Summer is a time of shade. This morning dog and I got to the hill pretty early, after the sun had barely risen above the eastern canopy, now thick with new green leaves. The shadows were long, the light on the understory filtered and diffuse. The wild birds—with nestlings or fledglings or other secret business—lurked in shadow.
Whenever Jack and I moved into the shade, however, we were beset upon by mosquitoes. A dilemma: Do we hurry to the warm sun patches, where our fur or sweatshirt made us pant or sweat? Or do we linger in the cool of the shadows, where the action was.
Truth be told, we did a little of both.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:45 a.m., I hiked the open trail—and then some.
1. Red-eyed Vireo
2. Ovenbird
3. Black-and-white Warbler
4. Common Yellowthroat
5. Tufted Titmouse
6. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
7. Eastern Towhee
8. Alder Flycatcher
9. Cedar Waxwing
10. Chestnut-sided Warbler
11. Song Sparrow
12. Nashville Warbler
13. Eastern Bluebird
14. American Goldfinch
15. Tree Swallow
16. Field Sparrow
17. Eastern Phoebe
18. American Crow
19. Blue Jay
20. Chipping Sparrow
21. Yellow Warbler
22. Black-billed Cuckoo
23. Gray Catbird
24. Purple Finch
25. Eastern Wood-pewee
26. Black-capped Chickadee
27. Pileated Woodpecker
28. Downy Woodpecker
29. White-breasted Nuthatch
30. American Robin
31. Black-throated Green Warbler
32. American Redstart
Elsewhere
33. Herring Gull
34. Northern Cardinal
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American redstart, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-billed cuckoo, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common yellowthroat, eastern bluebird, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, field sparrow, gray catbird, herring gull, Nashville warbler, northern cardinal, ovenbird, pileated woodpecker, purple finch, red-eyed vireo, rose-breasted grosbeak, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, yellow warbler
