Gray Catbird.
Heard my first Black-Billed Cuckoo at Beech Hill this afternoon. It was quite near, in the thicket close to the parking lot. As I was sneaking up on it with Jack it stopped singing suddenly—no doubt spooked by a hiker coming around a turn up ahead.
Other interesting species included my first hummingbird in a while, a crow harassing some kind of light-colored hawk in the distant sky, a silent Black-throated Green Warbler, and the female sapsucker sipping at its trailside tree trunk again. None of the birds gave me much of a photo op—except a catbird.
So here’s a photo of a catbird.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:45 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Red-eyed Vireo** (v)
2. American Redstart**
4. Gray Catbird**
5. American Robin**
6. House Finch**
7. Blue Jay (v)
8. Black-billed Cuckoo (v)
9. Cedar Waxwing
10. Song Sparrow**
11. Black-capped Chickadee
12. Northern Flicker (v)
13. Common Yellowthroat** (v)
14. Mourning Dove
15. Common Raven
16. American Crow*
17. Herring Gull*
18. Yellow Warbler** (v)
19. White-breasted Nuthatch
20. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
21. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
22. Black-throated Green Warbler
Elsewhere
23. Rock Pigeon
24. Northern Cardinal
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year bird
Tags: American crow, American redstart, American robin, black-billed cuckoo, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, chipping sparrow, common raven, common yellowthroat, gray catbird, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, red-eyed vireo, rock pigeon, ruby-throated hummingbird, song sparrow, white-breasted nuthatch, yellow warbler, yellow-bellied sapsucker
