For the past few years, yellow warblers have made a home in a group of trees about 100 yards up from the Cold Soil Road parking lot at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. From their arrival during Spring migration until their departure in Fall, I can count on hearing one of them in this sameContinue reading “Another yellow warbler brightens a gray day”
Category Archives: photography
It pays to shoot, even when in doubt
Morning broke foggy in my part of the world. A couple of days of heavy rain left us soggy and humid conditions. I dodged puddles as I headed up the central trail at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm this morning and spotted an American goldfinch ahead of me. It was poking in the wet dirtContinue reading “It pays to shoot, even when in doubt”
Bird counts ramp up as the weather warms
There’s no denying that Spring brings out the birds. It was sunny and light-jacket warm this morning when I visited the Pole Farm, and I was hoping to get a few shots of the common yellowthroats that have returned to the fields. I heard many but was only able to spot one, a male whoContinue reading “Bird counts ramp up as the weather warms”
My big zoom is back!
I was able to pick up my Sigma 150-600 mm Contemporary lens from the camera shop on Friday afternoon. I am happily back out shooting with it again. The problem with the zoom mechanism locking up is gone, and the repair gave me another fix I wasn’t expecting. Ever since my Canon R7 arrived severalContinue reading “My big zoom is back!”
Zoom troubles take my Sigma lens offline
The blackbird above must have been channeling my feelings this morning. Over the last several weeks, my Sigma 150-600 mm Contemporary lens that I use for almost all my birding outings was increasingly acting up. The lens’ zoom function was locking up intermittently, limiting my shooting to a narrow band of 400 mm to 500Continue reading “Zoom troubles take my Sigma lens offline”
Surprise! It’s a hermit thrush
One of the joys of photographing birds is the unexpected bird that shows up on your computer screen, as happened to me this morning. I was on one of my usual two-mile loops at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, walking the trail counterclockwise, when I spotted a couple of bluebirds in a tree with smallContinue reading “Surprise! It’s a hermit thrush”
My 10 favorite bird photos of 2024
Ranking one’s favorite photos is a difficult task, akin to ranking one’s favorite desserts, cars or children. While over the span of a year I take scores of clunkers, I also look back fondly on the keepers. My list of favorites is a mish-mash: some make the list for their technical quality, others rate becauseContinue reading “My 10 favorite bird photos of 2024”
A winter solstice treat: birds in the snow
With each passing year, it seems we’re getting less and less snow than we did previously. We got a surprising two inches of the white stuff overnight, and I gleefully headed out to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, anticipating some bird-in-snow shots. While it seemed most of the birds decided to sleep in at theContinue reading “A winter solstice treat: birds in the snow”
On standard time, a five-sparrow day
It was time to “fall back” today as the United States reverted to standard time, giving us an extra hour of sleep or an extra hour to seize or squander. I have been looking forward to the switch, which gives me more time in the morning to bird ahead of work. I headed to theContinue reading “On standard time, a five-sparrow day”
A rare capture of a common bird: the Carolina wren
While I can almost always count on hearing a Carolina wren on my visits to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, it’s a rare day when I see one and even rarer when I’m able to get a photo. I routinely hear and see these tubby little birds at home. I have several photos of themContinue reading “A rare capture of a common bird: the Carolina wren”
The Jersey Birder 