The only thing that can top the thrill of spotting a new bird for your life list is knowing that you have a nice image of that bird saved on your camera. I was on the way back to my car about 8:30 this morning along one of my regular routes at the Mercer MeadowsContinue reading “Giving Thanks for a New Bird: The American Tree Sparrow”
Tag Archives: birds
A refuge near (and from) the Motor City
Since my daughter and her family moved to Michigan, during the handful of drives I’ve taken up Interstate 75 to visit I spotted with curiosity the signs for the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. Each time I drove past, I made a mental note to arrange to stop the next chance I’d get. I gotContinue reading “A refuge near (and from) the Motor City”
Man in the Limberlost: A side trip to Indiana
The “Jersey Birder” title of this site notwithstanding, I do venture out of the Garden State on occasion and sneak in a bit of birding as time allows. Last week, I drove to Michigan for some family matters that involved a jaunt to the northeast quadrant of Indiana. I had done some online scouting fromContinue reading “Man in the Limberlost: A side trip to Indiana”
The magnificent hummingbird
As the pandemic wore on last summer, I hung a hummingbird feeder from a portable metal stand outside the window where I set up my home office. The wind kept knocking the stand over. I managed to nick the stand with my lawn tractor one day, and to my great dismay the glass portion ofContinue reading “The magnificent hummingbird”
My bird identification skills are shaping up
When I was a kid, my dad showed me outlines of Japanese aircraft in cards and books that he’d been issued while stationed in the South Pacific during World War II. Recognizing the difference between a Japanese Zero and an American P-51 Mustang, he told me, could give you and your buddies a few preciousContinue reading “My bird identification skills are shaping up”
The colors of the day: scarlet and indigo
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”
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”
The Jersey Birder 