Fall has come upon us like the holidays. We were expecting it. But, it happened too quick & too hard to enjoy. The leaves which bring our lovely state much needed tourist dollars are at 90% in some places. My home area is at 70%. So, if you are planning a trip to “Leaf-Peep” in New Hampshire … PLEASE hurry before you miss it. AND wear your favorite sweater. I was hoping to have more time to get photographs for this website’s header roatation. But that dream has been short lived. Most days were rainy & dull. It is October 6th & I am stuck inside with a cold … my first of the season.
September’s temperatures have been chilly. Average days are in the 50-60F & the nights in the upper 30’s & lower 40’s F … we DID see 26F & had several mornings of hard frost. There was no vegetable gardening to speak of this year. I picked the last of the tomatoes by the third week. That was all that grew, besides the herbs. And even the herbs were hard pressed. They are doing better on the plasticed-in front porch. It is the make-shift greenhouse for winterizing my fruit trees. (though, I never took the plastic down this year). It wont be too much longer until I bring my zone 6 trees into the house proper. They have received almost enough hours under 40F already. My zone 8-9 trees never left the house & are in a very comfortable room, where they will stay from now on.
As far as the birds are concerned, migration is fast paced. The Grackles that were blackening my trees are now far south of us. They left after the first week. Saw a couple Pine Grosbeaks stop by & move on pretty quick. The humming birds began to leave in August I think, because they were gone by the 2nd week. The tit-mice population has increased considerably. And the Flickers are going crazy after all the bugs on the gound. I usually see them in groups of 6.
The Crows are starting to gather for their Autumnal Corvid-Althing (mass meeting of crows from all families in the area). The 4th week of Sept. I saw something wonderful. I would estimate between 100 & 150 crows were flying together on a thermal, circling & calling while they enjoyed the draft. I believe it is at the Autumnal Althing they reconnect as a community, redefine family groups, steak-out territory and chat about where the food has been good, wholikes them & who doesnt. Crows have a VERY structured community & language. They are the smarted birds currently known to man. They are tool-makers and problem solvers. They care for their aging family members and mate for life. In many ways, humans can do better by emulating crows sence of family. For anyone who feels they are dirty & menesing, PLEASE research better. They are more humane then humans.
Food Consumption: Sunflower Seeds is the big winner this month, with the cold weather & the turkeys. This should be pretty consistant going forward. Next is Mixed-Seed, due to a large family of resident Crows and a large band of Blue-jays. Suet is going much slower now, with only woodpeckers & the smaller birds (chickadees, titmice, etc.). The hummingbird stations have been removed, for we have not seen any activity since the beginning of September. We would have taken down the thistle feedersby this time, if they were up.
In Order of Quantity (unless noted otherwise) …
Sept.:
Birds: Crows, Black-Capped Chickadees, American Goldfinches, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Sharp-Shinned Hawks (our population supervisors), House Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Ravens, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Purple Finches, Common Grackles, Pine-Grosebeaks, Black & Turkey Vultures.
Animals: Red & Gray Squirrels, Chipmunks, Mice