Ice cover and summer recap

With the lake now completely covered in ice (and park staff starting to clear the snow off the ice in preparation for the winter skating rink), most of the common migratory breeding birds from the park have now departed. So I figured now is a good time for a recap on the summer. There were a couple of things that struck me about this summer in comparison to last summer (since I've only been paying attention to birds at the park for two years, that's the only reference point I have):

• Great Egrets seemed to be significantly less common this year than last. The last one I saw was in July.
• Green Herons were relatively plentiful at the park last year, but I didn't see a single one this year. I did see them at other places around Minneapolis, so they were around, just not at Powderhorn Park. Very curious.
• The robins were pretty scarce over the summer, but they're quite abundant so far this fall and into the start of winter.
• Pied-billed Grebe was relatively common last fall, with multiple sightings in both September and October. This year I didnt' see a single Pied-billed Grebe in the park after April.

At the end of the yar, my park list stands at 106 species