Boy, oh, boy, do I ever like October.

First, that darn oppressive heat is gone. And when you realize that most of that accompanying humidity is, too. That basically seals the deal.

The pesky gnats that seem to find your eyes while you’re in the garden are gone, too.

But that’s not what this nature guy loves the most: It’s getting out there and seeing wildlife at it fittest. Add to that the hawk migrations over our local hawk watching hot spots and the myriad songbirds still migrating into the area. I enjoy the renewed interest in our bird feeders as the new fall arriving birds begin to feast, and the local birds have returned to find tasty handouts.

Nature now, as fall settles in, provides a buffet of sorts to so many critters.

The past few weeks have seen the shagbark hickories dropping their nuts to the ground, much to the delight of the gray and red squirrels. Around Oct. 1 was probably the end of the black walnut drop, and those same gray squirrels are scurrying everywhere to eat a few but mostly to cache away hundreds and hundreds of others. And to the delight of chipmunks, grouse, blue jays and robins, the dogwood trees are now sharing their red fruits.

I mentioned in a recent column the robins feasting on the berries of the pokeweed. I didn’t realize how much they really enjoy them. I sometimes in the past used to cut down these quick growing weeds encroaching on my field. But after seeing more flocks gobbling up the last few, I’ll keep more growing next year. By the way, if you still hang a bedsheet or two on the wash line, and there’s a bright purple blob on them, that’s what a robin or thrush deposited there on an overhead pass. They leave a nasty stain.

Green briar thickets are now full of their smaller than pea-size purple fruits. When there was once a generous population of grouse in our region, my father and I would chase four or five grouse from those “thorny” thickets. Now I see hermit thrushes feeding on those berries all winter long. They ripen in late September and linger on the shoots all winter.

My brother-in-law Dee craves teaberry ice cream. On his trips back East, he finds one or two ice cream brands or stores that still sell it. Well, those same grouse of which I just spoke love to eat the fruits. I find teaberries at a number of places on the edge of or on the Pocono Plateau. I enjoy picking and eating a few off the 3-inch-high plants on my fall nature forays.

Not always present each year, and maybe the most important mast crop in fall, are acorns. White oak acorns are craved by white-tailed deer, black bears, wild turkeys, blue jays and, of course, our squirrel species.

White oak trees are not as plentiful in many areas due to the gypsy moth damage. Red oak and chestnut oak acorns are bigger and more bitter tasting to wildlife. Wildlife will eat them, though, and good acorn crops will help deer, in particular, add the needed fat for the lean winter months. I’ve taken a few short walks through some oak “patches” this fall and it must be it must be a bonus year, as they crunched underfoot.

Speaking of walking, it’s time to see this for yourself, so get out there.

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: Very shortly, or by now, our local snakes will be hibernating. Which of these is our largest snake species? A. black rat snake; B. black racer; C. northern water snake; D. timber rattlesnake.

Last Week’s Trivia Answer: Almost all the ladybird beetles and praying mantis species that frequent our region were introduced here for their beneficial insect eating habits.

Email Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com