Well before dawn, the robins in our neighborhood start singing. I don’t think they’re trying to wake me up or spur me to get out of bed, but in whatever message they’re conveying, they are persistent. This morning, I listened to them for 5 or 10 minutes, and when I heard a cardinal start singingContinue reading “Waking up to the robins”
Author Archives: Dan
In the middle of the night, a screech owl pays a call
“What bird is that?” The question, posed by my wife, came at about 2:20 a.m. “What bird?” i asked groggily, awakening from a deep sleep. “THAT bird,” she said. “Can’t you hear it? It woke me up.” “No, I can’t.,” I said, glancing at the clock. I took a few seconds to debate whether itContinue reading “In the middle of the night, a screech owl pays a call”
Come a little closer, kestrel
The sun shone bright this morning, and I was optimistic for a trip to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. It’s still a bit early for warblers to be passing through, but the Eastern towhees are back and I spotted a couple of brown thrashers earlier in the week. Today’s highlight was more about encountering myContinue reading “Come a little closer, kestrel”
Springing into Spring
After enduring three dreary days of rain, I was pleased to wake up to a clear sky this morning. Lifting my spirits higher was the sight of an Eastern bluebird perched atop one of our backyard feeders. Although bluebirds are common in parks near home, it’s a rare day when I see one in ourContinue reading “Springing into Spring”
With Ping-Pong song, field sparrows reveal themselves
When I stepped out of the car at the Pole Farm parking lot, it took only a few moments for the sound to register. There it was, the unmistakeable dropping-Ping-Pong-ball song of the field sparrow. Field sparrows may actually hang around all year long in this part of the country, but they stop singing sometimeContinue reading “With Ping-Pong song, field sparrows reveal themselves”
A wild duck chase, and an unassisted walk
That grin on my face emerged with that gesture of triumph this morning at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, where for the first time in many months I went birding on my own two feet, without a cane. Since troubles with my knees crossed into acute territory over the summer, I’ve been trying hard toContinue reading “A wild duck chase, and an unassisted walk”
In praise of the American tree sparrow
One of the pleasures of birding is when you suddenly realize that the bird you’re seeing isn’t what you thought it was but something surprising. American tree sparrows have that effect on me, and it happened again with my two most recent visits to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. The other day, I spotted aContinue reading “In praise of the American tree sparrow”
Looking out my back door on Leap Day
Because of work and other complications, I figured I wasn’t going to get in any birding — let alone bird photos — on this “Leap Day,” the quadrennial 29th of February. After a quick run to campus and the bank this morning, as I pulled back into my driveway, beyond the roof of our houseContinue reading “Looking out my back door on Leap Day”
Along the interstate, I find a lifer
Bright sunshine held sway all day today, and my friend Laura and I took advantage of it and headed out this morning for a couple hours of birding. Our first stop was at a scenic overlook along the Delaware River off Interstate 295 near Trenton. We’d stopped there once previously, only to find a big,Continue reading “Along the interstate, I find a lifer”
The father of eBird says keep your cats indoors
At today’s annual Alumni Day at Princeton, John Fitzpatrick received the university’s highest honor given to a graduate school alumnus or alumna, the James Madison Medal. Fitzpatrick, who received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1978, led the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology from 1995 to 2021. Under his leadership, the lab developed eBird, the voluminousContinue reading “The father of eBird says keep your cats indoors”
The Jersey Birder 