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October 8, 2026 – I’ve got 25 turkeys in the yard here right now. I’m also seeing blue jays, doves, chickadees, and one merlin still flying around, grabbing the blue jays. I had a goldfinch a few days ago; just one goldfinch. The pileated woodpecker is still flying over every morning and night, and I’ve got three hairy woodpeckers, two downy woodpeckers, and robins running around. Of course, I have the ravens and the crows cawing away here, too.

In September, I heard several different owls, including the great horned owl. They were calling at different times, a couple nights each one.

A walker recently said he saw a moose and a snowshoe hare out on the trail. After one of the windstorms, I went up by the beaver pond and found some moose tracks. I haven’t seen a moose yet, but I’ve seen the tracks.

The squirrels are getting closer. I heard them on the other side of the stream out back here, and they’re getting ready to come to the feeders. The pines and evergreens have cones on them this year, so they’re getting more feed out in the woods. When we get a killing frost, they’ll be back.

Those fuzzy blue flies are flying around again, too. I went out to get the mail and seven of them were stuck to my jacket, so I got one on a piece of paper and took some pictures and film of it. I got a good close-up view.

I’ve had four frosts so far, but not a killing one yet. The coldest I’ve had here is 28 degrees. I’ve taken pictures and videos of each frost, and I’m keeping a daily record of how the leaves change. One morning, the butternut tree had all its leaves when I went out to do the birds. As soon as the sun came up, in half an hour it was completely bare. The big elm lost most of its leaves in the wind the other day, too.

Perham Stream has held up pretty well. It’s low, but it isn’t as low as it was three years ago, and there’s still a good pool out back here. Right now, we’ve got six feet of water in the well. I usually have 15 feet.

The wind has kept me busy picking up twigs and branches. When I got to the sandpit, there was a big branch across the trail. I had to stop and get that broke up, cut off, and out of the way. I’ve still got to get out there and check the rest of the trail. I’ve also done the cemetery field and trimmed the edges of the Fox Hallow Trail. It looks a little wider than it did before.

There’s been something to see in the sky, too. I took a picture of the moon and Jupiter right beside each other. I looked up, and there it was, so I went back in and grabbed the camera.

📸 A wild turkey and a Great horned Owl at Perham Stream Birding Trail. Carson counted 25 in his yard during this month’s Wildlife Watch. Photo by Carson Hinkley.

Carson Hinkley is a seventh-generation resident of the historic East Madrid settlement in Maine’s High Peaks, where he stewards the Perham Stream Birding Trail from the farmhouse where he grew up and still lives today.

A lifelong observer of the natural world, he shares detailed notes on the birds, mammals, and seasonal changes he witnesses through “Wildlife Watch with Carson,” a regular feature highlighting the rich biodiversity and daily rhythms of the Perham Stream landscape.