Titmouse (v)

Elsewhere

21. Wild Turkey

(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere

†First-of-year

Fog & Sparrows

Wednesday, October 26th, 2022
Swamp Sparrow, Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 26 October 2022.
Swamp Sparrow.

Thicker fog this morning than yesterday. Rained overnight but let up at dawn, as forecast, just in time for a nice damp hike for dog and me. Didn’t expect a lot of bird action—certainly no decent photos in such dim light—but was surprised to find both.

Mostly photos of sparrows: Savannah, song, white-crowned, white-throated, swamp—and a passel of juncos. Sparrows lining the trail in the grass and in small trees, leading us up and down the hill.

I shall fondly remember this fine, wet day.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 8:24 a.m., I hiked all trails.

1. American Crow*
2. White-throated Sparrow
3. American Robin
4. Yellow-rumped Warbler
5. Song Sparrow
6. Northern Flicker
7. Dark-eyed Junco
8. Black-capped Chickadee** (v)
9. White-breasted Nuthatch (v)
10. Brown Creeper (v)
11. Hairy Woodpecker (v)
12. Savannah Sparrow
13. Swamp Sparrow
14. White-crowned Sparrow
15. Wild Turkey*

Elsewhere

16. Herring Gull

(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere

†First-of-year

Sparrows in the Rain

Monday, October 24th, 2022
Dark-eyed Junco, Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 24 October 2022.
Dark-eyed Junco.

Rain overnight continued into early morning, but dog and I were not to be denied. The weather radar showed a break about mid-morning, so we headed up to what turned out to be a damp and misty hill.

Still a lot of fun, though. Plenty of smells for Jack to enjoy, and I listed a dozen bird species—many of them sparrows. Juncos, white-crowneds, songs, swamps, white-throats. Yellow-rumps, of course, and a flicker, and a cardinal and kinglet down by the road.

We got pretty good and wet, but that’s all part of the fun. Especially since I managed to keep my camera dry.

More rain tonight, but it should ease up in the morning, when we’ll be joined in our fun by a friend.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 9:50 a.m., I hiked all trails.

1. Golden-crowned Kinglet (v)
2. American Crow*
3. Northern Cardinal**
4. Song Sparrow
5. Dark-eyed Junco
6. White-crowned Sparrow
7. Yellow-rumped Warbler
8. White-throated Sparrow (v)
9. Blue Jay (v)
10. Northern Flicker
11. Black-capped Chickadee (v)
12. Swamp Sparrow

Mammals

Eastern Chipmunk
Eastern Gray Squirrel

(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere

†First-of-year

 
Bird Report is a (sometimes intermittent) record of the birds I encounter while hiking, see while driving, or spy outside my window. —Brian Willson



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