Fall was late, but it came to Indiana in late October as this maple tree testifies. Twice a year, spring and fall, we turn from watching the birds to admiring the flora. See Autumn Leaves for fall foliage pictures. See the screen savers at the bottom of this page for more fall pictures.

While not rare in the summer, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is very unusual in October. This one came to Mick Hardy's feeder early one frosty morning and went into shock from the cold. A few minutes of hand warmth revived it and we hope it speedily made its way south to join the other hummers, most of which left a month earlier. This month we have a number of birds which are unusual, but not rare. They may be seen at Unusual Fall Birds I.

This Chipping Sparrow in its winter plumage is not a common sight; we see them most often in their summer plumage. See Unusual Fall Birds II for more unusual visitors.

Another October surprise was to find our father Barred Owl, Junior, in his winter roost. He normally begins to use it around the middle of November. We think the day's strong winds, up to 36 MPH, may have driven him to seek the shelter of his favorite niche. For the history of this family of owls, see Barred Owl Family History.

There's nothing unusual about a Mallard; we see them the year around in Madison County. However, they are beautiful this time of year. See Common Fall Birds for more ordinary birds.

A female Mallard Duck shares her log with a turtle while colorful trees make a golden reflection in the water. See Non-Birds for fall animals other than birds.

A pair of Wood Ducks waits on Killbuck Creek for others of their kind to gather. When they have a sufficient number, they will depart together in a flock of 15 or 20 birds. For more of these colorful ducks, see Wood Ducks.

Screen Savers

This month, Birds of Madison County brings you three high resolution pictures. Clicking on one of the images below will cause the corresponding high resolution image to be downloaded to your browser. You may save this image by dragging it to your desktop or using the "SAVE" command on the File menu. These images are large and may require a little time to download, depending on the speed of your Internet connect. The size of the picture in pixels and of the file in bytes is given for each picture.

AOL Users should use Internet Explorer instead of AOL's browser to download these images.

These images are suitable for use as a screen saver or desktop. They may also be printed in large sizes for personal use only.

October Trees on Killbuck Creek

Trees on the bank of Killbuck Creek are in all stages of the fall change, from green foliage, to riotous colors, to bare branches.

2400 X 1600 pixels; 1507K Bytes.

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Female Wood Ducks

Two female Wood Ducks cruise on a pond near Killbuck Lake amidst reflections of autumn leaves.

2400 X 1600 pixels; 701K Bytes.

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Autumn Leaves

Fallen leaves float on the water of Killbuck Creek where the wind and current have pushed them against a log. They have formed a mosaic of color in a layer exactly the thickness of one leaf.

2400 X 1600 pixels; 1138K Bytes.

Award Winning Web Site

We hope you enjoy the pictures. Your comments are welcome and may be sent to us at this address:

Tom and Jean Harbron

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Birds of Madison County thanks the Midwest Antique Fruit Jar & Bottle Club for providing the hosting web site.

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