At about 8 a.m. (EST), when I first glanced at the temperature, I kind of did a double-take. That’s ’cause it was 49 degrees (F). On February 4th. At the 44th parallel.

Out in the dim, damp yard, I heard the rollicking call of a Pileated Woodpecker. Stood there for a moment until it called again—and the call was getting closer, and I looked up and saw the bird bouncing through the air high above the canopy. Soon after, I heard a batch of crows hollering at something, followed the sound, and spotted a big adult bald eagle winging its way along the same route as the woodpecker—maybe a little higher.

In afternoon, the Beech Hill trail was a muddy one, but that didn’t stop at least four of us hiking parties. Saw evidence of others. Heard only three bird species, though.

The blue-gray clouds were kind of amazing.

Beech Hill List
Beginning at 3:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.

1. American Crow* (v)
2. Black-capped Chickadee* (v)
3. Downy Woodpecker (v)

Elsewhere

4. Blue Jay (v)
5. Pileated Woodpecker
6. Mourning Dove
7. House Finch (v)
8. Bald Eagle
9. Herring Gull

v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere

Tags: American crow, bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, downy woodpecker, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, pileated woodpecker

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2016 at 9:03 pm and is filed under Lists, Observations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.