Downy woodpecker (female).
A mild, mostly overcast morning. So mild, in fact, that I thought seriously of taking my first bicycle ride of the year—but I decided to get my bike tuned up first and that, instead, Jack and I would hike the wooded Beech Hill trails.
Around my place, the birds were active: crows, the titmouse, chickadees, the house finch. Gulls overhead. Finally, late in the day, we set off for the hill.
Jack on the wooded trail.
I should’ve known the wooded trails would still be pretty snowy. A good foot, at least, along most of the trails—the central path packed yet grainy—but passable enough. Right away I heard the voices of crows and gulls nearby. And saw a little cluster of chickadees moving about. I had to keep my eye on the trail, though, not only for the footing but also to make sure to avoid intermittent collections of dog droppings. In fact, I counted two things today: birds and piles of dog poop. Granted, these were the leavings of a winter’s worth of dog walks, but my final count still seemed impressive: fourteen piles in all. And all smack in the middle of the trails.
But the bird list was a good one, too. About half-way up, I heard—then saw—a group of robins flitting about near a grove of staghorn sumac. Then a downy woodpecker showed up and posed for photos. Soon after, a ruffed grouse burst away on a fury of wings. (I even got a look at it sailing down the wooded slope.) Last on the list was a flicker, whose cry I heard in the middle distance. Seven species up there today. Exactly half as many birds as poop piles.
The work of a pileated woodpecker.
I actually thought at first about removing a pile or two myself—I always carry three poop bags with me, but there was Jack to consider. And sure enough he had a load of his own to drop near the summit. As always, being a “bush pooper,” he backed up to the edge of the trail, which attribute to good breeding. And, as always, I picked up the result of his effort—which maybe means I do, too.
But probably it doesn’t matter much. Human thoughtfulness doesn’t necessarily impress Nature. She has a way of evening things out in the end.
Along the upper trail, we passed several dead tree trunks ravaged by pileated woodpeckers. You can tell it’s the work of a pileated from the massive damage and the wide scattering of wood chips on the snow. While scanning the trees for dead ones, I mused about how important they are to wildlife. Especially woodpeckers.
Little musical snow-melt streams criss-crossed the lower trail. At one point, Jack hurried me along on account of his extreme interest in a red squirrel that was dashing down ahead of us along a stone wall. It would dash, then stop; we’d get closer; it’d dash away again, then stop. I heard another squirrel chattering from behind us where this little episode began.
Bay sky.
Down the last long slope we had to slosh though stretches of running water and spongy, muddy ground. But we didn’t mind. In fact, I’m pretty sure Jack enjoyed it as much as I did—moving swiftly through such wet, luscious landscape. But kind of I doubt that can be attributed to good breeding.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4:30 p.m. (EDT), I hiked the wooded trails.
1. American crow (voice)
2. Herring gull (voice)
3. Black-capped chickadee
4. American robin
5. Downy woodpecker
6. Ruffed grouse
7. Northern flicker (voice)
Elsewhere
8. House finch
9. Tufted titmouse
10. Mallard
11. Ring-billed gull
Red squirrel.
Tags: American crow, American robin, black-capped chickadee, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, house finch, mallard, northern flicker, ring-billed gull, ruffed grouse
