Eastern phoebe.
A brilliantly sunny morning turned overcast as by magic soon after Jack and I started up the wooded Beech Hill trail. I’m not sure how that happened. It was like the clouds rose up from the sun-warmed landscape. From cloudless to overcast in about five minutes. Weird. Also, the sun didn’t really have time to warm the landscape all that much. It was a chilly hike—and relatively birdless. I had no warmer or vireo until the very end of it. At least, before it clouded up, I got a photo of a phoebe with some greenery.
Saddle and Mark.
Within a couple hours of our return, the clouds fled as quickly as they came, and the day was warm and clear and good for a swift bicycle ride.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:30 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Black-capped chickadee*
2. Hairy woodpecker (v)
3. Eastern phoebe**
4. House finch** (v)
5. American goldfinch
6. Blue jay (v)
7. American robin* (v)
8. Eastern towhee
9. Northern cardinal**
10. Tufted titmouse** (v)
11. American crow*
12. Herring gull*
13. Hermit thrush
14. Northern flicker (v)
15. Turkey vulture
16. Common raven
17. Savannah sparrow
18. Song sparrow**
19. Field sparrow
20. Chipping sparrow** (v)
21. Brown-headed cowbird** (v)
22. Mourning dove*
23. Blue-headed vireo (v)
24. Yellow-rumped warbler (v)
Elsewhere
25. Osprey
26. House sparrow
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, brown-headed cowbird, chipping sparrow, common raven, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, field sparrow, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, osprey, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, yellow-rumped warbler
