Sunday, August 28, 2011

Riding out Irene

Yesterday morning, I walked through my local patch, Donaldson Park, in the hope of seeing some unusual birds before the storm arrived. Most of the birds I saw were the usual ones, highlighted by a flock of several dozen Brown-headed Cowbirds. One Spotted Sandpiper joined the usual Killdeer on the mudflats along the Raritan. I stood for a while and watched for bird activity at the east end of the park, which has an unobstructed view of the river down to the US 1 bridge. A few Double-crested Cormorants flew past, along with a few Laughing Gulls. The latter is a common coastal bird, but I rarely see it at that particular location. Maybe the easterly winds carried a few in from Raritan Bay.

Here are a couple photos from later in the day.