With another wet, wind-driven storm bearing down on the East Coast, I thought I’d better get out for a bit of birding yesterday morning, as I likely wouldn’t have a chance today. I made only a short visit to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, where once again I spotted a female Northern harrier perched atop a bird box near the edge of one of the main trails.
I’ve dubbed this bird Henrietta. I’ve snapped her portrait several times over the past few weeks. Yesterday, after I’d taken a few photos of her and was ready to move on, she surprised me by taking off and flying almost directly overhead.
I rushed to pull my camera up and focus, but my Canon wouldn’t fire. I got an error message and a recommendation to restart, which I did quickly. By then Henrietta was flying east and out of range, and I was disappointed to have missed a chance for a close-in photo of her in flight.
The birding gods took pity on me, however, and sent a Carolina wren to perch in a tree I approached on my way back to the parking lot. I hear Carolina wrens near home most mornings, and I hear them singing virtually every time I visit the Pole Farm. But I could not recall getting a photo of one at Mercer Meadows, at least not in a long time.
This bird was unusually cooperative, perching on a branch and hopping over to another close by, giving me a couple of opportunities to take its picture. So it gets the billboard treatment atop this post.
I drafted this post early yesterday evening, just as the storm came howling in. Our power dipped six or seven times, knocking our WiFi offline. That’s why I’m posting today.
Thank you, little wren, for bringing good cheer. And Henrietta, I’ll see you after the skies calm down.
The Jersey Birder 