chefloveshiking

Friday, October 2, 2026

I am learning what I don't know

1;15 to 2:30pm, 78 Degrees, Cloudy, Wind 9mph S, Bar 29.75 rise

I have been thinking about the bird list for the Little Forrest. I am trying to post pictures for the bird list. Seventy plus birds on the list and pictures of maybe twenty. I was thinking that the Common Grackles had gone south. I saw a hundred or so in the canopy flying around together. I saw three at one time (above) so clearly they have not all gone. They flew off towards Hall Street. Not staying in the Little Forrest. I am learning a lot about the comings and goings of the Little Forrest. Mostly, I am learning what I do not know. It seems the more I learn, the less I know. Really, learning allows me to see what else there is.

I wanted to find out the names of a tree and a shrub. I went to a tree expert and showed him pictures. Surely, he will know. I found out books for tree scientists do not have pictures! Who knew? They have illustrations of the buds to identify. At this point I do not care that much. Perhaps in the spring when the buds happen. It is a willow of some sort. A neighbor said black willow. the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker loves the willow. The feeder is under a shrub. A Common Buckthorn. I now know that plant. The birds love to move around it. I have learned two of how many. Before it was trees and brush. There is a small bush with red berries under the common buckthorn. The White-throated Sparrows like the berries. Now I want to know. I am learning I want to know what this bush is.

The birds were slow today. I did not see one Downy Woodpecker. I see them almost every time. Still a good bit of activity. No Cooper's Hawk. A fourth day in a row was really asking for too much. The robins were in the brook when I got there. They do not appreciate my company and moved on. Low flow today. Will probably be puddles tomorrow. The robins like the slow flow better. At least from what little I have seen.

I saw a deer print in the "Dry Run" it is still muddy. I have seen squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs. I have hear tell of skunks, raccoon's, and deer. Number 7 I heard has or had a trail camera. Will have to ask him about it.

Merlin identified 16 bird species. I saw ten of them. I also saw a grackle and a yellow-bellied. I have no doubt the other six species were there. They were all usual birds.

Blue Jay

Blue Jay October 2026. the watchers of The Little Forrest.

Thursday, October 1, 2026

The Watchers

2:45 to 4:15pm, 68 Degrees, Partly Sunny, Wind 8mph S, Bar 29.90 fall

The Blue Jays are the watchers of The Little Forrest. The one pictured above was definitely checking me out. Their flight patters avoid me. Giving my sit spot a wide berth. Probably the largest bird that lives in the Little Forrest. The crows I suspect live across the Ocean(ave). I was talking with Number 2 today. She said the Blue Jays are watching her. She will throw peanuts out for the chipmunks and the jays often get them first. Also, they hang around her deck when she is in front of her slider. Hoping for peanuts no doubt. I was in my sit spot when she filled her feeders. First bird was a blue jay. It squawked loud and clear! Not only did the jays come but so did the cardinals. Their voices carry. If there is a lot of squuwking there is an intruder and they will drive it off. Always vigilant!

This afternoon, the birds were active. However, there were several times when everything was quiet. No alarms just quiet. This happens in the Little Forrest for no discernible reason. Or at least not discernible to me. Still fun to watch in the quiet. A squirrel walked five feet from me. Sitting still allows our non human friends to get close. Even if they know we are there. The chipmunks and squirrels no longer give alarm calls when I am sitting by Fall Brook. Today its flow is down. In a few days without rain it will stop and be puddles.

As, I was looking towards the feeder at Number 2, A Coopers Hawk! Three days running. It came from behind maybe twenty feet from my right shoulder maybe less. Flew over the bog, low. I was above it! It turned maybe twenty feet in front of me and went down the brook. It is not often that one is above a hawk. This is the second time I have been in the Little Forrest and been above a cooper's. And close.

And here it is in all its glory! It flew down the brook and pulled in to see what prey it could see. And then the watchers came. Blue Jays squawking alarms at it. Lots of jays. They chased it to the other side of the brook. Before I could find it and get a picture, the jays chased it off again. This is the secong time a cooper's has been close to me in two days. Sitting still for the win! I suspect this is the same bird I have seen the last two days. They have started their migrations south. Not sure how long this one will terrorize the inhabitants of the Little Forrest before heading south.

Merlin Identified 15 species. No red dots. I saw 11 of them. I suspect they were all there. Plus, the Cooper"s Hawk. It was hunting and not calling. Stealth mode.