7 November 2026

Damn near tropical

Thursday, December 24th, 2015
American Crow, Near Mount Battie, Camden, Maine, 24 December 2015.

American Crow.

Fifty degrees (F) today—and beyond. Damp, gray, not very windy. Just thirty degrees warmer, and it’d seem tropical. This odd, warm trend confuses the wildlife, I think: chipmunks still running around, an abundance of food for birds usually having to contend with snow. To say nothing of human recreation, with skiers and ice fishermen dreaming of winters past.

Jack’s World, Beech Hill Preserve, Rockport, Maine, 24 December 2015.

Jack’s World.

Me? I just do what I usually do—take my dog for a hike.

Few birds, few people at Beech Hill today when we arrived in mid-afternoon, although a little family with a couple dogs did meet us coming up as we made our way back down. Muddy, foggy, breezy. No winter birds to speak of yet. No winter finches, anyway. No shrike or Snowy Owl.

Tomorrow—Christmas Day—I think we’ll head up in the morning, see what’s what.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.

1. Black-capped Chickadee* (v)
2. White-breasted Nuthatch** (v)
3. American Crow* (v)

Elsewhere

4. Downy Woodpecker
5. Blue Jay (v)
6. American Goldfinch
7. Brown Creeper (v)
8. Herring Gull

v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere

 

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Bird Report is a (sometimes intermittent) record of the birds I encounter while hiking, see while driving, or spy outside my window. —Brian Willson



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