Within seconds after dog and I started up the wooded trail this morning, my world shifted. Up ahead of us I saw that the big mama maple tree near the trailhead, likely progenitor of the many other maples in the sugarbush there, had fallen across the trail. A huge tree she was, and handsome enough that I’ve taken dozens (scores?) of photos of her over the years, and there before us lay her fat trunk and thick leafy branches—some of them broken, some nearby trees scraped from nearby trees… What a surprise, what a shock, what a sound she must’ve made at the end.
Somehow, we wiggled through the obstacles and continued on a hike that was very different from usual—and will surely be a memorable one.
Birds were good—two vocal, chasing ravens among them—but they were not the most notable part of this day.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:09 a.m. EST (8:09 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Red-eyed Vireo** (v) 2. American Goldfinch 3. Ovenbird** (v) 4. Wood Thrush (v) 5. Veery (v) 6. Blue Jay (v) 7. Pileated Woodpecker (v) 8. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 9. Black-capped Chickadee** 10. Common Raven 11. Osprey (v) 12. Brown Creeper (v) 13. White-breasted Nuthatch (v) 14. Gray Catbird 15. Eastern Towhee 16. American Crow* (v) 17. Hermit Thrush (v) 18. Chestnut-sided Warbler 19. Alder Flycatcher (v) 20. Song Sparrow** 21. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 22. Common Yellowthroat 23. Field Sparrow (v) 24. Yellow Warbler (v) 25. American Robin (v) 26. Northern Flicker 27. Black-throated Green Warbler** (v) 28. Tufted Titmouse (v) 29. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v) 30. Eastern Bluebird (v) 31. Cedar Waxwing (v) 32. Eastern Phoebe 33. Black-and-white Warbler**
Elsewhere
34. Mallard 35. Mourning Dove 36. Herring Gull 37. House Finch 38. Swamp Sparrow† (v) 39. Red-winged Blackbird (v)
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
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
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
