My birding opportunities are limited this week, so with the sun shining and the temperature flirting with 60 degrees, I decided to make a quick dash to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm after work.
The highlight of my 2-mile stroll was a chorus of Eastern meadowlarks singing in the fields as I made my way back to my car. At first thinking I was hearing an echo, I figured out that larks were alternating their songs from one side of the trail to the other. Two birds were in one tree at one point, and I encountered a third lark singing farther down the trail.
I had relatively clear views of two of the birds. They were a good distance away from me and lit up by the descending sun. I had to contend with power lines strung behind them, and I was able to maneuver just enough to get them out of the frame.
I’d heard a few meadowlarks in recent trips to the Pole Farm, but not the sustained singing I heard this evening. Nor I had been able to spot one on those previous outings, so my reward tonight was sonic and visual. What a treat! 🦅
The Jersey Birder 