Cool, clear skies, north wind blowing morning coffee muses.
For the first time this season I can see my breath.
The traffic noise is much quieter today. And it’s not just from less traffic…
I saw an article about how a large number of monarchs have yet to start their migration because of warmer than normal weather up north. It mentioned how butterfly muscles don’t work right when the air temperature is below 50°. Sitting out here this morning I am noticing a lack of other insects also. By this time in the morning there would normally be a number of dragonflies zooming about… should I hypothesize a connection?
There’s enough of a breeze blowing to overcome the traffic noise when it gusts through. And the neighborhood crows are welcoming the day from every point on the compass. A rather large hawk just changed perches along the edge of the property. It the hawks that make winter my favorite season as they all fly in to visit.
Could the same warm weather up north be affecting the birds also? Because we are at a strange in between time I don’t recall from past years. There is an absence of bird life, where I remember abundance. Nothing is hitting my feeders. Even our year round residents are in seclusion.
The cups run dry, and the Saturday honey do list is long… Later.
Your comments about the birds and monarchs are interesting. You should come thirty miles east! I spent time at work every day last week counting monarchs — at one point, I got up to sixty before I stopped. And the birds are thick over here. The green herons are nearly gone, as they should be. The migrating mallards have come in, and the white pelicans. I’ve only seen one coot, but they’re always the last to arrive.
And I just saw that the first pair of whooping cranes reported at Port Aransas has finally been spotted. After this front, I’ll bet the rest will arrive within a week or two. Exciting times at the refuge!
I had more monarchs yesterday than any day yet but I topped out at a half dozen. And I’m sure your bird situation on the lake and the bay is much fuller than my suburban/rural mix.
I’m wondering if the wet summer and still green world is giving the birds plenty of food so they don’t feel the need for my offerings…
That makes sense. November always has been the quietest month at my feeders, and even in the hill country, November is the month when I don’t hear a peep out of anyone. The woods can be so quiet it’s spooky. Even some hunters are talking about how the deer aren’t coming to the corn because of the fantastic acorn crop. Acorns feed bluejays, squirrels, crows, and maybe grackels, so yes — I’d think that nature’s grocery store is doing the job right now!