Male common eider in flight.
Among the first few birds I saw this morning was a blue jay. Oddly, I hear (or see) jays only about a dozen days a year out back—though I hear hear (or see) them more often than that at nearby Beech Hill. This morning, in the early morning sunlight, I saw a blue jay fly up into the upper branches of one of the big leafless red oaks, so I figured I’d step out onto the deck and take a photo. While out there, I noticed there were two jays—a pair, apparently. Happily taking too-distant pictures of them, I suddenly heard the unmistakable, strident rattle of a pileated woodpecker coming from somewhere north of me.
Pileated woodpecker (female).
The call drew my attention, and right away I saw a second large woodpecker bouncing along among the trunks of the oaks, heading in the direction of the calling bird. Naturally, I swapped subjects. I mean, pileateds are somewhat more uncommon, are far more striking (unless you’re a blue jay, I suppose), and pose a challenge. Didn’t get a great shot, but I did manage a couple photos of the (female) pileated woodpecker when she stopped briefly in my side yard.
A pair of blue jays, a pair of pileated woodpeckers. Soon after, a downy woodpecker. Also a cardinal, a song sparrow, a white-breasted nuthatch, crows. The house finch and a robin called from across the road. Out the kitchen window I saw what looked like a large hawk, a buteo, sailing up over the hill—but I couldn’t ID it. A mystery. Meantime, the sun shone brilliantly, and the sky looked mostly blue. I had hopes of a nice warm day.
Sure enough it turned into a nice day, if not overly warm. Mostly that was because of a stout southwest wind—though temperatures did rise into the 50s (F). We walked Beech Hill, the dog and I. I wore a hooded sweatshirt against the wind, and sweat formed inside my cap brim. Offshore, fog lay low all over the islands and parts of the outer shores clear across the panorama. The sight was pretty thrilling. To the northeast you could see Cadillac Mountain rising out of the fog bank. You could also see the very tip of Isla au Haut.
Island.
Just as we reached the summit, I heard the voice of an eastern phoebe carried by the wind. First phoebe of the year. I also heard a titmouse and a robin and a goldfinch and some chickadees. I also heard, just as we made it back to the parking lot, an unfamiliar call of a small bird in overlight. It sounded finch-like. I have no idea what it was. A mystery.
Out on my bike, I saw plenty of herring gulls, rock pigeons, and a common grackle. Later, dog and I hit the breakwater again. En route I spotted a solitary red-winged blackbird and a solo starling. Out on the granite, I counted red-breasted mergansers, lots of common eiders, a couple black ducks, a couple loons, and some long-tailed ducks. Also a ring-billed gull. Banks of fog still cloaked the islands—the whistle of the light was even sounding when we arrived.
Afterward, we swung by the grocery store. I heard house sparrows.
Tonight, I noticed Orion still hanging around in the oak branches. Before long, daylight will obscure his belt and shoulders. I wondered who first saw the hunter in this constellation. Certainly a single human, or a small group. Of course I’ll never know. Yet another mystery.
Today’s List
Blue jay
Song sparrow
Northern cardinal
Pileated woodpecker
Downy woodpecker
House finch
American robin
Tufted titmouse
Black-capped chickadee
Herring gull
American goldfinch
Eastern phoebe
Common grackle
European starling
Rock pigeon
Red-breasted merganser
Common eider
Ring-billed gull
Common loon
Long-tailed duck
Black duck
House sparrow
Bay fog.
Tags: American goldfinch, American robin, black duck, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, common eider, common grackle, common loon, downy woodpecker, eastern phoebe, European starling, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, long-tailed duck, northern cardinal, pileated woodpecker, red-breasted merganser, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, tufted titmouse
