A trip to Trenton on ‘Black Duck Friday’

While many Americans were hitting the mall this morning, my friend Laura and I drove down to the Tulpehaking Nature Center, one of the gateways to Abbot Marshlands. We joined a group of about 10 birders for a “Black Duck Friday” birding walk.

Gathering in the parking lot, we were treated to a through-the-scope view of a peregrine falcon perched atop a power tower in the distance. That was the first of its kind on my life list, a nice start to the outing.

Group leader Tim took the group down a hill toward the marsh, and we turned onto a path pointing us toward Silver Lake. I often visit the lake from the Sewell Avenue entrance to John A. Roebling Park.

The roughly half-mile walk to the lake was surprisingly devoid of ducks but was highlighted by the singing of a winter wren and sightings of couple of golden-crowned kinglets. Our count built slowly, at last kicking into gear when we reached the outskirts of Silver Spring Lake.

On it, we saw dozens of ring-necked ducks (Laura put the official account at 88) and a couple of distant gadwalls. A belted kingfisher and a pair of yellow-bellied sapsuckers appeared nearby.

The trail brought us to the newly resurfaced (and still closed) Roebling Park parking lot. We paused a while there, the highlight being, weirdly, a house sparrow, one that probably was taking a break from the neighborhood adjacent to the park.

We skirted the lot and walked to the marsh that’s separated from Silver Lake by the path that encircles it. I finally had reason to start shooting some photos as a flock of Northern pintails took flight. Also on the water were mallards, green-winged teals and Northern shovelers.

Keeping an eye on the clock, Laura and I walked up the path with the group for a short while before bidding them adieu to walk back to her car. Another yellow-bellied sapsucker appeared on a nearby tree, and I kept shooting until I got a couple of profile shots of it.

On the way back to the parking lot, the section of the marsh that had been bird-barren on our first pass was now teeming with waterfowl. Although I didn’t get any worthwhile photos of them, many American black ducks were plying the waters.

All told, we logged 31 species in the two hours we spent at the marsh — another reason to celebrate on this Thanksgiving weekend.