Northern harrier (male).
I crossed paths with no chickadees today. Weird. And otherwise, the day was kind of weird, too. Kind of the opposite from yesterday. Clear, windy, dry (as opposed to overcast, still, and wet). The house sparrow was singing across the road, not the house finch. And at Beech Hill this afternoon, the first bird I saw—i.e., not one of the last—was a brown creeper. It was creeping up the wide sunny trunk of a gigantic maple near the brook. Would’ve been a great photo, but I couldn’t focus in time.
Harrier riding the wind.
Only a third as many species on the hill today as yesterday. But I saw them all (as opposed to only hearing many). Aircraft were flying over: what appeared to be a Coast Guard helicopter, a small plane, a jetliner. As we neared the summit, I’d been distracted by the helicopter and nearly missed the handsome male harrier riding the wind low down the western slope. It must’ve seen us, though, because it headed straight away to the north, windward. It veered and swooped and teetered in the fast-moving air. And just as I finished snapping off a few distant photos of the male, I spotted a female down the same slope, but it headed quickly southward—exactly the opposite direction as the male–and dipped down over the hill. I wonder what that was all about.
A few clouds that had crept in moved away as night fell. A woodcock sounded from across the road, and I could hear it’s call get louder and softer as it turned in a circle while calling. At the crest of the hill hung Jupiter, above it Venus, above that the waxing moon, and Mars overhead.
I was happy to hear the woodcock. Love those little guys.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 4 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Brown creeper
2. American crow
3. American robin
4. Northern harrier
5. Eastern phoebe
Elsewhere
6. Tufted titmouse
7. Northern cardinal
8. House sparrow
9. Herring gull
10. Rock pigeon
11. Song sparrow
12. American woodcock
Tags: American crow, American robin, American woodcock, brown creeper, eastern phoebe, herring gull, house sparrow, northern cardinal, northern harrier, rock pigeon, song sparrow, tufted titmouse
