For the last several days, a song sparrow has been pecking at a couple of windows on the back end of our house. While my wife has been bemusedly coping with most of the attacks, I finally got a photo of the offending fellow this morning. If you look at the window in the photoContinue reading “A song sparrow gone wrong”
Author Archives: Dan
A real estate rush at the Pole Farm
Even without the formal arrival of Spring on the calendar, you know it’s a new season at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. The tree swallows are back, jetting over the fields and checking out the bird boxes. The boxes are cozy quarters for the swallows and Eastern bluebirds, the latter staying in the park year-round.Continue reading “A real estate rush at the Pole Farm”
A meadowlark serenade
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 wayContinue reading “A meadowlark serenade”
My big zoom is back!
I was able to pick up my Sigma 150-600 mm Contemporary lens from the camera shop on Friday afternoon. I am happily back out shooting with it again. The problem with the zoom mechanism locking up is gone, and the repair gave me another fix I wasn’t expecting. Ever since my Canon R7 arrived severalContinue reading “My big zoom is back!”
Zoom troubles take my Sigma lens offline
The blackbird above must have been channeling my feelings this morning. Over the last several weeks, my Sigma 150-600 mm Contemporary lens that I use for almost all my birding outings was increasingly acting up. The lens’ zoom function was locking up intermittently, limiting my shooting to a narrow band of 400 mm to 500Continue reading “Zoom troubles take my Sigma lens offline”
Watching a bald eagle is good for the soul
The other day I headed to the Millstone River Impoundment in Princeton to see what I could see. This would turn out to be a visit of quality over quantity. The scores of common mergansers that had flocked here a few days before had flown off, and only a few gulls and Canada geese wereContinue reading “Watching a bald eagle is good for the soul”
Backup plan: shooting birds at the home feeder
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 chickadeeContinue reading “Backup plan: shooting birds at the home feeder”
The cardinals are singing again
Can Spring possibly be near? One sure sign is birdsong, and my mood lightened last week when I heard Northern cardinals singing at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm for two consecutive days. On the third day, I heard one singing as I went out to my car for a morning appointment. Again yesterday, I heardContinue reading “The cardinals are singing again”
A horned grebe does not disappoint
Reports came in Saturday on the Birding in Central New Jersey GroupMe chat channel that a horned grebe was hanging out with the Canada geese at Mercer County Park. More sightings were reported this morning, and I thought, why not? I’d never seen a horned grebe, let alone one near home. This was likely asContinue reading “A horned grebe does not disappoint”
Getting up close to a Northern harrier
Over my many visits to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, I’ve seen scores of Northern harriers flying overhead and perched on poles or trees. Rarely do I see them relatively close by, as whenever I approach they scram. Today was different. As I was walking up the central path to the woods, I spotted aContinue reading “Getting up close to a Northern harrier”
The Jersey Birder 