Fall is on the way.
During the hot, dull days of August and September it seems
that summer isn’t changing.
Day follows monotonous day. Summer seems as if it will last
forever.
It’s easy to forget that the northern hemisphere began to
tilt away from the sun late
last June. Fall and winter are on the way.
One way to mark the subtleties of the changing seasons is to
watch birds. You can see
the step-by-step decline of summer and advance of fall.
If you’re a good observer, you can record when summer
resident birds disappear. It’s
hard to notice departures. One day a bird isn’t there. Did you
just overlook it or is it
really gone?
One of the first birds to leave Georgia is the yellow
breasted chat. It seems like only
yesterday I could hear the chats’ mysterious calling at night in
the thickets west of our
house. Now we no longer hear them. They’ve slipped away and are
headed south to their
winter habitat in South America.
It won’t be long before the indigo buntings, blue grosbeaks,
tanagers and many other
tropical migrants depart, too. You won’t see them go, but one
day you won’t see them
anymore.
It’s easier to notice the arrival of new birds in your
garden. Goldfinches began
visiting our zinnias and sunflowers in late July. In June, when
goldfinches nest, we had
none. These birds are done nesting now and are leaving their
territories to concentrate at
good food sources.
We’re also seeing an influx of new hummingbirds. Ruby-
throated hummingbirds are through
nesting, so they’re free to leave their early summer homes and
concentrate at favorite
flower gardens and feeders.
I find that jewelweed and goldenrod are good indicator
plants. When you see these
flowers come into bloom, hummingbirds are on the move.
As summer wanes, the arrival of more hummingbirds from up
north will make possible
dozens of hummers in your yard. You can put up extra feeders to
accommodate the new
arrivals.
Hummingbirds often fight at feeders — so put the new feeder
on the other side of the
house to help spread the wealth. Enjoy the hummingbirds while
you can, because they will
suddenly become scarce after the first cool nights in
October.
It’s sad to see them go. But new birds are coming. They’ll be
the seed eaters like
white-throated sparrows, juncos, siskins, purple finches,
evening grosbeaks and more. They
will tell you when fall and winter have pushed them south from
their northern nesting
grounds.
As summer shifts to fall, the changing bird life in your
backyard will be an
accelerating trend. Get ready so you don’t miss anything.
I’d like to gather data on when winter birds arrive at bird
feeders in Georgia. If
you’d like to help, send me a note and I’ll send you a form on
which to keep your records.
Send to Jeff Jackson, c/o Extension Forest Resources, Forestry
Building 4, University of
Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-4356.
