The big question before this morning’s walk in Schenley Park was, “Will it rain?”   We didn’t think so.  It had poured north of town but that cloud was gone, Oakland was dry, and weather radar showed no rain on the way.  We set off without raingear to look for birds, bugs and flowers.

But the sky kept getting darker.

We had just reached the Phipps Run valley beneath the tufa bridge when the first heavy drops began.  How convenient!  We waited under the bridge while it poured for at least 5 minutes.

Gray clouds persisted after the rain so birds were hard to find.   Best Bird was a rose-breasted grosbeak — but I didn’t see it because I was distracted by a squirrel taunting an immature red-tailed hawk. Squirrels are hawk-food but this one won the contest. The red-tail flew away.

Though it was wet we saw a few good birds. Thanks to everyone for coming out on a gray day.

p.s. The complete checklist of 20 species is at this link.

(photo by Kate St. John)