Autumn is not in its runaway mode. It is unstoppable, inevitable and ultimately final, but it has been full of stops and starts — warm spells, and now some snow, so its progress has been anything but smooth. Peak colors are reigning up on the hillsides as the crimson maples will ultimately relent to the yellows and golds of birch and aspen. A dusting of white on it all this weekend seems inevitable too.

Evidently there has been enough warm weather at the right locations to slow the migration of most sparrows so far this fall. At the start of the week the first true rush of dark-eyed juncos began with around a dozen showing up near the community gardens at Presque Isle in north Marquette. The sparrows are beginning to show up at feeders and in open fields filled with weed seeds with a little more regularity. White-throated, white-crowned, savannah, fox, chipping, swamp and song sparrows continue to trickle through, but still in low numbers.

The sparrow at the top of the list for migration so far in Marquette though was a Harris’s sparrow seen at Presque Isle on Tuesday. Found near the old tennis courts, it is a western species that occasionally wanders eastward and is one of the more enjoyable species to find in sparrow flocks. They are slightly larger than other sparrows and usually have a partial black bib to set them apart from other sparrows. Presque Isle is one of the better places to look for Harris’s sparrows in the fall. With the big cold front coming through the area this week birders will be looking for more.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are still being seen singly in Marquette and Manistique from time to time as the probably Canadian birds move southward. Some seem to be showing a preference for flowers over feeders and may not be familiar with plastic feeders. Gardeners with large flower beds of late bloomers may be surprised to see occasional hummers for a couple more weeks.

SCOT STEWART

Waterfowl continues to be the big act at Whitefish Point. Last Monday, 65 common loons and 258 red-necked grebes went through along with all three species of scoters and lots of dabbler ducks. Tuesday showed a good number of redhead ducks with 305 being counted. Singles and pairs of common goldeneyes began to show up in the daily counts this past week. It is still relatively quiet around the region as far as finding ducks on the water goes though. A cackling goose was found with a medium sized flock of Canada geese in Munising last Tuesday.

Cackling geese along with Taverner’s, Richardson’s and Aleutian geese, formerly the four smallest races of Canada geese, were combined fifteen years ago and split from the Canada goose into a separate species. Most are just slightly larger than a mallard and have extremely short bills. Birders always love those splits of a species into a new one and the size differences between cackling and Canada geese make this separation fairly easy to distinguish, even when the birds are flying.

It would appear northern cardinals have had a relatively successful year breeding in the Marquette area. A number of ebird lists, https://ebird.org/region/US-MI-103/activity, reporting the species seen in town from the Dead River to south Marquette, and reports of feeder birds visiting have included a cardinal or two. Thirty years ago, or so it was a challenge to find a cardinal in the northern U.P. Now they seem well established in many U.P. towns and are regulars at some feeding stations. They are a thrill to see at any time and once the white of winter arrives their flash of color will be truly appreciated.

Another place to find some great color is the park cemetery where the fall colors are reflected well on the ponds there. Last year a trio of hood mergansers and a local muskrat made the scenes especially poetic and as migration continues, more exotic species may arrive. For now, mallards and Canada geese monopolize the water surfaces, but even they add a gorgeous touch to the scene, slicing across the water breaking up the colors with blue and silver ripples of the sky. The colors there will peak soon, but even a few late turning trees can add a huge splash of color on a sunny day. Last year, the mergansers did not arrive until late October and the muskrat preferred a side of one pond featuring the reflections of a single maple making it appear to swim through a sea of molten gold.

It is a time of year where the beauty of the season can be found on many hillsides and river edges, but also in small corners as well. The last of the migrants may be found around rough edges in the backyard, and when the snow buntings join the last of the lapland longspurs and horned larks, even on weedy patches along some of the driveways and back roads, stretches may become very busy with splashes of black, white, brown, white and yellow and a single fall leaf may look like an infrared image of a river from space. Finding some of that beauty will make your day.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Scot Stewart is a teacher at Bothwell Middle School in Marquette and a freelance photographer.