Coastal hills.
Today was relatively mild, sunny-turning-overcast, a little breezy, and—despite the shortening photoperiod—long. I worked. I got my deck-rails painted (thanks, Mark!). I took the dog out a time or two. Crows out there. Chickadees. A hairy woodpecker.
Patient Jack.
In afternoon, after getting a peek at the weather radar and seeing a little rain approaching from a distance, I figured it was time for a quick bike ride. And a nice ride it was. Crows along the roadsides. Chickadees in the trees. Herring gulls overhead. And golden-crowned kinglets in the same stand of conifers where I’ve heard them before.
By late-afternoon, still no rain, so Jack and I high-tailed it for Beech Hill. (Not that we wouldn’t have high-tailed it there anyway.) Saw a small flock of robins flying away from the hill as we pulled up. A few cars in the lot, one of them belonging to Joe, the steward, who reported a gang of grade-school kids would be showing up for a late-in-the-day field trip.
Not much in the way of birds, though. I peered over at Chickawaukie Lake but couldn’t detect any sign of the recent coot raft. Scenic vistas, as always. No leaves on the photogenic birch, and few on the little oak behind it. By mid-November, most of the leaves have flown.
Returning, I did hear some chickadees, at least. Two birds on the day up there.
Birch.
And at the parking lot, a gaggle of schoolchildren, many of them wearing sensible blaze-orange attire.
Now, late tonight, finally, the rain has arrived. A gentle rain pattering against the fallen leaves. A soothing sort of sound.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 3:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American robin
2. Black-capped chickadee (voice)
Elsewhere
3. American crow
4. Hairy woodpecker
5. Herring gull
6. Golden-crowned kinglet
7. Wild turkey
Tags: American crow, American robin, black-capped chickadee, golden-crowned kinglet, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, wild turkey
