Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Still no winter snow, but we had a lot of cold rain these past several hours. In fact, I remember waking up in the middle of the night last night to the sound of it on the roof. A light rain, a cold rain. [Aside: that’s one of the nicest things about this rental—the gentle sound of the rain on the roof.] Had a fun time doing typographic ornaments, then took a hike.
Wore my winter coat today, even though the temps were in the mid- to upper-thirties (F). Not too much breeze, but no sun, water in the atmosphere. Raw.
Surprised to find a car in the parking lot. Surprised to hear another car arrive as we started up the hill. Surprised to run into about ten or twelve other hikers on the trail in the frigid drizzle. Christmas weekend, I guess.
Surprised at the number of bird spp., too. Saw a turkey along Beech Hill Road on the way to the trail. Heard a Pileated Woodpecker delivering its slow wuk-wuk-wuk call. Even spotted a couple yellow-rumps at the summit.
Supposed to get a little snow on Tuesday, I guess. Nothing like the huge snows out west just now. Or last night’s big Texas tornadoes. Since when do we get tornadoes in December?
Since the Anthropocene, that’s when.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 3 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Black-capped Chickadee (v)
2. Tufted Titmouse (v)
3. Pileated Woodpecker (v)
4. American Tree Sparrow (v)
5. Yellow-rumped Warbler
Elsewhere
6. Blue Jay (v)
7. American Crow
8. Wild Turkey
v = Voice only
Tags: American crow, American tree sparrow, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, pileated woodpecker, tufted titmouse, wild turkey, yellow-rumped warbler
