October 24, 2012

As the Adirondack fall continues to progress, leaves drop, temperatures fall, and our nights grow longer. Most of our songbirds have left the area for the winter, and others are continuing to follow their lead. As a result of this lower diversity, our October flocks of birds have a distinct feel as they move through the cool, damp woods. And many remaining species flock up in large numbers as many of them prepare to move further south in turn.

While almost all of our warbler species have gone, yellow-rumped warblers remain abundant for much of the month. Large flocks of yellow-rumpeds are common across the region, and they are usually mixed with resident black-capped chickadees, migrating ruby-crowned kinglets, and golden-crowned kinglets – a species in which some individuals are likely to stay in the Adirondacks all winter, while many other individuals move on. At times, particularly earlier in the month, both palm and pine warblers can be found mixed in with these flocks. Just last week I came across one of these flocks on the Bloomingdale Bog Trail north of Saranac Lake, and was surprised to find that it included a late Nashville warbler – most of which shipped out weeks ago.

That is part of the fun of October

birding – diversity may be lower, but there are gems to find in the large numbers of more common species – after all, migrating birds can show up in odd places.

Fox Sparrow
Fox sparrows move through our area briefly in the fall and spring - mixed in with groups of more common sparrows.

The same holds true for the sparrows that grace my yard in fall. For the past few weeks, my yard has seemed to be the nexus of the white-throated sparrow universe. The same could also be said about dark-eyed juncos. Both species are common Adirondack breeders that also migrate through the area. And both will largely vacate the region as it gets cold. In fact, I was at a conference in Plymouth, Massachusetts the end of last week into the weekend, and juncos are already showing up in the Cape. Such is October birding.

But while sparrows remain – and I actively feed them with mixed seed (white millet, cracked corn, etc) to encourage them to do so – other species of sparrow get mixed in. Good numbers of song and chipping sparrows – also soon to move out – are still here, but there are also less common migrants in the array. White-crowned sparrows are moving back south, and I've had as many as four at a time in my yard on a few days over the past couple weeks. My favorite visitors, however, are the fox sparrows, very large sparrows which generally breed well north of us. Their dark, blotchy breast pattern and vigorous two-footed seed-scratching kick are fun to watch. In fact, if you spread seed across your yard, you can watch a whole flock of sparrows of a variety of species searching for food in this manner. It can be comical to see them all bopping up and down!

common grackle
Common grackles are also still around - like this one in my yard

Adding to this mix are pine siskins – a member of the finch family – which have grown in number over the past few weeks. We often find siskins in the Adirondacks, but their flocks have grown considerably of late as some have moved in from the north. And so as I work, I'm always keeping an eye outside to see if an odd species have been drawn into my yard by the presence of so many common ones. It can be very distracting, but it makes for a fun break. But like everything else, as the season continues to change and the cold begins to deepen, they will move on. But it's fun to enjoy October songbirds while we have them.

Fox Sparrow
Fox sparrows move through our area briefly in the fall and spring - mixed in with groups of more common sparrows.
common grackle
Common grackles are also still around - like this one in my yard

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