Abbott Marshlands – The Jersey Birder

A one-bird day at Abbott Marshlands

An Eastern phoebe perches on a horizontal tree branch. The bird has an olive green back and a white breast with hints of yellow.

The Nor’easter finally churned away from New Jersey, and the rain fizzled out early this afternoon as I was on my way to John A. Roebling Park at Abbott Marshlands. I’d seen recent reports on e-Bird of Northern shovelers and hoped I’d find one. No such luck. After better than 48 hours of rain, theContinue reading “A one-bird day at Abbott Marshlands”

At last, I get a great crested flycatcher in my viewfinder

Great crested flycatcher perched on a thick tree branch. The slender bird has a pale yellow breast and brown wings and long tail.

It’s been bugging me these first seven months of the year that I have yet to get a photo of a great crested flycatcher. I finally got one this morning at John A. Roebling Park in Abbott Marshlands, Hamilton. I was coming up the path from the parking lot when I spotted a bird aheadContinue reading “At last, I get a great crested flycatcher in my viewfinder”

Least bitterns cause a stir at Rosedale Park in Pennington

A male least bittern looks to its right as it sits on a green stalk.

Every once in a while, Mercer County hosts a celebrity bird or two. This week, the least bitterns that have shown up at Rosedale Park in Pennington are doing their star turn, luring birders in bunches. When birding buddy Jim and I showed up this morning, we spotted a group of birders with long cameraContinue reading “Least bitterns cause a stir at Rosedale Park in Pennington”

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”

Thawing out and catching up on birding

Male wood duck follows a female along the edge of the water in a marsh.

The Nor’easter blizzard that blew into the East Coast last weekend put a crimp in my birding for a few days, but I was able to get back out this weekend as the calendar transitioned to March from February. My friend Jim and I headed to Abbott Marshlands on Saturday hoping to find some waterfowl.Continue reading “Thawing out and catching up on birding”

A (tundra) swan song for 2025

A tundra swan turns its head in the direction of a ring-billed gull to its right. Both birds are floating on the blue water of Spring Lake.

For my last outing of 2025, I headed to John Roebling Park late this morning, hoping to catch sight of a tundra swan that was reported there yesterday. I had only to walk a short way up the trail from the parking lot to spot the bird, chilling with a few gulls in the middleContinue reading “A (tundra) swan song for 2025”

Close encounters of the bird kind

A great blue heron turns its head to the left as it stands in front of an inlet at Trenton marsh.

With birding as in life, you never know what lies around the corner. I had two great blue heron sightings today. This morning, from the main observation platform at the Charles Rogers Preserve in Princeton, I spotted a heron at the edge of the reeds on the back side of the pond in the centerContinue reading “Close encounters of the bird kind”

Where have all the gulls gone?

A ring-billed gull stands on a railing on a wooden footbridge.

The other day I was telling a fellow birder that I’ve been wondering why I hadn’t seen many seagulls where I normally see them, such as at Colonial Lake. It also includes the Lawrence Shopping Center on the opposite side of Business Route 1, where ring-billed gulls often hover over the parking lot, looking forContinue reading “Where have all the gulls gone?”

An end-of-the-hike surprise

A pied-billed grebe floats right to left on a lake.

I have always depended on the kindness of other birders. Yesterday was no exception as I finished my walk around Spring Lake at John A. Roebling Park, a.k.a. Trenton marsh. As I was finishing my loop around the lake, I spotted at least three yellow-rumped warblers in the trees near the parking lot. They wereContinue reading “An end-of-the-hike surprise”

My big zoom is back!

A song sparrow sings from a tree branch at the edge of a grassy field.

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!”