Scarlet tanager.
OK, so here’s what happened. I rose early, as usual at this time of year, but since Jack and I have Boone here this weekend, and I didn’t feel like birding with two dogs, I left them home and came out to Beech Hill by myself. The angling sun shone brilliantly on the landscape—until right as I got out of my pickup in the Rockville Street parking lot. Clouds had moved over about half the sky. The half with the sun in it.
Veery.
I spent a while cursing the clouds for the dim light they left me with, bird photos being (apparently) the main idea of my spring hikes up there. I managed a couple dim shots—catbird, chestnut-sided warbler—but that was about it. All the way up to the fields, where I stopped to stalk a singing yellow warbler. And as I stood still on the trail, I caught sight of something hopping along in my peripheral vision and turned slowly to see a veery coming up behind me. And I got the best portrait to date of that typically very shy species. Sweet.
Feeling a little better, I crept alongside the fields as a mallard flew over, then four cormorants. I spotted an unusual sparrow that chattered a little before flitting away—a vesper sparrow, I’m pretty sure. And I got some good looks at chasing, mating, nesting yellow warblers.
Then coming up the little wooded stretch below the summit, the sky cleared again finally—and I heard it: the four- and five-note raspy call of a tanager.
Coincidentally, just yesterday I’d been teased by a friend who asked how come I hadn’t yet photographed a scarlet tanager this year. I had to get a picture of that bird. So I crashed off trail, over last falls leaves and between this springs fresh green foliage. I followed the tanager’s voice. From past experience, I knew it would be perched high in the canopy and hidden by the new-leafed trees and not moving around much. It’s rather amazing, really, that such a vivid red bird can stay so hidden. But after two or three minutes, I spotted it. Angled around below here and there working to get a good view. Finally got a photo or two—and even a short video. Sweet.
Eastern kingbird.
Continued on over the hill and down the open side in the bright morning sun. Plenty of birds about, a couple other OK photos. Then coming back up, I noticed a couple of big flycatcher-looking birds perched on weed tips. Right away I knew they were kingbirds—four or five of them, scattered about the slope. One fluttered over to a trailside post and just sat there as I walked slowly toward it. I got maybe fifteen or twenty feet away before it flew. Meaning I got a lot of photos. First-of-year tanager, first-of-year kingbird.
And on the way home I saw a Cooper’s hawk perched on a telephone line. Sweet.
Returned with the dogs in afternoon and hiked the open slope. Added a merlin to the list—it zipped by low and fast as I talked to a friend I’d met on the trail. And that’s pretty much what happened.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:30 a.m., I hiked all trails; beginning at 2:45, I hiked the open trail.
1. Ovenbird**
2. Common yellowthroat**
3. Tufted titmouse
4. Black-throated green warbler** (v)
5. Black-and-white warbler**
6. Chestnut-sided warbler
7. Red-eyed vireo
8. Eastern phoebe
9. Northern parula**
10. American goldfinch (v)
11. Northern cardinal** (v)
12. Veery
13. Gray catbird**
14. Black-capped chickadee
15. American redstart**
16. Yellow-rumped warbler
17. Common raven
18. American crow*
19. Herring gull*
20. Great crested flycatcher (v)
21. Mourning dove*
22. White-throated sparrow
23. Nashville warbler
24. Yellow warbler**
25. Field sparrow
26. Tree swallow (v)
27. Mallard
28. Double-crested cormorant
29. Song sparrow**
30. Vesper sparrow
31. Hermit thrush (v)
32. American robin*
33. Scarlet tanager
34. White-breasted nuthatch (v)
35. Turkey vulture
36. Purple finch (v)
37. Chipping sparrow**
38. Blue-headed vireo (v)
39. Eastern kingbird
40. Broad-winged hawk
41. Black-throated blue warbler (v)
42. Magnolia warbler
43. Merlin
Elsewhere
44. House finch
45. European starling
46. Cooper’s hawk
47. House sparrow
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated blue warbler, black-throated green warbler, blue-headed vireo, broad-winged hawk, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common raven, common yellowthroat, cooper's hawk, double-crested cormorant, eastern kingbird, eastern phoebe, European starling, field sparrow, gray catbird, great crested flycatcher, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, magnolia warbler, mallard, merlin, mourning dove, Nashville warbler, northern cardinal, northern parula, ovenbird, purple finch, red-eyed vireo, scarlet tanager, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, veery, vesper sparrow, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow warbler, yellow-rumped warbler
