the Sounds of Autumn

[menthe]

As opposed to NormanH's chants or songs or even poetry.  You still need to use your ears but maybe not so much your mouth or vocal chords.

Firstly, where are the sounds of the migratory birds this year?  Has anyone who lives on a migratory route heard the cranes, for example?

I took a walk, despite the light rain, towards open country and big skies.  Yes, an occasional twittering of birds but not the raucous and urgent cries of les grues.

There were other little, barely perceptible sounds:  a brook tinkling somewhere, the very distant sounds of traffic, little plops of leaves that fall dryly (is there such a word?) onto the road.

I don't mind the silence but I really, really do not like anything to do with this season.  As for the short days, who could possibly like them?

 

[Le martin-pêcheur]

Hi Menthe,

Les grues...........we usually see them here in the Limousin about this time of year, but, according to this headline, they're waiting for a 'weather window'.

https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/environnement/limousin-la-meteo-de-cet-automne-retarde-le-passage-des-grues-cendrees-4440009

Great sight to see when they do eventually fly over.

[menthe]

That is most interesting, kingfisher.  I just hope they don't suffer any adverse consequences for being late.

I do hope it will be fine this coming weekend because I plan to be looking out for them.  I can usually see flocks of them from the house but I know of a couple of places where the flights are more frequent.

Tonight, I thought I heard some grues but either they weren't grue cries or they were at some distance.  I used to be enchanted to think that they'd fly by night as well as by day🙂

[Le martin-pêcheur]

Hi Menthe,

Just seen and heard two skeins of grue flying over our village. Too quick for me to grab a photo!!

We're in Haute-Vienne, so you may see them soon too.

[menthe]

Thank you.  Weather permitting, I hope to be out and about walking every afternoon next weekend.

Not les grues cendrées as mentioned in your article but I have seen white egret type birds (?) resting near small bodies of water and on the ground in fields.

In October, I did see flocks of bramblings near the house but nothing like the numbers of previous years.

To broaden the topic a bit, kingfisher, are there other sounds of autumn that you have noticed and enjoyed?

Anyone else have favourite autumn sounds?

 

[Hectorsdad]

We are very pleased to read this thread. The grues are an annual treat at the end of October and start of November. This year we saw just THREE grues and were worried about their lack of progress.

[anotherbanana]

The prevailing wind has been southerly, south easterly or south westerly for a long time which the grues do not like flying against but it seems now to be moving northerlyish which will push them on their journey. So, folks, maybe expect them this week.

[Le martin-pêcheur]

Hi Menthe,

Local sounds of Autumn..............the beautiful chirruping of the Robins in the garden, they always sound cheery and the other small birds who can heard fluttering between the trees and their feeding station. The crows in the fields, the hissing of car tyres in the rain driving past - mostly too quickly - the wipers on my car squeaking on the windscreen from time to time as my carefully selected setting on the variable intermittent wipe does not always correspond to the varying amounts of rainfall from one minute to the next and of course, like many of us, the constant sound of euros racing from our bank accounts and going to various government bodies 😝 

[NickP]

25 minutes ago, saim said:

コマドリの陽気な鳴き声、小鳥の羽ばたき、野原のカラス、さらには銀行口座から政府機関までユーロが競うあまり心地よくない音など、秋の音について楽しい説明をしていただいたようです。 。秋の音について、具体的に相談したいことや聞きたいことはありますか？

That's easy for you to say.

[menthe]

On 20/11/2023 at 20:55, Hectorsdad said:

We are very pleased to read this thread. The grues are an annual treat at the end of October and start of November. This year we saw just THREE grues and were worried about their lack of progress.

Harnser, they are coming....Heard them last night, couldn't see them of course as it would have been about 8 pm.  Quite a large flock too by the sounds of it.

Sit tight and keep a sharp lookout!

[Harnser]

11 hours ago, menthe said:

Harnser, they are coming....Heard them last night, couldn't see them of course as it would have been about 8 pm.  Quite a large flock too by the sounds of it.

Sit tight and keep a sharp lookout!

Not me - we aren't on a grue flight path here in Brittany!