Birds in the wild – The Jersey Birder

How to spot a spotted sandpiper

Spotted sandpiper standing on a log at the edge of a lake. The bird's brown feathers blend in well with the logs.

It’s not easy. I went to Veterans Park in Hamilton on Sunday afternoon, hoping to get a look at a few birds I don’t find at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm or at other sans water spots. Although I would not see many birds, I did add two species to my e-Bird log for April.Continue reading “How to spot a spotted sandpiper”

A most cooperative bird: the yellow-throated warbler

A yellow-throated warbler leans forward from a tree branch, with a spikey reddish fruit from a sweet gum tree just below it.

As my birding pal Jim and I made the hour-and-a-quarter drive to Estell Manor Park on Saturday, he guaranteed that I would get a lifer bird: the yellow-throated warbler. Never has been getting a lifer so easy. As we got out of the car in the parking lot at the visitor center, Jim immediately saidContinue reading “A most cooperative bird: the yellow-throated warbler”

No fooling: my first bird of April was a bald eagle

A mature bald eagle sits on a tree branch. Part of the bird's white head and yellow beak are obscured by a thin tree branch.

With the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm closed for a few days for the annual “controlled burn” torching of the fields, I headed to the Dyson Tract along the Delaware and Raritan Canal this morning. Propitiously, as I eased my car into a parking spot, I watched a mature bald eagle fly into a nearby treeContinue reading “No fooling: my first bird of April was a bald eagle”

A 40-species outing at Abbott Marshlands

The thermometer read 27 degrees this morning, but the sun was shining and it brought out the birds at John A. Roebling Park on the Trenton-Hamilton border. Before our outing at this thriving section of Abbott Marshlands was over, with considerable help from sharp-eyed birding buddy Jim, I’d observed 40 species of birds. Not toContinue reading “A 40-species outing at Abbott Marshlands”

Spring is here. Bring on the migrant birds

An American robin perches on a slender tree branch before a deep blue sky. Other slender branches are nearby.

Today is the first day of Spring, and the sun shone as I made a pre-work visit to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. American robins were abundant, as is typical this time of year, and I’m topping this post with one of the first I saw as I walked up the central trail. Farther upContinue reading “Spring is here. Bring on the migrant birds”

Stretching my routes at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm

A song sparrow, with its beak wide open and its tongue visible inside, belts out its song while perched on a diagonal tree branch.

My new bionic knees have rejuvenated my ability to tramp around the woods, and I’ve been steadily increasing the distances I walk in this new year. Today, I put in 2.5 miles on one of my favorite routes that takes me to the north end of the park. Along the way, I had decent lightContinue reading “Stretching my routes at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm”

A birding adventure in the Pine Barrens

Red-headed woodpecker sitting on a nearly horizontal tree limb.

We weren’t out to find the mythical Jersey Devil. My friend Jim and I set out for Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area in the Pinelands to find pine warblers and red-headed woodpeckers. Jim, who has been visiting Colliers Mills since he was a kid, guaranteed that we’d find the red-headed woodpeckers and figured we hadContinue reading “A birding adventure in the Pine Barrens”

A walk in the sunshine

An American robin perches on a small tree. The bird turns its head back to the left. Its red breast and yellow bill are well-illuminated by the sun.

The weather reversed course Thursday, the temperature dropping and the snow falling although not sticking. This morning, I went out to my car, which had iced over so much that I couldn’t pull open the rear driver-side door where I usually place my camera with my binoculars. The windshield was covered in crystals, which theContinue reading “A walk in the sunshine”

Birding destination: Shark River Inlet

Needing to burn some vacation time, I took the day off and headed east to the New Jersey shore. The drive was mostly a straight shot along Interstate 195, which stretches from Trenton to Belmar, and took me less than an hour. The Shark River Inlet is where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean atContinue reading “Birding destination: Shark River Inlet”

Better birding weather is on the way

A male Northern cardinal perches on a bare tree branch with a deep gray sky behind him. Skinny tree branches frame the bird.

At last, the long winter appears to be abating, and the birds are singing and otherwise are more active than they were during the long stretch of cold weeks we had in New Jersey and the Northeast. I went to the Pole Farm on Saturday, which started with fairly thick fog. It started lifting asContinue reading “Better birding weather is on the way”