Black-throated green warbler.
Up early. Dog and I were hiking Beech Hill by 6:30.
Black-and-white warbler.
Birds everywhere.
Little arriving warblers chipping and flitting in the tiny leaves of the canopy. First-of-year black-throated greens singing from all directions. Two species of nuthatch across the road. Mating black-capped chickadees. First-of-year rose-breasted grosbeak, catbird, brown thrasher. First-of-year chestnut-sided and palm warblers.
We flushed four—that’s right, four—woodcocks poking about in the mud of the trail ahead of us. In overflight, I saw a huge vee of cormorants and about a half-dozen red-winged blackbirds (chuck! chuck!) flying in loose formation.
For the first time this month, the sun was bright and the sky was blue-blue.
At the summit, I caught sight of an osprey sailing over—bound from Chickawaukie Lake toward Rockport Harbor, looked like. It was carrying a fish.
A savannah sparrow sang from the peak of the sod roof of Beech Nut. What better nesting place for a savannah sparrow?
Ovenbird.
Down in the woods somewhere, turkeys were gobbling like crazy. Grouse boomed.
At the opposite parking lot, chipping sparrows sang dueling songs across Beech Hill Road. A cowbird—same bird as yesterday, I imagine—squeaked and squealed. Tree swallows, those most magnificent flyers, veered and spun above the blueberry fields.
On our way back up and over, I saw a solitary raven soar low over the summit.
We spent two and a half hours up there this morning.
And better still, this afternoon I had occasion to walk the breakwater with my friend Craig. (He’s shooting a short movie. I’m the “talent.”) Eiders, loons, cormorants, a guillemot, the voices of laughing gulls. And back at the parking lot, two species of sparrow—song and house—posed for photos.
Tonight Venus sets brightly to the west, and the moon rises brightly on the other side of the sky.
Song sparrow.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Tufted titmouse* (v)
2. Ovenbird
3. Song sparrow* (v)
4. Northern cardinal* (v)
5. Black-throated green warbler**
6. Red-breasted nuthatch (v)
7. American goldfinch*
8. Blue-headed vireo
9. Hairy woodpecker (v)
10. White-breasted nuthatch (v)
11. Black-capped chickadee*
12. Blue jay (v)
13. Black-and-white warbler
14. American crow* (v)
15. Yellow-rumped warbler
16. Chestnut-sided warbler**
17. Northern flicker (v)
18. Nashville warbler (v)
19. Rose-breasted grosbeak** (v)
20. White-throated sparrow
21. Wild turkey (v)
22. Eastern towhee
23. Herring gull*
24. American woodcock*
25. Ruffed grouse (booming)
26. American robin*
27. Mourning dove* (v)
28. Double-crested cormorant*
29. Red-winged blackbird
30. Gray catbird** (v)
31. Savannah sparrow
32. Brown thrasher** (v)
33. Tree swallow
34. Osprey
35. Palm warbler**
36. Chipping sparrow
37. House finch*
38. Brown-headed cowbird (v)
39. Common raven
40. Eastern phoebe
Elsewhere
41. Mallard
42. Rock pigeon
43. Turkey vulture
44. European starling
45. Common eider
46. Laughing gull (v)
47. Black guillemot
48. Great black-backed gull
49. Common loon
50. House sparrow
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**First-of-year bird
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, American woodcock, black guillemot, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, brown thrasher, brown-headed cowbird, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common eider, common loon, common raven, double-crested cormorant, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, gray catbird, great black-backed gull, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, laughing gull, mallard, mourning dove, Nashville warbler, northern cardinal, northern flicker, osprey, ovenbird, palm warbler, red-breasted nuthatch, red-winged blackbird, rock pigeon, rose-breasted grosbeak, ruffed grouse, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey, yellow-rumped warbler
