Savannah sparrow.
Jack and I rose early to get a head start on a little bird presentation I had scheduled for today’s Beech Nut open house at Beech Hill. The house finch, dauntless, was singing as we jumped in the pickup. En route, we encountered a couple turkeys near South Street.
Common yellowthroat.
The morning was drizzly, chilly. Plus, a pretty strong northwest wind was blowing. But at the wooded trailhead, I stopped to count the voices of eight birds—six of them warblers. Ovenbird, black-throated green, black-and-white, Nashville, parula, yellowthroat. Also heard a chickadee and the wide-spaced phrases of a blue-headed vireo.
Coming up the trail, the wind rocked the budding trees. Heard the call of a towhee and the notes of some yell0w-rumps. My hands got cold.
We emerged into the upper fields, saw no kestrel or swallows—but I did hear the jumbled notes of a catbird, the ethereal song of a hermit thrush, and the lovely thin call of a savannah sparrow. A yellow-rump flitted away. Heard a song sparrow (and saw a savannah) as we arrived at the summit, where Joe, CMLT’s stewardship project manager, was unloading materials into the hut. I thought it interesting that out of fourteen birds on my list so far, I only actually saw two of them.
The wind was blowing like crazy up there. Kristen, my fellow presenter, arrived. Then a couple volunteers. Not ideal conditions for a hike up the hill, and attendance was slim at the outset. But after a while, the drizzle let up, and the wind swung around to the north-northeast. A few other people hiked up finally, checked out the hut, stayed to discuss birds. We counted several from right at the summit: crow, gull, tree swallows, a pair of kestrels, phoebe, turkey vultures. A field sparrow was singing down the western slope. A pair of ospreys flew over. At one point we watched a little herd of deer bound quickly along the edge of the far eastern field.
Great crested flycatcher.
Two big black birds flew over, and the smaller one dive-bombed the larger one. Crow and raven. And we heard the songs of a couple other species—including a rose-breasted grosbeak, which I spotted in a small upper branch of a little hardwood, somehow clinging there, singing, as the branch wagged and swayed.
About 10 a.m., just as my shift at Beech Nut was ending, the clouds began to disperse, and the morning sun emerged. The air warmed, and the wind seemed to lessen a bit. Warblers were flitting around. I took Jack down the open trail just to look around, and we encountered a great crested flycatcher along the road—a first-of-year sighting. Also heard an odd-sounding towhee (I actually tracked down the source of the strange call, thinking it another species) and watched a yellow warbler flit about, singing.
We added nothing new on our hike back down to the truck. More towhees, chickadees, a few yellow-rumps.
The sun flickered in and out the rest of the day, as the north-ish wind persisted. Saw the usual urban species in town. Watched a mallard overfly Route 1.
Tonight, peepers are singing. It’s still blowing out there. I rather like a spring night’s wind.
Clearing over the bay.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 7:15 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Ovenbird
2. Black-throated green warbler (voice)
3. Black-and-white warbler (voice)
4. Nashville warbler (voice)
5. Northern parula (voice)
6. Common yell0wthroat
7. Black-capped chickadee
8. Blue-headed vireo (voice)
9. Eastern towhee
10. Yell0w-rumped warbler
11. Gray catbird (voice)
12. Hermit thrush (voice)
13. Savannah sparrow
14. Song sparrow
15. American crow
16. Herring gull
17. Eastern phoebe
18. Field sparrow (voice)
19. Turkey vulture
20. Tree swallow
21. American kestrel
22. Double-crested cormorant
23. Common raven
24. Osprey
25. Brown-headed cowbird
26. Rose-breasted grosbeak
27. White-throated sparrow (voice)
28. Blue jay (voice)
29. Chestnut-sided warbler (voice)
30. Chipping sparrow (voice)
31. Great crested flycatcher
32. Yellow warbler
Elsewhere
33. House finch
34. Wild turkey
35. Mourning dove
36. European starling
37. Rock pigeon
38. Mallard
Tags: American crow, American kestrel, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, brown-headed cowbird, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, common raven, common yellowthroat, double-crested cormorant, eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, gray catbird, great crested flycatcher, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, Nashville warbler, northern parula, osprey, ovenbird, rock pigeon, rose-breasted grosbeak, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tree swallow, turkey vulture, white-throated sparrow, wild turkey, yellow warbler, yellow-rumped warbler
