OH Wow! Hurricanes!

I was going to make this post about something else that I'll get to in a minute. But...we have a little hurricane brewing outside. Normally, I would be completely freaked out about this, especially since we haven't had a hurricane or anything close to one come near Rhode Island since I moved here in 1997. However, they are forcasting at least 2 - 3" of rain out of this. This might be exactly what we need to break this dry soil streak we've had almost all season. I just came in from getting birdfeeders and things that could launch across the yard and end up in Lake Larson. I wasn't going to do it until I heard the updated weather forecast on TV and it sounds like it's gaining strength and coming closer than what was earlier predicted. Man, what the heck is going on...a frost and a hurricane all in one week. It must be the Apocalypse. Heh, I bet there's no bread or milk in the stores. Maybe Eric, Sam and I will go surf watching tomorrow at the beach.

Anyway...what I was really going to post about and what may become the subject of the blog over the winter is Project Feederwatch. Cornell's Lab of Ornithology runs a research project every late fall and winter that uses data from backyard birding enthusiasts. I missed the cut off date last year to sign up. This year, I'm ready to go and have my feeding stations all set up off in the back perimeter of the yard. It's kind of neat, you choose two days a week where you note the numbers and species of birds that visit your feeders. Then that information is sent to Cornell and they track the habits and numbers of birds.

It's probably too late to sign up now, but here's the link in case anyone wants to participate next year. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/

Batten down the hatches everyone, I think tomorrow is going to be a wild ride.