November NATURE NOTES
By Katie Andersen

The days are rapidly waning now, but there’s still plenty to be found in nature. Here are a few things happening in the natural world this month.

• Common Loons and Tundra Swans begin to appear on Lake Erie, Edinboro Lake, and other large bodies of water in the area.

• Gulls begin congregating in large numbers.

• Migrating Fox Sparrows may visit feeders.

• Flocks of White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos increase at feeders. Juncos will generally be consistent in the area throughout the rest of winter, while the White-throated Sparrows may continue to filter further south.

• American Tree Sparrows return. They will stay in the area throughout the winter.

• Snow Buntings return. They like to frequent windswept areas with seed plants, so may be found along the vegetation line of the beaches or in farm fields throughout the region.

• Irruptive species, such as Red-breasted Nuthatches, Purple Finches, and Pine Siskins may show up at feeders from now through May.

• The first migrating owls appear. Expected wintering species are Northern Saw-whet, Long-eared, and Short-eared Owls. While Snowy Owls are always a possibility, it currently doesn’t look like we will be seeing an irruption of them this winter.

• Yellow-rumped Warblers are our most likely warbler species to linger in November. Their versatile diet allows them to eat fruits from bayberry and poison ivy for extra energy during the cold winter months.

• Eastern Monarch Butterflies reach their central Mexican overwintering sites starting in November.

• Beavers are very active in the evenings while caching a winter supply of food.

• Waterfowl migration begins to build. Check the Presque Isle Bay or any large wetland for various ducks and geese. Waterfowl numbers will be highly dependent on lakes and such to the north freezing over and pushing these birds south.

November 2024 Dates of Note

• Nov. 1: Project Feeder Watch starts and runs until April.

• Nov. 1: New Moon, Nov. 16: Full Moon.