Mount Loretto 7/10

I took a 2 1/2 hour walk around Mount Loretto this morning--32 species on a mid-summer day isn't too bad. The overcast skies made the lighting terrible. A lot of birds looked like this:

Green Heron

The tide was low, so I walked the length of the beach. Not much to see aside from a Spotted Sandpiper.

Whoever it is that does these rock sculptures has become very ambitious--there are now paths delineated by rock around and through the piles. Depending on your mood is all looks very mysterious,   humorous, or stupid.

I was in a pretty good mood this morning.
















I always wonder if the fire hydrants scattered about the grounds still work. They apparently weren't of much use when the orphanage burned down.

The List
Mount Loretto Unique Area
Number of species:     32
Canada Goose     38
Wood Duck     3     One drake in eclipse
American Black Duck     4
Mallard     3
Double-crested Cormorant     15
Great Egret     3     Pond, beach, flyover
Green Heron     1     On telephone wire over pond. 
Black-crowned Night-Heron     5     All on one pond.
Spotted Sandpiper     1     On beach
Laughing Gull     20
Herring Gull     12
Great Black-backed Gull     5
Mourning Dove     4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird     1     Wetlands Trail
Empidonax sp.     1
Blue Jay     3
Fish Crow     1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow     15
Tree Swallow     9
Barn Swallow     4
Carolina Wren     1
American Robin     5
Gray Catbird     9
Northern Mockingbird     1
Brown Thrasher     1
European Starling     7
Common Yellowthroat     5
Song Sparrow     3
Northern Cardinal     4
Red-winged Blackbird     20
Common Grackle     3
Orchard Oriole     2
American Goldfinch     1