Rest of popcorn devoured by birds/animals -- so my timing was good for the harvests I did in recent weeks

The popcorn I harvested on Sep 20th and 23rd, when the ears were full and in some cases the covering was still quite green (dried tassels though) and in other cases the covering had started to yellow (but nowhere near completely dry on the plant) are all looking very promising -- they're still nice and plump and golden, ie they haven't shrivelled into nothingness the way the ones I harvested on August 20th did.

And ALL of the remaining ears still at the garden have now been finished off by birds and/or other animals.

So, in future, as long as the harvested kernels will be poppable (I'm hopeful but won't try any for at least another month), definitely harvest around Sep 20th in future years to beat the birds/animals -- DON'T wait until end of September / end of October.

Oh -- and this timing was based on my popcorn sowing dates starting on May 20th 2026 (with subsequent rounds as needed to fill in gaps).