It’s mid-October, which means it’s the season for…. the leaves to turn, I’ll bet you were thinking. Yes, but just as fun, it’s peak bird migration time as our feathered friends wing it to southward to the Sunbelt and beyond. According to the people at the BirdCast research consortium, which uses weather radar and computer algorithms to compile its estimate, a record 1.25 billion birds were in flight across the nation on Sept. 23, and the number has been exceeding a billion daily since then.

Luckily for Virginia bird watchers, the Old Dominion has been smack dab in the middle of the flight path the past few days.

While I love the birds that frequent our back yard and compete with squirrels for seeds in our bird feeder, I’m not so wild about the geese. They frequently stop at the two drainage ponds in our neighborhood and leave a slimy mess all over the walking trail. Other than that, I wish our flying friends the best of luck in their southward journeys. — JAB