Author Archives: Dan

A refuge near (and from) the Motor City

Since my daughter and her family moved to Michigan, during the handful of drives I’ve taken up Interstate 75 to visit I spotted with curiosity the signs for the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. Each time I drove past, I made a mental note to arrange to stop the next chance I’d get. I gotContinue reading “A refuge near (and from) the Motor City”

Man in the Limberlost: A side trip to Indiana

The “Jersey Birder” title of this site notwithstanding, I do venture out of the Garden State on occasion and sneak in a bit of birding as time allows. Last week, I drove to Michigan for some family matters that involved a jaunt to the northeast quadrant of Indiana. I had done some online scouting fromContinue reading “Man in the Limberlost: A side trip to Indiana”

New lens, new perspective on birding photography

As my birding activity ramped up over the past two years, I became increasingly aware of the shortcomings of my camera equipment. I’d been using a refurbished Canon 75-300 mm lens, and it has served me well shooting out the windows at our backyard feeders and shooting in the field at birds at close range.Continue reading “New lens, new perspective on birding photography”

October Big Day: I meet local legends

Saturday was eBird’s October “Big Day” in which all birders, from the backyard feeder watchers to those with huge life lists, are encouraged to get out and count. I headed to my nearby hot spot, the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, about dawn and had a middling day as far as bird spotting. But I gotContinue reading “October Big Day: I meet local legends”

Hope is gone for the ivory-billed woodpecker

As I suspect most birders did, I read with sadness the news accounts late last week that the ivory-billed woodpecker was at last declared extinct. The New York Times story included video I had not previously seen of those magnificent creatures in Louisiana in 1935. I can’t remember when I first learned about the ivory-billedContinue reading “Hope is gone for the ivory-billed woodpecker”

Heinz wildlife refuge, a special place for birds and birders

With jets taking off and landing next door at Philadelphia Airport, it’s hard to believe the abundance of wildlife at John Heinz National Wildlife. On countless treks to PHL in recent years, I’ve seen the signs for the refuge but was never able to explore it until this past weekend. I arrived mid-morning Saturday atContinue reading “Heinz wildlife refuge, a special place for birds and birders”

The magnificent hummingbird

As the pandemic wore on last summer, I hung a hummingbird feeder from a portable metal stand outside the window where I set up my home office. The wind kept knocking the stand over. I managed to nick the stand with my lawn tractor one day, and to my great dismay the glass portion ofContinue reading “The magnificent hummingbird”

My bird identification skills are shaping up

When I was a kid, my dad showed me outlines of Japanese aircraft in cards and books that he’d been issued while stationed in the South Pacific during World War II. Recognizing the difference between a Japanese Zero and an American P-51 Mustang, he told me, could give you and your buddies a few preciousContinue reading “My bird identification skills are shaping up”

The colors of the day: scarlet and indigo

What a thrill! I finally got a good look at scarlet tanagers today out at the Mercer County Pole Farm. I had only seen a scarlet tanager once before, during a previous summer when on a bicycle I flushed one from the trail-side brush. That was only a glimpse, but the sighting was a no-doubter:Continue reading “The colors of the day: scarlet and indigo”