coming and going

Although the weather was cool with northeast winds, the sun did manage to push through some dramatic morning clouds. But there was no migrant burst comparable to yesterday's autumn push; Red-eyed Vireos and Eastern Towhees were the only new arrivals that I found. What was noticeable was how many species have disappeared or dropped considerably in numbers: the finches (both Gold and House), Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Yellowthroats, all the terns on the creek. I spooked an Osprey on a dead snag taking apart a fish and several Osprey were moving high overhead, clearly in migration; I think the local Osprey have all left for Cuba (or wherever they go). Belted Kingfisher continues to patrol the creek and the pond; not sure if it's the same bird or a succession of migrant kingfishers. Flickers and American Robins continue to arrive in some numbers and the Blue Jays are still all over the place, snagging acorns and screaming their inevitable Blue Jay screams. Fall asters are beginning to show: small white ones and classic light blues. A much less lovely sight was a headless rodent with a long rat-like tail. I think it was too big to be a rat but it was a good candidate for a muskrat. Muskrats disappeared here after Sandy -- I suspect all their lodges and burrows were flooded out and many of them must have drowned. I've been waiting for their return ever since. What predator would decapitate a muskrat? I suspect an owl or a hawk. Eric Salzman