After the fire, the birds return

To keep out those pesky invasive vegetation species, the Mercer County Parks system does a controlled burn early each year at Mercer Meadows. Last week, conditions were right, and several of the meadows were put to the torch.

I visited the Pole Farm yesterday and adjoining Reed Bryan Farm today to check out conditions. Portions of some of the big meadows had been scorched and some were spared, reminiscent of the way farmers rotate their crops.

While a charred scent was in the air yesterday (not so much today), I was pleased to hear and see plenty of birds, albeit on the slower side of an average February day.

The Northern harriers were still swooping over the fields in search of voles, and bluebirds and song sparrows were flitting about. I got one surprise — a trio of Eastern meadowlarks were foraging in a burned out section of one of the central fields. One of them is shown in the photo at the top of this post.

In olden days, wildfires that renewed Mercer Meadows and other sections of New Jersey did their work on a natural pace. Nowadays, the rangers and firefighters do the job, and it’s always nice to see how quickly the birds and grasses recover. The meadows will be verdant again in a few weeks.