Birding 2024: What lies ahead?

Happy New Year, everyone! I started the year with a good walk at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm (above), excited to begin another year of birding adventures.

The first birds I heard were, predictably, European starlings screeching from the trees across from the entrance to the park. Then a chatty American crow started squawking from another tree just beyond the park’s border.

Turning my gaze and attention to the trail ahead, I was soon greeted by a Northern harrier squeaking from atop a post to my right. She was my first official photo capture for 2024, and she gave several fly-by passes for a few minutes. There was little sunlight slanting through the clouds, so the light was not ideal for a crisp in-flight shot. But I am grateful to have gotten this next photo.

Eastern bluebirds came out in force once I reached the tree line on the central path, and there were even more as I looped back to the parking lot on the paved Lawrence-Hopewell Trail portion of the park. It’s always good to see them (and other regulars at the park, like the downy woodpecker and savannah sparrow).

By the end of this year, my goal is to be able to say I’ve gone birding in all 21 counties in New Jersey. I’ve done 10 to date, so I have 11 to go, eight of them in the upper third of the state. I’ll be migrating north several times, as well as making a few forays to the south.

Trips west to visit family are in the offing, so I hope to chalk up a few more counties (and lifers) that way. Whether you’re birding at home, abroad or somewhere in between, may 2024 bring you good luck and joy.