Wore my winter coat this morning, ’cause the temperature was about 19° (F) and the winds were high. Fingers and lips got a bit number on the way up the hill—although Captain Jack seemed perfect comfortable—but on the way back down, with the wind at our backs, the air felt almost balmy.
Few birds again, but the buntings were still hanging out behind the hut. Also encountered a whole shoot-load of chickadees, quite a few yellow-rumps, etc.
Most notable? A pair of Turkey Vultures. (Did not expect that—especially not on such a chilly morn.) And back home, a bunch of plain ol’ turkeys. And coots at Chickawaukie Lake, and a vee of geese flying over Route 1.
The temperature’s supposed to rise a few degrees by morning.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:22 a.m., I hiked most trails.
Autumn is my favorite season. Always has been. I also love the three other seasons—just not quite as much as fall. Especially here in Northern New England, on the 44th parallel, when the photoperiod changes noticeably throughout the year, and the weather is rich and varied.
This morning’s hike with dog was a chilly, breezy, sunny one. Few birds at first, but as the sun rose and the landscape warmed and the yellow-rumps bounced around in the brush and tree leaves, more species made an appearance. Vultures, a fish hawk, three kinds of sparrow, two thrushes, two corvids—and my little friend, the Brown Creeper.
Not sure why, but I really love Brown Creepers. And this one posed for me in a golden woodland. Thanks, little buddy.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 8:07 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Yellow-rumped Warbler 2. Eastern Bluebird (v) 3. American Robin* 4. American Crow** 5. Hairy Woodpecker (v) 6. American Goldfinch (v) 7. Black-capped Chickadee (v) 8. White-throated Sparrow 9. Northern Flicker (v) 10. Red-breasted Nuthatch 11. Dark-eyed Junco (v) 12. Song Sparrow 13. Savannah Sparrow 14. Blue Jay (v) 15. Turkey Vulture 16. Osprey 17. Purple Finch 18. Brown Creeper
Elsewhere
19. Downy Woodpecker (v)
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
I call ’em “big birds”—hawks and vultures and gulls and ravens and other large species that I see in the sky overhead. This morning’s fun hike with an old pal, for me and Jack, was a long but fun one. And it included several big birds.