We’re at the front end of a cold snap that will bring temperatures down into the single digits Fahrenheit for a few days. We had two to three inches of snow fall yesterday, and I pulled on my Muck boots to head to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm.
It was slim pickings for birds. I saw a couple of sparrows flash past me as I started up the trail. Without a cloud in the sky, the sunshine nearly blinded me as I tried to focus on one of the sparrows perched on a stalk of grass.
In such intense sunlight, I had to nudge my hat into a cockeyed angle to shield the viewfinder. I wasn’t sure if I’d even get a shot fair enough to identify the bird.
After shooting several frames, I moved on and spotted a Northern harrier flying along the tree line nearly half a mile away. She would not come any closer.
Off the trail in a small tree, I spotted a plump sparrow sunning itself. In tough sun again, I was able to focus more easily than on the first sparrow. The bird in tree was a Savannah sparrow, and it’s the bird shown in the top photo on this post.
That first sparrow I shot? Of the 20 or so shots I took in its direction, half missed the bird entirely and I got one reasonably clear shot that established its identity as an American tree sparrow.
It’s a rare day when I only report three species at the Pole Farm, and I feel lucky at that because the harrier was the only ID I knew for sure.
I should add that I only walked a quarter mile up the trail and returned, a much shorter jaunt than my usual mile or two. But it was cold out, and I had to get home to shovel my sidewalk.
I’m warm now, pondering whether I should venture out again. At mid-morning, the light is awesome … 🦅
The Jersey Birder 