September 2004 Birdwatching Notes

Yesterday morning I realized I was hearing lots of Blue Jays. The sound was sweet to me but then I think they are beautiful and the noise they make is just their talking to each other. When our summer gets hot, they disappear and don't come back until we start cooling down. Now, they will be making their nests for the winter (Big nests) and getting settled in. 

The hummingbirds are few and far between; I think most have already moved on for the winter. With the new window seed table, Randy made several spots where I can hang things. The feeders don't bounce around so much when the wind is blowing. Our original feeder would lose all its nectar when the wind was really blowing. 

It has been four week now since I heard the last Whippoorwill call. It's sad to know their season has ended but a long season it was. They were even around when the owls started in and there are still a lot of owls. They don't come up to the house at night anymore. That was a bit much. I had feared they would break windows. 

There were so many Whippoorwills this year, it wasn't possible to count and know for sure how many were being heard at one time. It was the highlight of the season to be standing out in the yard when the first of the evening flew through. They make a sound that sounds like a bullfrog but it is a sound that is sent out like a bat's radar, getting a return on objects so they can "see" to fly around in the dusk, dark and dawn. Someday, I will have a camera set up to capture such a beautiful sight. One that can record clearly in low light.