Black-and-white warbler.
Up sort of early, since I heard no rain out there. Lots of fog, though, and water droplets hanging from all the newly awakening buds and leaf clusters. Plenty of birdsong at the wooded Beech Hill trail. Patient Jack waited, as always, while I counted up the voices in my head. Coming around the first couple of turns, I heard a first-of-year bird—chestnut-sided warbler. Within a week or so, I’ll hear these birds’ calls from just about everywhere.
Awakening.
At the foggy summit, as we circled Beech Nut, I spotted a solitary female turkey not that far away in the grass. It flew, of course—as four or five others have in recent days (mostly solitary females, interestingly).
Heard a mallard quacking. Heard lots of Nashville warblers. Down in the little copse of conifers near the Beech Hill Road parking lot, I heard saw singing black-throated blues and black-and-white warblers. Three or four black-and-whites, in fact—two of them zipping around in what looked to me like a mating chase.
About midday, the fog blew away, and the day got sunny and warm. On my way out for a bike ride, I heard a pine warbler singing out back and a broad-winged hawk overhead. Nice ride. Lovely spring day.
Rain is due tomorrow, but I don’t care.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Eastern towhee
2. Black-throated green warbler**
3. Ovenbird (v)
4. Pileated woodpecker (v)
5. Rose-breasted grosbeak (v)
6. Black-and-white warbler**
7. American robin*
8. Black-capped chickadee**
9. Chestnut-sided warbler (v)
10. American goldfinch
11. Common raven (v)
12. Mourning dove* (v)
13. Hermit thrush (v)
14. Common yellowthroat (v)
15. American crow*
16. Blue jay
17. Nashville warbler
18. Blue-headed vireo (v)
19. Tufted titmouse** (v)
20. Song sparrow**
21. Eastern phoebe**
22. Yellow-rumped warbler
23. Wild turkey
24. Savannah sparrow
25. Field sparrow
26. Gray catbird (v)
27. Northern cardinal** (v)
28. Mallard (v)
29. Chipping sparrow**
30. Brown-headed cowbird
31. White-throated sparrow (v)
Elsewhere
32. House finch (v)
33. European starling
34. Pine warbler (v)
35. Osprey (v)
36. Broad-winged hawk (v)
37. Rock pigeon
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, broad-winged hawk, brown-headed cowbird, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common raven, common yellowthroat, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, gray catbird, hermit thrush, house finch, mallard, mourning dove, Nashville warbler, northern cardinal, osprey, ovenbird, pileated woodpecker, pine warbler, rock pigeon, rose-breasted grosbeak, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey, yellow-rumped warbler
