A foggy start to a sweet morning of birding. Dog and I got a bit later start, and things were quiet at first. But a lot of the fog burned away within the hour, and birds began to sing, and one of them was a Prairie Warbler.
I love Prairie Warblers. I first heard—then saw—one near Beech Hill Road several years ago. Their song is amazing, a buzzy collection of rising notes.
Heard this one pretty far down in the barrens, and figured I wouldn’t manage a peek, but the bird kept flitting off quite a distance and singing from another tree. Remarkably, as we began to descend toward Beech hill Road, I heard the bird singing quite close—and spied it atop a trail-side birch. Got a couple photos and a video.
It’s mornings like this that give credence to my mantra: “Birding improves your life.”
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:42 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Ovenbird**
2. Black-throated Green Warbler**
3. Black-and-white Warbler**
4. Black-capped Chickadee**
5. Tufted Titmouse** (v)
6. American Goldfinch**
7. American Crow*
8. Northern Flicker (v)
9. Chestnut-sided Warbler
10. Eastern Towhee
11. Blue Jay** (v)
12. Gray Catbird
13. Yellow Warbler
14. Common Yellowthroat (v)
15. White-throated Sparrow (v)
16. Song Sparrow *
17. Tree Swallow
18. Eastern Phoebe*
19. Eastern Bluebird
20. Northern Cardinal* (v)
21. Field Sparrow (v)
22. Chipping Sparrow
23. Prairie Warbler†
24. Common Yellowthroat
25. Tufted Titmouse** (v)
26. Nashville Warbler (v)
27. Blue-headed Vireo
28. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (v)
29. White-breasted Nuthatch
30. Wild Turkey* (v)
31. Northern Parula** (v)
32. Red-bellied Woodpecker (v)
33. American Robin
Elsewhere
34. Mallard
35. Common Grackle
36. Herring Gull
37. Pine Warbler
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-and-white war bler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common yellowthroat, eastern bluebird, eastern p hoebe, eastern towhee, field sparrow, gray catbird, Nashville warbler, northern cardinal, northern flicker, northern parula, ovenbird, prairie warbler, red-bellied woodpecker, rose-breasted grosbeak, song sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, tufted titouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey, yellow warbler
