If the birds are shy, I turn to butterflies. I usually can count on spotting at least bird 20 species whenever I visit the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, but that’s usually under ideal conditions in the morning when the birds are at their most active. Whenever I get an opportunity to make an afternoon visitContinue reading “Beyond birds: Butterflies and other flying creatures abound”
Author Archives: Dan
No matter how you pronounce it, the bobolink is a cool bird
The bobolinks have been hanging around the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm for the last few weeks, and that’s a reason to rejoice. These long-wandering migrants are partial to grasslands, and the Pole Farm has big fields well-suited for them. The first bobolink I saw this season came in late May, a female or possibly aContinue reading “No matter how you pronounce it, the bobolink is a cool bird”
Hitting 100: My species count climbs at the Pole Farm
For several weeks, my species count at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm sat at 99, enticingly close to the century mark. What exotic bird would take me into triple digits? Some rare visitor from Central America or the Arctic Circle? Some wayward wanderer from Europe, blown in by a storm? I pondered that question onContinue reading “Hitting 100: My species count climbs at the Pole Farm”
For birding, it helps to take a 360-degree view
Without a car for a few days recently, I was unable to get to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, at least not without some difficulty. So I improvised and headed on foot through the Rider University campus near home to the Loveless Nature Preserve. The preserve is a mostly wooded area that straddles the oldContinue reading “For birding, it helps to take a 360-degree view”
Getting the right shot of the tricky Eastern towhee
The Eastern towhee was one of the first non-backyard birds that caught my attention as I started birding regularly at the Mercer Meadows Pole farm three years ago. I first heard the bright “twee!” call one April morning three years ago, and it would be a few visits more before I spotted one about 10Continue reading “Getting the right shot of the tricky Eastern towhee”
Digging the Dickcissels in our midst
For the past several weeks, Dickcissels have been frequenting the grassland fields of the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, and it has been a thing of wonder. Initially, I wondered if I’d ever see the bird. My Merlin sound app kept hearing the bird, but I could never spot it. I’d see reports of Dickcissel sightingsContinue reading “Digging the Dickcissels in our midst”
Recommended bird feeder: The Squirrel-Buster Plus
Throughout time, Man and Squirrel have uneasily co-existed in a Hegelian dialectic battle for supremacy in controlling access to bird feeders. It is a noble struggle for both creatures, thesis and antithesis, with the fortunes of the birds hanging in the balance. We first got serious about feeding the birds about 10 years ago whenContinue reading “Recommended bird feeder: The Squirrel-Buster Plus”
My little friend, the song sparrow without a tail
A week ago last Sunday, I was walking on a paved portion of the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail through the main fields up from the Pole Farm parking lot when I stopped to snap a photo of a song sparrow. But something was odd about it. When I brought the photo up on screen at home, IContinue reading “My little friend, the song sparrow without a tail”
Princeton students win World Series of Birding
It’s a rare occasion when my work life and birding hobby converge, but that’s what happened last month when I covered a group of Princeton University students competing in New Jersey Audubon’s World Series of Birding. I had met two of the members of the team on a bird walk they had arranged through theContinue reading “Princeton students win World Series of Birding”
At last, the yellow warbler emerges
For the last three weeks or so, every time I set foot on a particular trail at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, I’ve heard a yellow warbler. And I do mean heard, not seen. This bird, and I suspect it is just the one, has continually frustrated me because I have not been able toContinue reading “At last, the yellow warbler emerges”
The Jersey Birder 