For my last outing of 2025, I headed to John Roebling Park late this morning, hoping to catch sight of a tundra swan that was reported there yesterday. I had only to walk a short way up the trail from the parking lot to spot the bird, chilling with a few gulls in the middle of Spring Lake.
Finding this rare visitor from the Arctic at Abbott Marshlands bore a certain irony. Previously, visitors to the park could expect nearly every day of the year to see a pair of mute swans on the lake or on the nearby marsh. But the mute swans disappeared sometime in the spring and have not come back, to my great chagrin.
But the tundra sighting was welcome on this cold and sunny final day of 2025, a natural point of reflection. I logged 142 species in Mercer County, seven better than last year. I’m not driven by numbers (well, maybe a little) but I’m pleased with the result. I missed several weeks of birding in the immediate weeks after undergoing knee surgeries in January and November. Still, I managed to file 316 checklists on e-Bird, filling some of the gaps by birding from home while recuperating.
I counted 11 lifers in 2025, bringing my total to 240. While I didn’t go birding in any new counties in New Jersey, I was able to get a few of those lifers in West Virginia, Maine and Pennsylvania.
For 2026, I look forward to more birding in more places and more time on the trails with birding friends. I thank all my readers for taking time to read my posts, visit my site and offer comments. I am fortunate for your friendship, from near and far. Happy New Year! đŚ
The Jersey Birder 