November 1: Birding in Portland

A stretch of woods below Portland's Western Prom used to shelter a significant number of homeless people. When we birded in that area, we would come across makeshift shelters, piles of clothes, and other heart-breaking signs that people were living there. Now many of the trees have been cut down, opening up the woods: it's no longer good bird habitat, but more importantly, it's no longer good shelter for those humans who needed it. It's not like those who stayed there vanished into thin air when the woods were cleared. As the calendar turns to chilly November, where have they found shelter?

city trees cut down--
sadder to think the homeless
have lost even this

November 3: Urban birding

Along the railroad tracks--
squatters' sodden campsites,
white-throated sparrows.