Join the Fyke Nature  Association tonight (Friday, Oct. 27, 8 p.m.) for a free Hawk Identification Program featuring live raptors.

Giselle Smisko of the Avian Wildlife Center in Sussex County will show the hawks and explain the finer points of identifying the species that reside in or migrate through the Northeast.

Giselle is a naturalist, photographer, wildlife rehabber, and a Master Bird Bander.

I saw the program at the Meadowlands Birding Festival last month, and Giselle was outstanding.

Tonight's program is open to all.

On a late-morning walk along Bozman-Neavitt Road on Maryland's Eastern Shore, my wife and I saw Monarch after Monarch traveling south along the highway, including one that must have gotten hit by a car (I removed it from the roadway and took its photo, above).

Got to wondering, do Monarchs often head south for the winter on highways, just like "snowbirds"?

Found this on the Smithsonian website:

John Ensslin of The Record did a great podcast of the recent Saddle River Youth Theatre's Fell House performance of Edgae Allen Poe's haunted tales.

Just hit the "play" button above.

Link is here.

Minutes after helping the Eastern Box Turtle across the road on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, I came across a second turtle on the same road, about 50 yards away.

Although the shell pattern is different, I'm guessing it's an Eastern Box Turtle as well. What do you think?

Why were they crossing the road this time of year?

They moved fairly quickly for turtles, no offense to turtles.

Just in case you missed it, and you'd like to read a spooky local tale, I wanted to let folks know about a ghost story I wrote  a couple years back about one Halloween night in Allendale, back in the 1940s.

It's set partly on the John Fell House property.

The link is here.