Like Summer!

 9:15 to 10:15am, 41 Degrees, Cloudy, Wind 6 NE, Bar 29.80 fall

It did not feel like summer, however, the bird activity was like summer. I saw my first Blue Bird in The Little Forrest. Above. It is always nice to get a look at a bird that has been on Merlin a lot. I also, got a shot of a Purple Finch female! I sat for about an hour. The first 35 minutes were just birds everywhere. Then the crows came. They were unhappy about something. I never did see what they were after. 

Towards the end of my sit a large bird glided over The Little Forrest. It was all black. Seemed to big for a crow. Also, it could have had color. Just a grey sky. It did not feel like a crow. It glide seemed different. Maybe a raven. it landed in the pines on the north side of the gulley. The squirrels were unhappy. A short while later I heard a Red-tailed hawk in that direction. Could have been. Maybe it evaded the crows and came back. Much more is observable with the leaves gone. 

Merlin Identified 27 species. I saw 15 of those. 27 is the most Merlin has identified. 17 is the most I have seen. Blue bird was not on Merlin. Also, I saw a herring gull. 

Purple Finch

 Purple Finch November 2026

Blue Bird

 Blue Bird November 2026 

Red

 1:00 to 2:00pm, 49 Degrees, Partly Cloudy, Wind 7 NW, Bar 29.93 rise

I went screenless again on Tuesday. However, I did sit in the Little Forrest. After a couple of slow days, the birds are back! Some great looks at the Red-bellied Woodpecker. Above. The leaves are down and it is way easier to find and follow these guys. The Blue Jays were waiting for me to move away from the feeder. Right on top of me both days. Something moved two of the feeders on the pole last night. Might have to get a trail cam. 

I saw an immature female Purple Finch! At first I thought it was an Ovenbird. I really just want to see an ovenbird. Or maybe a thrush. I suspect they are gone for the season. I looked at the options of birds on Merlin and yes! A purple finch. 

Today Merlin Identified 17 species.I saw 10 of those. The mallard was an angry squirrel. Yesterday, I saw 10 species. I heard 2 more. Not bad for no computer assistance.

Fallen

 1:30 to 2:30pm, 54 Degrees, Sunny to Cloudy, Wind 14 N, 29.66 rise

The Downy Woodpecker, above, is looking for the leaves. They are all on the ground. Well, most of them are. A rainy weekend. i got out Saturday for a half an hour. Not much going on before the rain drove me back in. Did not sit Sunday. I have not seen the Blue Jays since Friday. I believe they are year round in The Little Forrest. 

With the leaves down I can see much further than before. I can tell birds are flying to Unit 5. I can not see a feeder because of tree trunks, However there is a lot of activity from the east side of Fall Brook up to Number 5. Birds were to small and fast for me to identify. Most likely sparrows, finches, chickadees. It is nice to see something new. Also, there are a lot of dreys visible now. Dreys are squirrel nests. It seems to me squirrels pick spots that hold their leaves longer. 

Merlin Identified 10 species. I saw 3 of those. The downy was not identified, I also saw herring gulls. 

Falling

 9:30 to 10am, 62 Degrees, Cloudy to Rain, Wind 1 N, Bar 29.92 even

The leaves will all be gone soon. I am seeing way more birds. Not more species, more individuals. I can just see farther. I have a better idea of the flight paths of the birds. I am loving the looks I am getting of the Red-bellied Woodpeckers. (above)

The Blue Jays remain vigilant. I walk down to my sit spot. Put my chair down. Add peanuts to the feeder. In the minute it takes to get back to the chair, the jays are on it! I looked to see if there were any before walking to the feeder. I did not see one. And Bam! 

Merlin Identified 14 species. I saw 6 species. I was only out for a short time. I would have seen more had I sat in the rain.

Murder!

 1:00 to 2:00pm, 68 Degrees, Clear Skies, Wind 5 SSE, Bar 29.96 fall

Many things going on in The Little Forrest. I went out yesterday, but did not post. I am turning my phone off on Monday nights and not back on until Wednesday morning. That includes computers, tablets etcetera. Analog for a day. Richard Louv in the book Last Child in The Woods says television steals our time. Nature amplifies it. Micah Mortali's modern version says Screens steal our time, Nature amplifies our time. I think of it as Screens depletes our souls, nature feeds our souls. So, I am doing less screens. 

When I am in my sit spot I have Merlin on. I check occasionally to see what birds it has heard. Also, I check if I hear a bird and am not sure what it is. Otherwise, I am not using my phone. I took a paper and pen to record what birds I heard and saw. I think my hearing was heightened by not having Merlin on. I identified 10 birds. the only one I did not see was the Carolina Wren. It was a really good experience. I will experiment more with my use/non use of Merlin. 

The crow above was part of a Murder! A group of crows is called a murder. They do not live in The Little Forrest. However, they do come over when they are chasing something out of their woods over across the Ocean ave. They were  lynch mob angry chasing a red-tailed hawk. I saw them chasing it on the north side of The Little Forrest. The hawk stopped in the trees. The crows were not having that. And chased it off towards the south. I got to see the chase through the trees as the leaves are falling. it took three or four murder mobs before the hawk was gone. It was nice to see what was going on. In the summer because of all the leaves it would have been a mystery. 

Merlin heard 20 species. I saw 10 of them.