Destruction in September

Apologies for the image intensity of this post, but it's kind of needed. I kept them small - select one for a bigger view. (You know, it would be nice if Blogger's preview actually showed you what it would look like...)

This is what the park across from College Park Metro used to look like. Pay especial attention to the pictures of the heron and swallows, and the mockingbirds, and the tree branch arching over the path in the sandpiper shot, but all of them, really.

Nice, no? All green, with accents from the trumpet vines, and full of birds. Most of my bird pictures are cropped down so you don't see all the green around them, but these give you an idea.

So imagine my feelings Thursday morning when I arrived to this:

There were goldfinches in there once. This morning, the mockingbirds were bouncing around in some agitation, and a female cardinal flew rapidly along the denuded border in genuine distress. The swallows will still, I imagine, nest in the culvert, but the heron will have to find somewhere else to rest...

Now I'm no landscaping expert, but I can't imagine why this was done.