“Clouds of insects danced and buzzed in the golden autumn light, and the air was full of the piping of the song-birds. Long, glinting dragonflies shot across the path, or hung tremulous with gauzy wings and gleaming bodies”. by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

OK, so I have been missing in action for a couple of days.  Autumn is my favorite time of year, and the weather has been unbelievable and I just had to play hooky.  I experienced the clouds of insects dancing in the golden light of autumn.  There were so many of them, they did look like a cloud!

Yesterday, I took a walk at dawn and got to revel in the sounds of the morning dusk, the final crickets chirping off and the tree frogs croaking down, and the glorious sound of the birds waking up and filling the air with their piping and melodious songs.  I literally stopped in my tracks and took it all in, and was suddenly overwhelmed with nature and the beauty of the sunrise and sights and sounds of the day coming alive.

I am grateful for the time I gave myself!!  Have you taken a moment for you lately?

Birds

Early morning often provides great looks at birds just finished with all-night flights. As the sun starts to rise, some birds that find themselves out over ocean waters or above the Great Lakes will suddenly head for the nearest land. Hundreds of birds can come pouring inland at these times, among them thrushes, warblers, vireos, and tanagers.

During daylight hours, the skies can be filled with everything from White Pelicans to Bobolinks. Expect lots of shorebirds, cormorants, terns, and gulls at the seaside and hawks, swifts, flickers, jays, swallows, and robins overhead almost everywhere.

Butterflies

Most people have heard about Monarchs and their fall migrations to the mountains of southern Mexico, but lots of other butterflies travel in autumn. Some even head north!

Watch in the same places that bird migrants concentrate for American Ladies, Question Marks, Red Admirals, and the more abundant Monarchs – all moving southward. By contrast, Cloudless Sulphurs may be headed north in fall, as their southern populations expand, and Painted Ladies and Common Buckeyes can be watched for flying north or south.