A Lingering Osprey

Yesterday afternoon I went back to Donaldson Park in the hopes of finding the Northern Parula that I had seen there on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. I looked carefully and even sat for a while in the area where I had seen it, but it never appeared. One negative result does not necessarily mean that it is gone, but it might be. Instead of the warbler, I saw another lingerer. As I was finishing up my walk along the river, an Osprey flew upstream and landed on one of the poles along the river bank. The sighting was a real surprise; previously my latest sighting of an Osprey in New Jersey was November 26 at Sandy Hook, and my latest in the county was November 3. It was especially unexpected since the river is developing some ice patches. This one was cooperative enough to sit close by for a few photos before it flew back downstream.