There appears to have been a significant influx in fall warblers this morning with many of our trees and bushes filled with warblers busily working the leaves for bugs.

We spotted our first Fall migrant yesterday...a Tennessee Warbler. This of course is the time of year when many of the warbler and other species begin the trek from their breeding grounds up north...many in the boreal forests...to areas in Mexico as well as Central and South America. The hummingbirds are on the move south as well but our 3 feeders remain very busy. Our Cardinals fledged several weeks ago and we saw a young cardinal at our tray feeder that we think may have one of "ours". Keep watching for fall warblers.

Purple Martins have started to congregate in large numbers as they begin their migration south. Here's a picture of a number of them on our antenna.

We are not talking about the kind you buy, but instead the available food from trees and shrubs. We have devoted a great deal of time to landscaping with native plants...including trees and shrubs...whenever possible. Not only have birds evolved to use these native species, but the natives are much more tolerant of local extremes in the weather. Every day we are visited by "our" Bluebird family that fledged in July. They, along with others, like the Catbirds and Cedar Waxwings our currently feasting on the ripening crop of berries and other fruit available in the yard. One such native shrub whose fruit is now nearly ripe is the Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum). This year has been exceptionally wet and this wetland species is thriving with what appears to be a record crop of fruit.

Cornus amomum

Just when we thought the nesting activity in our yard was over, we discovered a pair of N. Cardinals are building a nest in a shrub near our front window. Let's hope they are successful. We are looking forward to monitoring their progress and we will keep you updated here.