Wren again

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus

American Robin Turdus migratorius

White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis

Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis

Autumnal flames of sumac

‘Quiet Place’ in NDG, October 29, 2023

-Lovely and Halloweeny out (crisp and overcast)

-Winter Wren still skulking near the grapes – got some distant record snaps, but I won’t insult the cracking close-in shots I get a few weeks ago by posting them

-No kinglets

-Most avian action was concentrated around wild grapes

-Several Pine Siskins and American Goldfinch on the move overhead

-White-throated Sparrows still numerous, but Dark-eyed Junco numbers are down

-15 species in 90 minutes

Good for northin’

Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura with
Canada Goose Branta canadensis

Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos

Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens

American Tree Sparrow Spizella arborea

American Tree Sparrow Spizella arborea

Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata

Hunter's Moon

Prévost, Oct 27-28, 2023

  Went up for an annual visit to my buddy Joey's, up north in quiet Prévost. We slipped in some birding in his backyard, and in the fields around his place.

Of note:

-A Golden Eagle was a nice surprise, in spite of the fact that it was wayyyy up there, just a menacing dot, drifting south

-Where scrubby stream meets field, the sparrows lurked: At least 12 American Tree Sparrow, 6+ Song Sparrow, 6+ White-throated Sparrow, loads of Dark-eyed Juncos, and an evasive individual I’m 85% certain was a Savannah Sparrow

-Restless Pine Siskins overhead

-The seasons, they are a’changin’

-Sadly, no sign of the ‘backyard Ruffed Grouse’

-24 species noted in two separate birding sessions

Wet Grapes

White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis

White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicolis

‘Quiet Place’ in NDG, October 21, 2023

-Ten species in two hours

-Rainy and warm

-Feels like the tail end of the migratory bell curve

-The edges of every wooded habitat were peeping with Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, Hermit Thrush, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets

Wrenball

Winter Wren Troglodytes hiemalis

Winter Wren Troglodytes hiemalis

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus

Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis

Partial solar eclipse as seen through a pinhole

‘Quiet Place’ in NDG, October 15, 2023

-19 species in two hours

-100+ Dark-eyed Juncos

-5 Hermit Thrush

-A confiding and chonky Winter Wren in an old wood pile

-7 flyover Canada Geese

- 20+ Ruby-crowned and 5+ Golden-crowned Kinglets

-Only 3 White-throated Sparrows

Harvest Noon

White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis

Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus

Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis

 Clouded Sulphur Colias philodice
(Or perhaps Pink-edged Sulphur Colias interior?)

Harvest Moon

‘Quiet Place’ in NDG, October 1, 2023

-18 species in two hours

-25 degrees in the midday sun

-Only one species of warbler (female Black-throated Blue Warbler)

-Several shy Swainson’s Thrushes

-A pair of crisp Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers

-A lone Turkey Vulture

-Golden-crowned Kinglets on the move through the treetops

-Carpets of Dark-eyed Junco and White-throated Sparrow at every bushy edge — at least 60-70 of each

-25+ Chipping Sparrows, mixed in at the edges of the sparrow/junco flocks

-I heard an odd snippet of trilly, fluty song at a distance…sounded like an Eastern Towhee…or perhaps just a naughty Eurasian Starling…