Awoke to the sound of rain. Didn’t rain for long, turned overcast, dried up pretty quickly. Spent most of the day doing type design at my kitchen table. The sun peeked through a time or two.
Late in the day, Jack and I took our Beech Hill hike. Partly cloudy, partly sunny, partly windy. Birdy. Fifteen species in all, in fact—including a first-of-year singing white-throated sparrow. Also a wave of yellow-rumped warblers, flitting and chipping and singing, a couple-three dozen of them. This is the only time of year I hear ’em sing.
A pair of kestrels hovered over the barren slopes as we returned to m pickup. Tonight’s sky is a starry one.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:15 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American crow*
2. Black-capped chickadee** (v)
3. Song sparrow**
4. Northern flicker (v)
5. Eastern phoebe
6. American kestrel
7. Hairy woodpecker (v)
8. American robin* (v)
9. White-throated sparrow† (v)
10. Yellow-rumped warbler
11. Osprey
12. Eastern towhee (v)
13. Mallard
14. White-breasted nuthatch
15. Tufted titmouse (v)
Elsewhere
16. Herring gull
17. House sparrow (v)
18. European starling
19. Rock pigeon
20. Common loon
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American crow, American kestrel, American robin, black-capped chickadee, common loon, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, house sparrow, mallard, northern flicker, osprey, rock pigeon, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler

