Happy (Celtic) New Year!

The air is full of smoke this evening from multiple bonfires. Either all the neighborhood leaf piles reached critical mass simultaneously, or our neighborhood is celebrating the Celtic New Year, which starts today. Traditionally the ancient Celts would gather and set bonfires on this day to usher in the new year. Not that we have any ancient Celts here. Probably just a coincidence.Look real hard at the flames in the photo and you can see the face of Satan. Or it could be Bugs Bunny. Haven't decided yet.

Earlier today I flushed a male Wood Duck from the pond, and as I was lighting my bonfire this evening I saw two male woodies there. Other birds I noticed while wandering around our yard today included Inca Doves, a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, our first Selasphorus-type hummingbird of the season, a House Wren, and a heard-only Red-breasted Nuthatch. Most of the neotropical migrants are gone and most of the wintry birds are in - except sparrows. No sparrows here yet.

Heard a Ruby-crowned Kinglet singing from the big live oak by our house. They often start singing in spring before they migrate north, but for fall it seems a bit unusual.