A mostly sunny morning for Captain Jack and me, but also a chilly one (temps in low–50s (F) to start). Still, a much birdier hike than in recent days.
Yellow-rumps still, late-to-migrate catbirds and towhees and thrushes and vireo. A kinglet. The usual chickadees and jays and crows. And three woodpecker species.
Most woodpeckers hereabouts don’t migrate, which makes their presence comforting in a way. Flickers will move around some in the colder months, but for several years now a few have wintered over.
I truly do appreciate our resident woodpeckers.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:40 a.m. EST (8:40 DST), I hiked all trails.
With sunshine angling down between fluffy white clouds, I headed up the wooded trail for a change with Captain Jack this morning. Quite a little wind blowing (nearly lost my hat a time or two), and fewer bird species than even yesterday, but dog and human hikers were numerous compared to recent days—no doubt because of it being Indigenous Peoples Day.
Thrushes again, and woodpeckers, and woodpeckers, but yellow-rumps remain the most numerous birds migrating through.
Yellow sun and chill in the air and falling leaves—definitely autumn.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:59 a.m. EST (8:59 DST), I hiked all trails.
1. Downy Woodpecker 2. Black-capped Chickadee 3. Blue Jay (v) 4. Hermit Thrush 5. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v) 6. Yellow-rumped Warbler** 7. American Goldfinch (v) 8. American Crow* (v) 9. Song Sparrow (v)
Elsewhere
10. Herring Gull
Mammals
Meadow Vole
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
A gray overcast greeted dog and me as we started up the main trail this morning, with chilly, windy, misty air. After a while the sky turned partly sunny—still, the wooded trails were streams from the big rains, and I slipped in the mud at one point. (No damage done.)
In such adverse conditions (possibly also an inconvenient wind direction), few birds species made themselves known. But we always seem to find delights. Like the scattering of Hermit Thrushes we startled in the woods.
They’re the commonest thrush on the hill these days, but they only sing that ephemeral song in spring‚ and they’ll be moving south pretty soon anyway.
Beech Hill List Starting at 7:32 a.m. EST (8:32 DST), I hiked all trails.
