Wooded trailhead.
Friends say a thunderstorm blew through overnight last night. I didn’t hear a thing. Then come to find out a funnel cloud touched down late yesterday up in Aroostook County. Weird.
Before the storm.
But this morning dawned hazy and damp and warm. The usual birds were singing—well, all except for the crazy-loud redstart, which I haven’t heard for a day or two. (One was calling across the road, but it had a different voice.) After a few hours, the sun emerged, and by afternoon I ventured out on my bicycle.
Crows along the roadside. Gulls overhead. I heard more roadside redstarts, song sparrows, and a cardinal in Rockport village. Robins criss-crossed the roads. At a quiet Route 1 intersection, a bunch of herring gulls suddenly rose from somewhere to the right of me, apparently carrying bread crusts—one dropped its piece in the right-of-way.
As I was wrapping up work, I noticed the sky had gone cloudy again, so Jack and I hurried up to Beech Hill for our daily hike. By the time we got out of the pickup, the day had grown even darker, and I heard thunder. We took off anyway. A blue jay was screaming madly in a tree not far in. Also heard a chestnut-sided warbler, red-eyed vireo, and veery. And then it began to rain a little. Paused before the stream, saw flashes of lightning, heard thunder, watched the wind come up—and I decided to turn back.
That was our shortest hike in a while.
Sure enough, a little thundershower blew through. Then, after an hour or so, another one. And just now, late tonight, I hear thunder again.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:30 p.m., I hiked a short section of the wooded trail.
1. Blue jay (voice)
2. Red-eyed vireo (voice)
3. Chestnut-sided warbler
4. Veery
Elsewhere
5. House finch
6. American crow
7. House sparrow
8. Song sparrow
9. American redstart
10. Herring gull
11. Rock pigeon
12. Northern cardinal
13. American robin
14. Chipping sparrow
15. Mourning dove
16. Double-crested cormorant
17. Eastern phoebe
18. Gray catbird
Tags: American crow, American redstart, American robin, blue jay, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, double-crested cormorant, eastern phoebe, gray catbird, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, red-eyed vireo, rock pigeon, song sparrow, veery
