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.