Dawn arrived with a temperature of 43 degrees , our first truly Fall-feeling morning. I pulled on a green plaid jacket, turned on the heater in the car and headed to the Pole Farm.
At the parking lot, I heard the cry of a pileated woodpecker as I switched to my hiking shoes, figuring that was a sign of good things to come.
It was.
On the central path, I spotted a palm warbler in the grasses. I got a good look through my binoculars, but the bird flew off before I could switch to my camera. Nonetheless, my warbler drought was broken, and I took that as encouragement.
As I made my way up the trail and into the woods, I was startled to hear the hooting of a great horned owl. I had seen one once before at the Pole Farm, stock still on a tree near the old AT&T Building One site. I had just left there and had entered the woods when I heard the hooting that would persist desultorily for a few minutes.
What a joy that was.
Pressing on, I looped the park clockwise and returned to the central dirt trail on my way back to the parking lot. Suddenly, it was sparrow-palooza.
I was able to photograph field, swamp and Savannah sparrows in beautiful light. Here’s a gallery to underscore the point. Another swamp sparrow is up top. š¦
The Jersey Birder 