Birding

Yesterday may not have been a great day for hunters weatherwise, but it was a good day for birders - from the safety of our house. It rained buckets yesterday but the worse the weather, the more birds show up in our neighborhood. For the past few weeks, I've noticed flocks of Cedar Waxwings perching on a couple of tall trees on the hillside that belongs to our yard. They never visited our feeders and I wondered what they were doing here until I realized that one of the trees back there is covered with a vine that's full of berries. Aha! I thought I could finally get a photo of a waxwing eating a berry but it's not that easy. For one, these birds prefer lofty heights, and another, the weather is always gray and dark when they descend on our trees.
These aren't the only birds around here lately. The robins are still around and the juncos and White-throated Sparrows have arrived from Canada already. Flocks of starlings and crows show up from time to time, swooping down on lawns like locusts. Add to that the usual suspects that visit our feeders this time of year and we have a virtual aviary in our neighborhood.

Birding

Fall has been pretty boring for birders but that is changing now. Last weekend we saw a mockingbird in our backyard, a bird that had never visited here before. This morning, we spotted a large flock of Cedar Waxwings in two of our trees. The weather change must have driven them through our area because we had never seen any around here. A couple of robins were also stopping over. When the lighting was sufficiently bright for photography, I ventured out to photograph the birds that visit our feeders. Alas, only the usual suspects showed up. I did get a great close-up shot of a Downy Woodpecker. Well, tomorrow is another day and I am still hopeful to see some Rose-breasted Grosbeaks or more Cedar Waxwings passing through.

The Days Are Packed

A week ago, I received a call from Allegheny West Magazine. They wanted to interview me because of my talk at the Robinson library back in July. I was thrilled. The article will be in the November issue and I can't wait to see it. The publicity comes at a perfect time since I'll be participating in four arts and craft shows this month. The first one is tomorrow at John McMillan Presbyterian Church in Bethel Park.