Fall Has Arrived

It is now officially fall and the leaves are certainly changing. Last week we headed to Presque Isle. I was hoping to see migrating warblers, but we saw nothing but a few mallards and plenty of ring-billed gulls. Instead we almost got eaten alive by mosquitoes and decided to never return in September.
At home things are getting lively. While the hummingbirds have probably all departed (we saw a straggler over a week ago and none since then) we are spotting more birds overall. My husband saw four flickers in our backyard at once and the blue jays are noisy and numerous. I also observed a red-bellied woodpecker yesterday as it pecked at our neighbors house. It won't be long now until we hang up our feeders again.

Pre-Season

Last week we had such beautiful weather that I headed out to the Audubon nature reserve in Beechwood for the first time in almost a year. The reason for my "abstinence" was, of course, road work. I just couldn't seem to find a direct route to Fox Chapel that didn't include massive detours. Finally I decided to use backroads.
Unfortunately, it was quiet at Beechwood. Birds were in short supply, except for that one hawk circling overhead. There weren't even any Canada geese or mallards. In the end, I photographed a painted turtle sunning itself on a log in the pond.
At home we often hear the not too melodious call of blue jays. They seem to have had a good year. Occasionally I hear a pileated woodpecker. And the hummingbirds are still here, at least the females. It will probably take a weather change to force the migrants to fly south and the warblers to pass through our area.