Waiting for the storm...

Wild grasses

The groceries stores are packed and the gas stations busier than usual as people await hurricane Sandy! Not sure it's really supposed to be that bad here, but I guess we'll find out.

White throated sparrow

I headed to the park as a last opportunity before a lot of rain to get a nice walk in and see who was around.

It was 53 degrees at about 8:00 a.m. and the sky did like a bit ominous. When a wind picked up, a huge quantity of leaves would fly up in the air and look like a flock of birds heading off.

Chickadee acrobat

It was pretty quiet today, save for a few brave souls, feasting as much as possible before they have to hunker down.  Many of our regulars were there, including; robins, goldfinches, cardinals, bluejays, song sparrows, house finches and chickadees. There were several white throated sparrows and even more juncos. At one point, as I walked down a path (seeing nothing around me), they flew up from every direction, having blended in with the surroundings. I had no idea there were so many just feet from where I was. A large group of Cedar waxwings adorned a tall tree in the lower gardens. I heard Caroline the Carolina wren call from the woods behind the little house near the Winchester St. entrance.

Some geese flew overhead and two pairs of mallards and a lone male were in the pond.