Today I made two trips to Mercer Meadows, to the Pole Farm at mid-morning and to the Reed-Bryan Farm in late afternoon. The only bird shots I took were of an American kestrel sitting atop a bird box, too far off for a clear photo.
When I got home this afternoon, I spotted a chickadee briefly perched at our main tube feeder out the dining room window. The bird flew off before I brought my camera over, but I decided to wait a bit to see if the chickadee would come back.
It didn’t, but I had plenty to shoot. First was a white-breasted nuthatch, a small and likely juvenile one, who needled into the feeder for a few treats. That’s the nuthatch atop this post.
A song sparrow came by and so did a couple of white-throated sparrows, incuding one that had a dark spot on its breast that made me wonder if it was a hybrid with a song sparrow.
Also stopping by was a female Northern cardinal, which I assume is the same one that’s been coming by several times a day and chasing off any house sparrow or other bird that deigns to land on the perch while she’s feeding. No other birds showed up as I watched her, so I put down the camera and edited the shots I had.
Even though I struck out at the park today, it’s nice to know I usually can rely on finding birds cavorting in my yard. 🦅
The Jersey Birder 