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”
Tag Archives: birding
A new tool for better birding: Merlin’s Sound ID
Wouldn’t it be great if you could record the song of a bird you can’t identify and have it instantly recognized? The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has taken a major step forward in realizing that dream with its recently launched Sound ID feature in the Merlin app. I’ve used that app for the past fewContinue reading “A new tool for better birding: Merlin’s Sound ID”
I’m uncommonly fond of the common yellowthroat
I believe I crossed the threshold from casual birder to thoroughly hooked last spring when I began recognizing the song of the common yellowthroat. The song was unique, and it was driving me crazy that I couldn’t see the bird chirping it from the trees at the Pole Farm at Mercer Meadows Park. Finally, IContinue reading “I’m uncommonly fond of the common yellowthroat”
Home is where the house wrens are
Spring has sprung here in central New Jersey, and I’ve been on high alert for seasonal visitors who are due to arrive soon, some just passing through and others who will stay awhile. I was on the back patio the other day when I spotted what I was almost certain was a house wren checkingContinue reading “Home is where the house wrens are”
The first bird I identified on my own
As a kid growing up in northeast Ohio, I knew the basics of the birds that frequented our neighborhood. Mom always pointed them out, marveling at the cardinals and their song, tisk-tisking the raucous blue jays (“those bullies!”), and pointing with delight at the cute house wrens popping in and out of the birdhouse thatContinue reading “The first bird I identified on my own”
All hail the New Jersey state bird, the American goldfinch
The American goldfinch — the New Jersey state bird, dazzling with yellow in mating-season plumage — is not easily overlooked. I’ve lived 15 years in this state in two incarnations: six years in Union County in the northern tier, and the last nine in Mercer County in the central section. In all my north JerseyContinue reading “All hail the New Jersey state bird, the American goldfinch”
You meet the nicest people on the birding paths
On-the-trail etiquette is a bit skewed these days because of COVID pandemic restrictions. Midwestern native that I am, I’m usually one to say “hello” or “good morning” or to wave to passersby. Nowadays, each encounter with an oncoming pedestrian triggers the questions, do I put my mask on, and will the runner/walker do the same?Continue reading “You meet the nicest people on the birding paths”
The Jersey Birder 