The hummingbirds seem to have left for the season now - I haven't seen any since just before the big rains (northeaster and Hurricane Kyle). I'll keep the feeder up for a few weeks in case a migrant hummer comes through hungry. With all the fall vegetation it's hard to see all the birds. Except of course for the turkeys which stand out in any vista. Usually the turkeys stroll into the yard, but few days ago they were all riled up, probably by neighborhood dogs, and I heard a lot of yoyking in the woods. I went out to fill the feeders and spread seed on the ground, but I couldn't see any turkeys. Until I happened to look up, and there was a big turkey perched in a pitch pine above me. It flew off into the woods and soon after the whole flock walked in for dinner. I guess they wanted to make sure food was ready before they took a chance on the ground. And on the other end of the size scale, the House Sparrows are bopping around and having pool parties. Aside from these, I have cardinals, White-breasted Nuthatches, a few Blue Jays and doves and I saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker last week. I think a hawk flew by this morning. Claire

Sorry Moni! We must have replied at the same time. Pronounced: Roo (like in rooster) la (like in singing la la la LA) den (like at the end of garden) The next Ethnic (LOL) thing I want to try is Pasties from the U.P. of Michigan. First I need to learn to pronounce that RIGHT! There was a article in our newspaper about them, and I saved it. That is a future adventure.

I got my martin scouts on Feb 29, think we already have eggs in the nests (we have about 50 pair and the neighbor has about 60). My neighbor saw an Indigo Bunting and we should be getting grosbeaks soon. I saw my first hummingbird yesterday. In fact, he tapped on the window to let me know there was no feeder....the little ones do that every year. They let me know when the feeders

It's more than likely a bachelor mockingbird singing for a mate! Once paired, the midnight serenade will end. Mockingbirds are aptly named due to their ability to mimic any noise they hear that they find beautiful including other birds, and other creatures like bugs, frogs, even emergency vehicle sirens! A male mockingbird will continuously add to his song throughout his lifetime, and no two mockingbirds have the same call! The male we had this year repeated a cardinal call, a Carolina Wren, and a tree frog, and then multiple others I couldn't identify.. He probably sang for a month, then one night he was gone. I only looked it up because I Know a cardinal call and couldn't figure out why on earth a tree frog and a cardinal were talking to each other at midnight on my back deck!