Mount Loretto 6/11--Play Misty For Me

At times today I felt very much like a vegetable at Stop & Shop--a constant mist was sprayed on me, my glasses, and my binoculars. It was alternately foggy and windy; throw in a leaden sky and you have perfect birding conditions so long as you don't mind birding in shades of gray.

However, I did find a few cool birds, like the family of Wood Ducks I saw on one of the ponds: momma and her 6 little ducklings.

I was also surprised to find a Wood Thrush on the main asphalt trail. I saw a bird pulling at a overhanging twig and at first thought it might be a thrasher but closer looks revealed its thrushiness--too small to be a thrasher and too brown & spotted to be any other thrush.

Mammalia found were Muskrat, bunny, and a very startled deer.

28 species on a day that reminded me of one those lousy, rainy days when you're on vacation at the shore.
Wood Duck    9
Mallard    8
Double-crested Cormorant    3    Raritan Bay
Great Egret    3    All flyovers
Snowy Egret    1    Edge of bay
Herring Gull    10
Great Black-backed Gull    1
Mourning Dove    2
Northern Flicker    2
Eastern Wood-Pewee    1
Willow Flycatcher    1
Eastern Kingbird    1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow    1
Tree Swallow    1
Barn Swallow    6
Wood Thrush    1
American Robin    20
Gray Catbird    7
European Starling    10
Cedar Waxwing    1
Yellow Warbler    6
Common Yellowthroat    4
Song Sparrow    1
Red-winged Blackbird    50
Common Grackle    2
Boat-tailed Grackle    1
Brown-headed Cowbird    2
American Goldfinch    4