One of the pleasures of birding is meeting birders from other territories, and I had that pleasure again Sunday. My birding buddy Laura and I met at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm with a couple from Quebec to whom we’d been introduced by another work colleague.
Under an overcast sky and drizzling rain, the four of us strolled for two and a half hours along some of the main trails, much of it spent comparing notes on the birds we commonly see and those we don’t. While field sparrows are ubiquitous at the Pole Farm, for our visitors they were lifers.
When we transitioned from the fields along the central path into the back woods, full of wood thrush song, we were on alert for warblers. But other than hearing a couple of ovenbirds, we didn’t see any flitting among the trees until late in our walk.
Then just ahead and not far overhead, a black and white warbler appeared. In typical warbler fashion, it darted from branch to branch before heading off. I took several shots, most of them blurry. But I managed to get one in focus,. It tops this post and will serve as a reminder of a memorable day with new friends, with whom I hope to do more birding north of the border some day.
The Jersey Birder 