Falling Leaves and a Yellow-rumped Warbler – First of the Season

This afternoon, under a warm, sunny blue sky with small white clouds, showers of leaves blew down and swirled around in the wind, making the day look and feel even more like Fall. Many were coming from pecan trees and water oaks, and our three river birches are now completely bare – just today they suddenly let go of all the rest of their leaves. Our two sturdy young red maples, though, which always turn later than the other maples on our street, are still thick with dark green leaves fast turning rose-red.

Around 3:00, I took a break from work and looked out through a window to the front yard and there, only inches away, perched in the branches of a Savannah holly, was a Yellow-rumped Warbler. It was the first one I’ve seen this season, a rather drab, grayish, sort of streaked little bird with pale yellow under its wings and a bright yellow rump. If this year is like others, we’ll soon be seeing many of them just about everywhere around the yard and throughout the neighborhood, and their dry check! calls will be a familiar and welcome sound again.