Slow Fall Migration

So far the fall migration here has been slow. The kids and I went out in the woods on Monday as a part of their science. They have expressed an interest in learning about birds and birdwatching. So we went out and weren't impressed! We would walk 50 feet, stop and scan the trees and understory for movement, not see anything and move another 50 feet. Nothing was moving. Not even the resident birds. I think in the whole time we were down there we saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker, caught a fleeting glimpse of a Barred Owl as it flew away from us and heard a few others. I'm ready for the winter residents to come in so I'll have something to see when I'm down there!

The hummingbirds are still holding about 20 at the feeders. It will be interesting to see if the front this weekend takes them all away. It's getting to be that time where they go away until spring.

Nothing is eating from my feeders except for one Mourning Dove and a couple of Eurasian Collared Doves. I've had several customers in the store ask me where the birds are. It's a slow time at feeders in October and November in this area. The plants produce their seeds and the birds eat them. No matter how fresh the seed in the feeder is, it's not going to be as nutritious and fresh as what's recently been produced on the plant. So, the birds eat the wild seeds to fatten up for winter. I know at some point after much of the wild seed has been eaten or knocked to the ground, they'll be back and the blackbirds will flock to my feeders and eat all the oil sunflower within a day. Maybe I should invest in some safflower!