Yeah, late, but whatever. This is as good a topical Halloween picture as I have, so up it goes -- a kinglet looking both crazed and menacing. The other week there was a little migrating flock of these maniacs on the banks of the Mystic. They're a sign that winter is nigh. Practically all the summer birds are gone (still a few cormorants around as of last week), while the winter birds (juncos et al.) are beginning to move in.
The main interest in this in-between season is provided by waterfowl. On the Mystic last week I saw a number of ducks -- mallards, of course, but also a gadwall and an American black duck, plus a trio whose identity continues to elude me. Also on view, some coots and a few pied-billed grebes, though no mergansers yet.
