The gales of November came early — October.

Naturally
The snowbirds (juncos) found snow here in October. They were likely no more excited about it than I was. The weather, though disagreeable, wasn't completely without a good side. It ended the reign of terror of the minute pirate bugs, the things disguised as nothing that bite us. They are attracted to people wearing light-colored clothing and bite with an impact far above their weight class. The weather moved birds to my feeders and waterer. For this hick from the sticks, seeing three redbirds in a single tree in my yard is a highlight.
I watched robins feed in a hawthorn tree. I realized a robin has a great sense of humor. It enjoys a good haw. Woodpeckers also sampled the haws. A hairy woodpecker visited the suet. It hammered away. "Give 'em hell, Hairy," I said. "Give 'em hell, Harry" was a play and film based on Harry Truman. How much wood would a woodpecker peck if a woodpecker would peck wood? I’ve been hearing from homeowners with cedar shakes who are learning the answer to that question the hard way. Male house finches give the yard's feeders a rosy outlook. A lovely singer, the house finch was once sold in the illegal pet trade as a Hollywood finch. I'm not sure if blue jays will work for peanuts, but they will fly in and vocalize for peanuts.
Starlings (numerous, quarrelsome and ravenous) moved into the yard like Cousin Eddie's family in the National Lampoon's Vacation film series. An eastern phoebe did likewise in 27° weather. The flycatcher perched on a feeder sheltered from the snow and looked up for flying insects to eat. I hoped things looked up for that phoebe. A single white-crowned sparrow, with racing stripes on its noggin fed below the feeders with the fox sparrows. The sight of br'er fox sparrow caused me to say "The quick brown fox sparrow jumps over the lazy dog," a pangram — a sentence that contains all the letters of the alphabet. With the color of its plumage, even when doing what it's always done, a fox sparrow looks rusty.
The wind picked up and made the beautiful leaves dance in the air. John Critchley Prince wrote, "Ruffling the colors of the forest leaves, the winds make music as they come and go." I examined a tree along a lake. It had been gnawed by a beaver.
The words "And Jerry Mathers as the Beaver" ran through my mind. I marveled at the beauty of trumpeter swans, which can take the cold and will winter where there is open water. In winter, they feed upon grasses, grains, roots and tubers. They get much of their food by dabbling, feeding on whatever submerged vegetation within reach of their long necks.
I'll miss going to Texas for speaking and birding this year. I love saying "chachalaca" and "kiskadee." I'll find solace in recalling the sight of such incredible birds as green jays, blue mockingbird, red-crowned parrots, green kingfishers, Altamira orioles, aplomado falcons, least grebes, northern beardless-tyrannulets, greater peewee and many others in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
The mushrooms have gone with the cold, leaving my yard a spore loser, but Halloween brought thoughts of owls. Young owls leave their parents and move to new territories in the fall. Inexperienced birds with glowing eyes, quiet wings and eerie voices (a fall night can provide wonderful acoustics) make them seem otherworldly when their juvenile dispersal causes them to show up in odd places.
Q&A
"I listen to your radio show. You said house sparrow populations are declining in London. Why?" London's house sparrows have plummeted by 71% since 1995, with new research suggesting avian malaria could be the cause. Similar to human malaria, it's spread by mosquitoes, which transfer the parasite to healthy birds. The parasite reproduces in red blood cells and other tissues, and in severe cases can be fatal. Avian malaria is not a danger to humans.
"What is the oldest banded bird?" Wisdom, a female Laysan albatross, is the oldest known banded bird in the wild. She nests in the world's largest albatross colony, which is located on Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. She is at least 70-years old and as difficult it is to believe, was not discovered while she was reading a membership solicitation from AARP.
Thanks for stopping by
Journalist Ed Murrow: "Who owns the patent on this vaccine?" Jonas Salk, developer of polio vaccine: "Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?"
"The old Lakota was wise. He loved the earth and all things of the earth. He knew that man's heart away from nature becomes hard. He knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon leads to lack of respect for humans too." — Chief Luther Standing Bear
Do good.

©Al Batt 2020