Blackbird time...

Everywhere I look I am seeing huge flocks of blackbirds....

They fill the treetops, they mob the ground. You can see them along the side of the highway, around bird feeders or in fields....

Most of the flocks are mixed--with lots of starlings such as the ones above, grackles, red winged blackbirds and cowbirds....

Every fall about this time I will suddenly hear a huge ruckus out in my back yard and find hundreds of blackbirds gathering in my holly trees....

They sometimes strip them but usually, like this year, they leave plenty behind for the winter birds....

Blackbirds will hang around for a few more weeks but one morning we will wake and the sky and trees will be strangely silent and all the utility wires will just look like strings between poles...

Some helpful info about reporting strandings....

Autumn brings all sorts of changes to the Cape Cod landscape...

one of the changes of course is that there are fewer people on the beaches....

which means there are fewer people to find stranded birds and animals that might need help. Please copy down the following phone numbers to carry with you in case you come upon stranded sea turtles, dolphins, etc. over the next few months...a timely phone call can often mean the difference between life and death. Also, reporting dead animals helps researchers determine many things to help them understand why and how certain animals get stranded or strand themselves.

If you find a sea turtle....please call Mass Audubon at 508-349-2615 and please read the information they have provided here ahead of time so you know what to do....

For marine mammal strandings, please call the Cape Cod Stranding Network at 508-743-9548

For stranded birds please call either Cape Wildlife Center at 508-362-0111

or Wild Care Cape Cod at 508-240-2255

Please do not leave injured animals at the doorstops of nature centers or museums. They are not equipped to deal with injured animals and it is best to contact the places that do directly.

The phone numbers and website links are also on the blog sidebar for easy access.

Watercolor Bird Cards

Every now and then I like to remind folks I am an artist that sells my work as well as a writer and blogger who wanders around taking pictures....

These card sets make great gifts and can be used for all sorts of occasions....the grouping below seemed to fit well with a gray blue sort of theme....perfect for late fall or winter thank you notes, etc.

I have put these together in sets of 4 but can easily arrange and rearrange them....here are some warblers and other songbirds...

and this group of colorful songbirds is cheerful enough to use for thank you cards or birthday greetings, congratulations and so forth....

Thanks for taking a look at some of my birds.

It's that seedy time of year again....

when Mother Nature takes out her seed spreading bag of tricks...

Milkweed and other plants add a touch of fluff to their seed packet to help them fly away on the wind...

others, like the pokeweed put forth juicy berries that get eaten and spread by the birds and animals who then, well, poop them out elsewhere....

Some, like this dock plant, set seed on tall stalks where they are eaten by birds and other animals or fall to the ground to reseed the area....

Queen Anne's Lace makes a nice basket to keep seeds in while waiting for birds and other critters to help spread them around...

and even thorny, persnickety plants like thistle can get down right soft and cuddly when it comes to letting their seeds out into the world....

and of course there are all the various kinds of rose hips, a favored food of many birds and animals...

These days, wherever we go, there are signs that Mother Nature is already preparing for next spring and summer....

Walking Fort Hill

is always a great way to spend part of a day....

This past weekend was so beautiful I'm sure you could see pictures from just about any Cape location that would make you sigh...

Layers of textures and colors abounded...

with the last blossoms of rosa rugosa against the seedheads of the phragmites--funny how we love the one invasive and hate the other....

here's a close up of one of those blossoms...

The marsh still holds more green than gold...

and even though Irene took so many of our leaves before they turned color there are still splashes of red to be seen....

and there are still butterflies about....

Lots of gulls and shorebirds feeding....

Just a beautiful, beautiful Cape Cod day....

Signs of a Cape Cod fall...

Here on the Cape we don't get the glorious fall colors of northern and western New England but we do get lots of our own beautiful if more subtle colors....

We get little spots of scarlet...

birds like these tree swallows gathering on trees with golden leaves....

Changing leaves posing with their own dark shadows over still water....

Lovely patterns to enjoy close up....

And the incredible changing of color in the salt marshes, first showing up with the salicornia, or salt pickle, turning orange, red and scarlet...

It may not have the majesty of the mountains but it does give its own sweet and salty touch to our autumn landscape....

Bald Faced Hornets do not tell bald faced lies...

sorry, couldn't resist that one...

There's a bald faced hornet's nest right out in plain view in this tree...do you see it?

Pretty sneaky, huh? It's about halfway up and way to the left of the tree--just left of center in the photo.

Here's a closer view....

Bald faced hornets and paper wasps both build paper nests or hives. At this time of year their nests begin to be easier to find and see but I wouldn't recommend taking them down or heaven forbid, whacking at them with a stick! What doesn't look active could be very, very active indeed and you could be very, very sorry!

Both the bald faced hornet and the paper wasp can actually be very beneficial in the garden yet many people are so frightened of being stung by them that they want the nests removed and the insects killed. Please check out some of the information provided on these websites about bald faced hornets and paper wasps to better understand them.

In winter the wasps and hornets that remain become dormant and it is the best time to either remove or destroy nests. If you leave them be you may be lucky enough to witness the neighborhood birds, especially tufted titmice, methodically tear the nests apart to eat the dormant bees and the young for a little winter protein. It doesn't take them long at all and it is quite a show as you may have dozens of birds show up to work at the nest.

Mushroom mania!

It's mushroom time here on the Cape....

We've got fungus among us everywhere!

growing on old logs...

Pushing up through the ground...

Showing off some lovely white myceleum threads....

or poking up looking for a gnome to call it home....

I have no idea what any of these are or whether they will kill you or make you happy but I do know they are very cool to look at....

Sunrise over the beach...

is always awesome...

on some days there is a certain monochrome quality about it but it is still dramatic...

The rays of the sun shine from beneath the heavy clouds....

Casting a silver light on all that is in its path, including Mr. Arlo here....

Now that summer has passed dogs are allowed on our beaches once again....just don't forget your plastic pick up bags and please, people, don't leave the full bags on the beach or in the parking lot ;-)

Someone else I read recently said her dog was checking his "pee-mail" and I'm pretty sure that's what's going on here...

A few stands of seaside goldenrod remain....

and as we leave the beach one of the saddest sights of early fall awaits us in the parking lot....when we see the lifeguard chairs up on the asphalt we know that the last vestiges of summer are truly on their way out...

But like Arlo, I'm going to enjoy these lovely days while I still can...