Four birds with “Northern” in their name are regular visitors in my part of New Jersey. The Northern cardinal is ubiquitous at home, and the Northern mockingbird and Northern flicker are regulars in the neighborhood. But the most thrilling of all is the Northern harrier. To find a harrier, all I need to do isContinue reading “One great bird: the Northern harrier”
Author Archives: Dan
Obsessive and competitive: ‘The Big Year’ birding movie
My Amazon Fire Stick must be figuring me out because its “movies you might like” prompts alerted me to “The Big Year,” a 2011 comedy about a trio of birders who obsessively pursue as many sightings as possible. Appropriately, the odious villain — Kenny Bostick (Owen Wilson) — is a Jersey guy. As the movieContinue reading “Obsessive and competitive: ‘The Big Year’ birding movie”
Birding down the shore at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park
As I watch the snow fall out my window at home today, I am still glowing over the trip yesterday to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park at the New Jersey shore. My friend and colleague Laura and I had been plotting to hit the coast for a look at shorebirds, and when both of us hadContinue reading “Birding down the shore at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park”
Who are those guys? Lessons from the backyard bird count
The Great Backyard Bird Count was on last weekend, and I did my part, logging all the familiar birds that visit regularly. But there was one trickster in the mix, and it took me a while to figure out that this particular bird breed had fooled me once again. On Sunday morning, I logged inContinue reading “Who are those guys? Lessons from the backyard bird count”
Harbinger of Spring: morning birdsong
With 37 days of winter remaining yesterday, it didn’t strike me at first when I went out to fill the bird bath, but morning birdsong is back! Robins and finches (not to mention a squawking blue jay) were making their presence heard in my yard. I didn’t really clue into the return of the morningContinue reading “Harbinger of Spring: morning birdsong”
My little friends, the sparrows
Until I started taking a more serious interest in birding, to me a sparrow meant the ubiquitous house sparrow. A passer domesticus, rarely alone, was always at the feeders when I was a kid growing up in Ohio. Years later, I marveled at how the house sparrows thrived amid the skyscrapers of Midtown Manhattan, flittingContinue reading “My little friends, the sparrows”
In praise of the not-quite-so-early birder
Most of my morning birding walks are at dawn or even slightly ahead of it, typically a convergence of my believing the birds are most active when they wake up and my needing to get home and get ready for work. Even on the weekends and especially on Saturdays, I stick to the same earlyContinue reading “In praise of the not-quite-so-early birder”
Setting the year in motion: Birding resolutions for 2022
As I headed into 2021, I was intent on improving my ability to recognize birds by their calls and songs. I’m happy to report that I improved that skill considerably, and I’ll continue my education there. I also realize that I am woefully weak on spotting and identifying waterbirds. In the new year, my topContinue reading “Setting the year in motion: Birding resolutions for 2022”
The ultimate American bird: The bald eagle
As with many things in my Cleveland upbringing, bald eagles were just another creature in decline during the 1960s and ’70s. As a teenager, I experienced a couple of ghastly fish kills while heading for a day at the beach on the shore of Lake Erie. Every time I’d look at the embarrassingly polluted CuyahogaContinue reading “The ultimate American bird: The bald eagle”
Giving Thanks for a New Bird: The American Tree Sparrow
The only thing that can top the thrill of spotting a new bird for your life list is knowing that you have a nice image of that bird saved on your camera. I was on the way back to my car about 8:30 this morning along one of my regular routes at the Mercer MeadowsContinue reading “Giving Thanks for a New Bird: The American Tree Sparrow”
The Jersey Birder 