My buddy Jim and I drove back to the Lazy Brook Greenway on Saturday in search of bobolinks. which love the tall grasses in the greenway’s open fields. It wasn’t nearly as windy as on our previous visit, and we figured we’d have better chances to photograph the bobolinks. We started shooting within a fewContinue reading “We found bobolinks aplenty, with a grasshopper sparrow bonus”
Category Archives: Birders and birding
Another trip to the pines: warblers, lizards and a snake
Hoping to spot a summer tanager, my pal Jim and I drove south into the Pine Barrens this morning to the Michael Huber Prairie Warbler Preserve. The tanager would have been a lifer for me, and Jim figured our odds of spotting one were good because he’s seen them there for a few years running.Continue reading “Another trip to the pines: warblers, lizards and a snake”
Losing track of time while tracking birds
Unexpectedly, I had a transformative experience while birding in the woods today. I had intended to drive to Trenton marsh but mistakenly took an early exit off Interstate 295 and decided to drive to Veterans Park in Hamilton. Once there, I skirted Martin’s Lake and headed onto the trail that runs along the lake’s southContinue reading “Losing track of time while tracking birds”
Slip-sliding into the new year
I can’t not get out and go birding on New Year’s Day. So with a bitter wind blowing in my face, I headed up the trail at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, quickly realizing that underneath the half inch of snow that had fallen overnight lay a slippery layer of ice. With that gusty windContinue reading “Slip-sliding into the new year”
Praise the light! A nature photographer’s prayer
Photography: n. from the Greek, writing with light. I majored in the classics in college, and I’m familiar with the roots of many common words in the English language. Anyone who is halfway serious about photography knows that good light makes for good photos. Although it wasn’t quite the “golden hour” before sunset when IContinue reading “Praise the light! A nature photographer’s prayer”
Ironic twists add to my birding experiences
While it didn’t quite rise to the nemesis stage, a broad-winged hawk had been one of the species I’d been itching to add to my life list. One of them has again taken up residence near an overpass on Interstate 295 only a few miles from my home. My birding buddy Jim Parris had spottedContinue reading “Ironic twists add to my birding experiences”
A mid-year report on New Jersey birding
We started the second half of the calendar year today, and I figured this would be a good time to assess how my birding adventures went in the first half. I’ve done OK. My species total in New Jersey stands at 104, lagging a bit behind my total of 116 at the same point lastContinue reading “A mid-year report on New Jersey birding”
Farewell to a good birding friend
My friend Andy was one of the first birders I got to know when I began birding regularly about 6 years ago. I’m saddened to report that Andy died on June 6 at age 90. Andy was a regular presence at Colonial Lake and at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, where we most often encounteredContinue reading “Farewell to a good birding friend”
Lunch al fresco, with a birdsong soundtrack
With a pair of off-campus meetings bookending the lunch hour yesterday, I stopped at the Charles Rogers Nature Preserve in between appointments to have lunch with the birds. I parked near the main observation platform overlooking a large pond that at this time of year is covered almost completely in rushes and reeds. As IContinue reading “Lunch al fresco, with a birdsong soundtrack”
The eagles are back, and not just at the Super Bowl
The Associated Press has a terrific story out today on the resurgence of the bald eagle, and I’m quoted in it. Having headed several AP bureaus and served as a university spokesperson, I’m accustomed to speaking with reporters. But this is the first time I can recall being quoted as an individual, in this caseContinue reading “The eagles are back, and not just at the Super Bowl”
The Jersey Birder 