As most of my friends know, over the past few years, I have become somewhat of an avid bird watcher and particularly look forward to the return of the winter migrants that come to my backyard feeders such as Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, Juncos, etc., but so far, none of them have shown up this Fall. I guess it could be because the weather hasn't cooled off enough this Fall to encourage them to start their southern migration, so I still expect to start seeing some of them here by the end of the month.
It may be somewhat early for the migrants, but what has me completely befuddled is the disappearance of the backyard birds that reside here year round. I have always had fairly large numbers of Northern Cardinals, Chickadees, Titmice, woodpeckers and doves of various kinds coming to the backyard feeders regardless of the time of year, but since I returned from a month-long trip out to New Mexico the middle of September, they have become almost non-existent around here other than a large flock of House Sparrows which I could do without and a pair of Inca Doves. Had my bird feeders been empty while I was gone, I might think they simply moved on to someone elses backyard feeders, but a family member put out bird food and suet on a regular basis during that time, so I don't have a clue what is keeping them away. Just wondering if any other backyard birder is experiencing the same situation.
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