Eastern wood-pewee.
A glorious day, clear and cool, with only a whisper of breeze. I spent much of it doing long-overdue chores—including my first lawn mow since my little bicycle mishap—then set out in afternoon with Jack. Many cars in the Rockville Street lot when we arrived at the wooded Beech Hill trail.
Yellow-rumped warbler.
Didn’t expect many bird sightings, what with all the humans about, but you just never know. And right away, I heard pewees calling from the sugarbush. Then I spotted a few up there, nabbing flies. One perched fairly near, close enough for a portrait or two.
Then came the first of many parties of chickadees. A catbird called. Two flickers flapped away into the trees. And a pair of yellow-rumped warblers hopped about in the shrubbery along the trail. Flitting yellow-rumps says “migration” to me. Travel time again. And those first two weren’t the only ‘rumps we encountered—I heard their chip notes and saw three or four other small groups moving through.
Heard crows from the summit, where several people and dogs had gathered. We didn’t linger.
Back in the woods, a little flock of white-throated sparrows were lurking in the shadows. Heard the note of a vireo. Then two robins fluttered down the shady trail ahead of us. And another bird, a thrush of some kind. I got several (mostly blurry) photos of the bird, which I couldn’t quickly identify. Looked like it might’ve been a young hermit thrush, but when I processed the photos later, I saw it was a Swainson’s. First Swainson’s I’ve seen in a while—first even on Beech Hill.
Swainson's thrush.
After dark tonight, the temperature dipped swiftly into the 40s (F). While gazing at the stars a minute ago, I heard a few faint flight peeps of invisible songbirds winging through cool night air.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4 p.m., I hiked the wooded trails.
1. Eastern wood-pewee
2. Black-capped chickadee
3. Gray catbird (v)
4. Yellow-rumped warbler
5. Northern flicker
6. American crow* (v)
7. White-throated sparrow
8. Red-eyed vireo (v)
9. American robin
10. Swainson’s thrush
11. White-breasted nuthatch
Elsewhere
12. Herring gull
13. Downy woodpecker (v)
14. American goldfinch (v)
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
Tags: American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, downy woodpecker, eastern wood-pewee, gray catbird, herring gull, northern flicker, red-eyed vireo, Swainson's thrush, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
