By Ken M. Blomberg

October is finally here. If only the full spectrum of fall’s colors lasted for months, not weeks. Imagine a calendar of dreams containing 12 months of October. Alas, time is of the essence for those of us waiting patiently this time of the year.

For hunters, that means following the course of migrant gamebirds. For birders, it’s time to keep an eye on the sky and in the bush as early migrants are invading central Wisconsin and short-distance migrants are taking center stage statewide. American robins, rusty blackbirds, and kinglets are said to be on the increase, while now is peak time for yellow-bellied sapsuckers, northern flickers, and cedar waxwings. Cranes are staging. Geese and ducks are starting to move through in noisy throngs and migrant woodcock will soon slip in – without fanfare and in the dark of night – riding waves of northerly winds. Dogwood thickets and alder bottoms become their transitory homes – their secluded whereabouts only uncovered by investigating birddogs and hunters.

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