New arrivals on their migratory journey bring joy to Mt. Whoville

Goodbyes soften the heart, while hellos bring joy and hope.

If you are in tune with the tick tock of nature, this is the season that both softens and brings joy.

A month ago, we sadly said goodbye to the brightly colored hooded orioles as they departed for their winter homes in Mexico. The nectar feeders were relatively quiet with but a few hummingbirds buzzing in to feed now that the noisy orioles were gone.

For a week or so it was sad to sit on the back patio and not be entertained by the cackling, high pitched whistles, bickering or comical antics of the orioles.

But joy and hope soon arrived on the wings of a whitecrowned sparrow that was right on schedule in its migratory journey from summer breeding grounds as far away as the northern fringes of Alaska.

It was easy to spot this new arrival with the crisp black and white stripes on its crown.

These punctual little sparrows arrive like clockwork in the third week of September and along with many of their fellow travelers settle in for the winter. As the seasonal migration is complete, they will become one of the most common birds here until departing northward in the spring.

By late April they will sadly be gone, but the orioles will be joyfully back, having arrived in March.

For now, the animated white-crowned sparrows will brighten winter gardens and generate lots of activity at home seed feeders.

As I write this from Mt. Whoville, it’s almost like a welcoming committee of scrub jays, California thrashers, house finches, quail and passing bushtits greet the new arrivals. More than likely, they all enjoy the same seed cake I put out to feed my feathered guests.

I have not seen one yet, but another winter visitor soon to arrive is the yellowrumped warbler. This is another species that migrate in from the far north in great numbers. The western species is known as an Audubon’s warbler.

According to the San Diego Bird Atlas and from simply watching my garden, San Diego is just about central to the warbler’s winter range, with birds most concentrated in lowland coastal areas, but also found throughout the county.

They brighten the winter landscape with characteristic yellow patches on top of their head, under their throat, on their flanks just below the wings, and of course at the base of the tail.

This tail patch of bright yellow flashes as they take off and is a key to identification, not to mention the source of their name.

There are other friends that return or are at least more frequently seen as the sun crosses the equator and heads south for the winter.

Morning Joe, the feisty Allen’s Hummingbird has arrived to share coffee with me most mornings. He perches on the pointy tip of an agave to guard the hummingbird feeder, then launches to drive away the gentle Anna’s hummers as the come to drink.

Fall is breeding season for those cuddly spiders called tarantulas. Just the other night I had one walk past me as I was enjoying a Mt. Whoville sunset.

It’s a dangerous time for male tarantulas as they head out in evening shadows to find a suitable mate. If they do find a willing female, she will frequently kill her paramour.

Evening hikes this time of the year are a good time to spot the large, hairy males as they begin their search for a partner. I’ve seen more than a dozen in a meadow while hiking the Daley Ranch Nature Preserve in Escondido.

As we slip into fall, my game camera still captures meandering coyotes almost every night, but the three pups born this spring are now mature and hard to tell from other adults. Soon we will see the coyote’s thin summer coats begin to grow out as they add a winter insulation layer.

A final goodbye of the season for me will be the departure of the Milky Way. On warm summer nights the dazzling star clouds are breathtaking from a dark sky location away from city lights.

By late October this view through the edge of our galaxy will be gone, making the glorious Geminid Meteor shower of December just a bit less exciting than the Perseids in August.

As another year slips away, our softer hearts will look ahead to the joyful hellos of spring.

ERNIE COWAN A white-crowned sparrow.