Hey tweeters.

"Distinctly autumnal" is how my houseguest described this past week, and in
the backyard is the evidence. About two weeks ago, I spotted the odd Cedar
Waxwing in the elm and sorbus, the berries of the sorbus now ripe orange
perfection and a big draw for all robins in the immediate area. A week ago
Steller's Jays were heard again in the vicinity. Saturday I spotted a Red
Breasted Nuthatch creeping up the trunk of the sturdy old Acer
macrophyllum. And Sunday my heart stopped when a yellow warbler flew into
the Vine Maple a scarce four feet from me. The silver green berry of
Stewartia Japonica caught its eye, and from the Vine Maple to the Stewartia
it flew. Alas, no berry for the little warbler. Now I'm not sure as to the
warbler's identification: it was quite yellow all over and the size of a
chickadee. However, there was to my eye a bit of red to its cap, and its
bill did not appear to me black. But this red might only have been the cast
of the vine maple upon its lemon head.

Now that I have the call of the Nuthatch fixed in my head, it's evident
that the Arboretum is full of nuthatches. And towhees. And Bewick's Wrens.
And for those of you inclined to a hot dip, Goldmyer boasts two little
brown bats in the cave pool.

Best,
Wallis
West of the Arboretum