Nature Happenings
September
- Hummingbird numbers peak around Labor Day, then start to dwindle; huge numbers along Texas coast.
- Blackbird (grackles, cowbirds and redwings) flocks can number in the thousands.
- Broadwings and other hawks pass through.
- Peak of Blue-winged Teal migration.
- First flickers and kinglets can appear by the end of this month - they love suet.
- Migration month! More birds are in the area now than any other month.
- American Goldfinch juveniles can be seen and heard harassing adults for food at feeders.
- Ruby-crowned Kinglets appear.
- First juncos and White-throated Sparrows can appear by the end of this month.
- Robins are in large flocks, feeding on crab apples.
- Peak migration for Bald Eagle and other raptors.
- House Wrens begin arriving in the southeast in late-September.
October
- Cedar Waxwings arrive.
- Look for scarce Rufous Hummingbirds to arrive throughout the region.
- Wintering sparrows, towhees and juncos arrive late in the month - they all love millet in a ground feeder.
- It's a good time to install bluebird winter roost boxes.
- American Goldfinches start to return this month (in the south of the region).
- Monarch migration reaches its peak late in month, sometimes in uncountable numbers.
- Sandhill Cranes arrive in small flocks late in the month.
- Waterfowl migration continues to build; lots of geese can be seen passing over at the end of the month.
- Bald Eagle nest building and maintenance begins.
- Great Horned Owl males begin hooting in nesting territory.
- Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers arrive.
- Sedge Wrens arrive in mid-October.
- Peak fall migration for American Robins.
- Orionids meteor shower is late-October.
November
- Project Feeder Watch starts and extends until April, feederwatch.org
- Feeders get busier as the month progresses.
- Open water is important if there's an early freeze. Put out heated bird baths for a winter water source.
- American Goldfinches arrive in large numbers. Keep those finch feeders clean and filled!
- Wintering hummingbird numbers and variety build on the Coast.
- Resident birds that may have left their home territory return for the winter.
- Waterfowl migration peaks this month.
- Franklin's Gulls pass through in large numbers on their way to wintering grounds of the coast of Chile.
- Common Loons and Bald Eagles arrive from the north.
- Northern Gannets arrive along the SE coast.
- Fall migratory waterfowl arrive.
- The fall migratory population of the Sandhill Crane peaks in mid-November.
- Leonid meteor shower is mid-month.