Black-capped chickadee.
Is it the diminishing photoperiod? The shift in the tilt of the planet? Some change in available food? Whatever it is, something has got the birds a little anxious lately. And by next month you’ll be able to look at the full moon through binoculars and see, zipping by in silhouette, fleeting proof of fall migration.
Two crows.
I could tell by the soft voices of nuthatches out the back window this morning. And the multiple screams of jays. Both species have been silent until the last week or so. As have our resident woodpeckers, suddenly calling from the neighborhood trees.
Today’s sky had few clouds in it. And what wind there was didn’t prevent a nice warming trend. After a typically wacky Monday morning—including another spell of lost bandwidth—things calmed enough by mid-afternoon to convince me a bike ride was in order. Nice ride. Song sparrows chirping in town, roadside crows, an osprey in overflight. Not long after, Jack and I took off for our day’s end hike up Beech Hill.
We met my friend Liz at the open trail lot. Oddly, ours were the only vehicles there. Perhaps not so oddly, the first birds we heard were chickadees and nuthatches—same two species as yesterday, hanging out in the same clump of trees. And more chickadees flitted about in the greenery along the first stretch of trail. We stopped so I could look for any entourage species, as I like to do. Saw jays and titmice darting about up ahead, and a young male yellowthroat poking its head out of a bush. Up the open trail, a loose flock of crows flapped by, cawing. Before long, the crows will be holding their annual fall convention down the southern hillside.
A solitary goldfinch flew over. Heard the chip of a savannah sparrow hiding in the grass.
Cedar waxwing.
It was a quick trip up and down, and we’d nearly descended the whole way before hearing the first voices of waxwings. There were three of them that I could see, perched at the tip of a tree as they’ve been doing lately. But today they showed different behavior: one at a time, they’d suddenly fly off a ways, circle, and fly back. As soon as one had returned, another would head off for a short flight. Interesting.
The last bird on today’s list? A hairy woodpecker calling from across the road.
A minute ago, while out contemplating the bright moon, I got thinking about what exactly triggers our birds’ amazing fall migration—and dreaming of my trip to Monhegan soon to witness a little piece of it.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 5:15 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Black-capped chickadee
2. White-breasted nuthatch (voice)
3. Blue jay
4. Tufted titmouse
5. Common yellowthroat
6. American crow
7. American goldfinch
8. Savannah sparrow (voice)
9. Cedar waxwing
10. Hairy woodpecker (voice)
Elsewhere
11. Herring gull
12. House sparrow
13. Osprey
14. Double-crested cormorant
15. Mourning dove
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Cedar waxwing, common yellowthroat, double-crested cormorant, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, house sparrow, mourning dove, osprey, savannah sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch
