Besides a sharp eye and patience, a birder needs a sense of humor and a sense of humility. I keep that in mind, particularly with my photography, as I tread the fields and woods on my birding outings.
The photography certainly keeps me humble, as I review my photo cards and see the shots that didn’t quite pan out, like the one of two harriers playfully charging at one another over the fields at the Reed Bryan Farm side of Mercer Meadows late this afternoon.
As for the needed sense of humor, this afternoon’s outing made me chuckle.
The Pole Farm/Reed Bryan acreage has two, two-story observation decks, one each. I usually don’t stop at them because, it seems, I rarely see birds from them.
But today I spotted the two harriers flying near the Reed Bryan observation deck, so I walked up that way, climbed to the upper deck and took a seat. I figured on waiting a bit to see if at least one of them came near.
Sure enough, one of them came flying by, and I started tracking and shooting it. The bird was maybe 50 feet away at its closest point, and I got several almost-sharp shots. But one was sharp, and I am delighted to put it atop this post.
I’m laughing at myself because I got the shot after firmly thinking, “I never get anything good from the observation decks.” And yet I got one of the best harrier shots I’ve taken in a good while.
Go figure! 🦅
The Jersey Birder 