The best birds in Ft. Bayard Park this morning were at least two BROWN 
CREEPERS, my first of the fall.  Also had my first YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER of 
the fall (a really drab bird that I tried to turn into a Cape May), and a 
CHESTNUT-SIDED.

But maybe the best spectacle was the huge waves of Common Grackles that went 
through.  A giant flock streamed by the house and over the park, starting 
while I was still in bed, and then a smaller wave passed by while I was in 
the park.  My conservative estimate is 2200 birds, but I only saw the tail 
end of the earlier wave and it could have contained far more than that.

Yesterday I also had a PILEATED WOODPECKER in the park--only my third 
sighting there (all three have been in the fall).

Jason Waanders
NW DC
jwaandersATstarpower.net