Some deciduous trees do not contribute to autumn color. Apple, sycamore, and white oak leaves change from green to brown / Ganoderma tsugae, a red, woody conk with white pores on the underside, is most often found on hemlocks. The top surface looks like it has been given several coats of varnish / Barred owls and great horned owls do not migrate / Carotene, a pigment in some tree leaves, is responsible for the yellows and oranges of an October hillside

Lady beetles seek out overwintering sites in attics or crevices in buildings / Fall leaf drop indicates another hormonal change in trees – signaling root growth to take over / Oak and beech trees evolved in the tropics and have not perfected the deciduous plan; look for their withered brown leaves clinging to the twigs / Anthocyanin, a pigment made from decomposed chlorophyll and the waste products of a leaf, causes the reds and purples of October hillsides

Grouse begin growing their “snowshoes.” These horny scales double the surface area of a grouse’s toes and will be shed next spring / Mice collect milkweed seeds over an extended period, sometimes leaving the fluff behind and sometimes using it in their nests / Migrants: hermit thrush, great blue heron, green winged teal, yellow rumped warbler, killdeer, woodcock, robin, fox sparrow / The leaves of winterberry holly have fallen; now the red berries stand out

Gliding from thermal to thermal, broad-winged hawks are on the way to their winter range, from southern Mexico to Brazil and Peru / Apple eaters: red and gray fox, eastern coyote, fisher, black bear, raccoon, opossum, white tailed deer, porcupine, beaver, wild turkey, and pine grosbeak / Whitetail bucks are making scrapes – bare oval depressions, 2 or 3 feet long – by pawing at the ground / Chipmunk cheek pouches are bulging with sugar maple seeds