
Dog and I had a nice long hike today with our friends Joe and Amy—including a stretch of the Erickson Fields trail. Not a whole lot of birds, but enough to make things interesting.
Especially interesting was yet another harrier experience: crows mobbed the bird, which rose and dipped (as usual), and then a Merlin appeared and began zipping all over the place, chasing whatever it could. When the harrier finally decided to move on, the little falcon stuck around and began to dive bomb the crows. Was a lot of fun.
Final bird? A high-flying eagle that Joe spotted. Nice end to a nice hike with friends.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:59 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. American Crow*
2. American Robin
3. Hairy Woodpecker
4. Blue Jay**
5. Yellow-rumped Warbler
6. Tufted Titmouse**
7. Northern Cardinal
8. Black-capped Chickadee
9. Northern Flicker
10. Eastern Bluebird
11. American Goldfinch
12. Northern Harrier
13. Merlin
14. Herring Gull
15. Great Black-backed Gull
16. Common Raven
17. Bald Eagle
Elsewhere
18. Wild Turkey
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
†First-of-year
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, common raven, eastern bluebird, great black-backed gull, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, merlin, northern cardinal, northern flicker, northern harrier, tufted titmouse, wild turkey, yellow-rumped warbler
