Starlings

Masking the daylight
one wheeling black star
explodes thousands of starlings.

from The Cuckoo's Haiku
Michael J. Rosen

The starlings are gathering in big raucous flocks. Finished with nesting and parenting, fall is the "social time" for birds. NPR's Birdnote program ran a segment about how swallows gather along lines and chatter right before they migrate. When they arrive here in April from Central America, they're all silent business, competing for the prettiest mates and best nest sites in northwest barns.

As for the common starling, Seattle is graced with them year-round, but autumn is the season when we see enormous flocks.
Party time?

My friend Julie has a knack for finding wonderful presents. For my last birthday, she gave me a book of poetry called The Cuckoo's Haiku.This beautiful book is divided into seasons, with a lovely watercolors and a haiku poem for each bird.