Turkey vulture. (Shutterstock)

There are birds around but only in specific places and not so many of them.

The warm, sunny days are even more pleasant with the absence of wind, which cuts bird activity to a minimum.

I have asked several people what they liked most about last weekend and the answer was simple - the weather. Certainly it's been a long time since we've had such beautiful days, all the better to celebrate the most colourful time of the year.

I took some photos, aiming to send them to my daughter as they do not have the change in seasons in Australia as we do here.

The best day of our weekend was a trip to Port Stanley for a light, delicious lunch at the Kettle Creek Inn.

I strongly recommend the pumpkin cheesecake.

We did not drive to the cliff but missed very little according Keith Sealy, who counted a total of 75 raptors, including about 50 turkey vultures and harriers and sharp-shinned hawks and kestrels. The first male - they look blue - harrier was spotted over the weekend. They usually don't show up till late October or early November.

We picked up some vegetables at one of the many stands along the way.

Updates

Of those who did go birding on the weekend, there was a good showing of raptors at Detroit's Metro Park just across the lake at LaSalle. Totals for the year now include over 70,000 turkey vultures; hawks, including over 5,900 sharp-shinned, over 39,000 broad-winged and 82 red-shouldered hawks. The bulk of the latter will come later as will the golden eagles (only two so far.) Robert Maciver advises he and his family enjoyed a day at Turkey Point where they enjoyed the fall colours and lots of Bonaparte's Gulls and Little gulls.

Check out the this weekend's fall colours and craft festival at the Lambton Heritage Museum, about 5 km south of Grand Bend.

E-mail thomasnhayman@rogers.com