Eastern towhee.
A warm, bright, not very windy day. The relative windlessness, in fact, combined with the slow season, made for a quiet walk in the woods this afternoon for Jack and me. The woods can be a quiet place.
Cedar waxwing.
My ears are attuned to the sounds that birds make, but I heard none as we began our hike through the trees. What I did hear was the dull hum of traffic on Route 1 a couple of miles away. I heard the sound of our footfalls on the dry dirt of the trail. I heard the buzzing of the deer flies circling my head. I heard the faraway trill of a cricket. Slight sounds, quiet sounds.
Maybe a hundred yards in, I first heard the call of a bird—a red-eyed vireo, singing from the canopy far away. I also heard the tiny muffled rap-rap and thump of something falling from high in a tree. Soon after, a waxwing called from somewhere—its thin, high voice trailing away. Deer flies circling still, our footfalls. Occasionally, a larger insect would zip by, its wings making a lower buzz for only a second or two.
The chatter of a goldfinch drifted overhead. In the distance, a towhee called.
Around a curve lined with berry-laden bushes, I heard more waxwings, looked up, and saw a half-dozen of the birds arrayed on the upper branches of a dead tree. Even when they’re near you, waxwings’ voices seem slight and faint. While photographing the waxwings, a young catbird popped up between us, mewing. And I heard the single chuck! of a yellowthroat.
Wild turkeys.
More bird voices began to sound then, most of them on the quiet side: chickadees’, distant crows’, a far-off yellowthroat’s song. Climbing toward the summit, I towee began suddenly to holler at us from a small trailside tree. By far the loudest sound we’d come across. I grabbed some photos.
We were alone at Beech Nut, where I heard the notes of a song sparrow hidden in underbrush near the spruce grove. Off toward shore, I spotted a herring gull in flight. The traffic sounds, while still faint, seemed slightly louder there and came from more than one direction.
Returning, I happened to spy a small group of turkeys at the edge of a field. They didn’t make a sound. Then a pair of trail runners approached from behind us, causing Jack to bark once in surprise. After a quick greeting, they jogged past us down into the woods. Jack’s uncustomary bark now ranked as the loudest sound of our hike.
In the lower woods, more buzzing deer flies, more vireos calling. A small plane engine rose far to the east of us and moved through the sky toward the south and faded away. Then I heard the sweet, high whistle of a wood-pewee. I couldn’t find the pewee, though it was perched just there. Another pewee sang from off down the hill.
Footfalls. Deer flies. Distant crows. And then the beep as I unlocked the truck, and the slams of the doors before we headed home.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:30 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Red-eyed vireo (v)
2. Cedar waxwing*
3. American goldfinch*
4. Eastern towhee
5. Gray catbird
6. Common yellowthroat* (v)
7. American crow*
8. Black-capped chickadee* (v)
9. Song sparrow (v)
10. Herring gull*
11. Wild turkey
12. Eastern wood-pewee (v)
Elsewhere
13. Rock pigeon
14. House finch (v)
15. Tufted titmouse (v)
16. Broad-winged hawk (v)
17. House sparrow
18. Mourning dove
19. Northern cardinal (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, broad-winged hawk, Cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, gray catbird, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, red-eyed vireo, rock pigeon, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, wild turkey
