Lakewood Park is cold and windy this time of year. The lake is gray and agitated. Huge flocks of Canada geese gather on the athletic fields, honking loudly and pooping everywhere. As we headed towards the lake, we could still see the moon hovering in the morning sky.
We spotted a few birds along the path, but nothing unusual. Then, at the bottom of the solstice steps, I saw an unfamiliar bird among the rocks. Chuck took calmly with me while I waited for it to hop up into clear view. It was beautiful and definitely not a familiar friend. When I got home, I looked it up and found that we had seen a snow bunting. It’s an arctic bird that can be seen here during its winter migration. It’s hard to imagine these delicate little things traveling so far and living most of its life in such harsh conditions.
