Beech Nut.
Today was a rainy one, for most of it. But the precipitation had quit by the time Jack and I started up the open Beech Hill trail, and the sky had gone all streaky, gray, and lovely. And right away, we encountered a lot of little birds.
A dozen in all, and they weren’t all small—but in recalling them just now, I thought it might be interesting to list them by size, from largest to most diminutive.
The largest were corvids:
First, a raven I heard croak down toward the bay.
Next, some crows I heard.
And a couple jeering blue jays.
Not much smaller than the jays would be a hairy woodpecker I saw pause on the trunk of a trailside birch before undulating away.
The rest I had to look up (at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website) to put in descending order (by weight):
Song sparrow, 4.7″–6.7″ long (up to 1.9 oz.)
White-throated sparrow, 6.3″–7.1″ long (up to 1.1 oz.)
Dark-eyed junco, 5.5″–6.3″ long (up to 1.1 oz.)
White-breasted nuthatch, 5.1″–5.5″ long ( up to 1.1 oz.)
Tufted titmouse, 5.5″–6.3″ long (up to .9 oz.)
Black-capped chickadee, 4.7″–5.9″ long (up to .5 oz.)
Yellow-rumped warbler, 4.7–5.5″ long (up to .5 oz.)
Ruby-crowned kinglet, 3.5″–4.3″ long (up to .4 oz.)
See? Those last few you could mail with a first class stamp. Mostly little birds.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 3:45 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Blue jay** (v)
2. Yellow-rumped warbler
3. White-breasted nuthatch (v)
4. Black-capped chickadee* (v)
5. American crow* (v)
6. Song sparrow
7. Ruby-crowned kinglet (v)
8. Dark-eyed junco
9. Hairy woodpecker
10. Common raven (v)
11. White-throated sparrow (v)
12. Tufted titmouse
Elsewhere
13. Herring gull
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, common raven, dark-eyed junco, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, ruby-crowned kinglet, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler
