I woke up to dozens of birds feeding in the trees this morning.

There is a rotating menagerie of robins and cedar waxwing in our Hawthorn tree.  The fruit must be in prime condition today.  Earlier this morning, one aggressive robin tried to claim the entire tree as his (or her?) own.  Now birds fly in and out with less drama, and the yard is filled with their chatter.

The birds are also enjoying juniper berries, crowding into our best berry-bearing tree.  They like to fly from the hawthorn to the cedar, or perch in nearby trees looking for a safe place to land.

It is hard to get a good photo of the busy birds!  The robin above gives some scale for the small Hawthorn tree.  There are probably 5 to 12 birds in the tree at this time, but in the photo I can only make out one robin and a blurry cedar waxing above him.

The woodpeckers prefer the persimmons.   In the last week, I frequently see a red-bellied woodpecker and a hairy (or downy?) woodpecker eating persimmons out of the tree.

I like the persimmons too, and have had plenty to eat fresh, give away, and dry for later.

Our screech owl has been visiting every 5 to 7 days for about a month now.  He (she?) is perching in opening of the barn owl box in the lower right corner of the photo above. 

I am enjoying a long Virginia fall.  Alaska fall is glorious as well,  but quickly turned to winter.  Most (all?) of the trail camera photos since late September show snow on the ground at our Alaska cabin.