After the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, one of my favorite places to bird is the Trenton marsh. After seeing an alert that Caspian terns were spotted there on Saturday, I drove down as the sun came out that afternoon and was treated to a delightful display by these unusual visitors. The terns are fast flyers,Continue reading “Caspian terns pay us a visit at Trenton marsh”
Tag Archives: birdwatching
An old friend returns, and a new one arrives
I stepped out of the car and turned toward the Delaware and Raritan Canal just a few yards behind me, and I heard something I wasn’t expecting. It took a few seconds before I could train my binoculars on the source of the spondaic call: a small green bird on the stalk of a short,Continue reading “An old friend returns, and a new one arrives”
Finding birds on new trails
With a nod to Robert Frost, I’ve always been one to take the road less traveled, seeking new paths even in familiar places. I’ll approach an intersection and wonder, “Where does this road go?” More often than not, I’ll turn and drive on to see what new wonders await me. So it is with theContinue reading “Finding birds on new trails”
Advanced birding fever: Chasing a rare sparrow
Today afforded a unique opportunity to merge two of my favorite pursuits, baseball and birding. In the process, I got a glimpse of a bird common in the central plains of this continent but a rare visitor here in New Jersey, the Harris’s sparrow. I’d been following reports of a Harris’s sparrow hanging out withContinue reading “Advanced birding fever: Chasing a rare sparrow”
Bird song is returning, an early signal of spring at the Pole Farm
At the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, a few early signs that spring will get here eventually are starting to show. Over my last couple of visits, I’ve started hearing after a long layoff the raspy cries of red-winged blackbirds, and the Eastern bluebirds are calling to one another. This morning, I noticed that a fewContinue reading “Bird song is returning, an early signal of spring at the Pole Farm”
Sometimes, the birds come to us
You can tramp for an hour through the woods and fail to find a bird to photograph, and sometimes all you have to do is look up from the kitchen table to find something magnificent paying you a call. The latter happened yesterday as my wife and I sat down to lunch. I was oneContinue reading “Sometimes, the birds come to us”
Appreciating the quiet times of birding
It’s a relatively quiet time for birding in my part of the world, as I’m keenly aware every morning I walk the fields and woods of the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm or the nearby locations that I frequent. It would be different if I lived closer to the Jersey shore, which is teeming with wildContinue reading “Appreciating the quiet times of birding”
Birding joy: Finding the unexpected on your camera roll
It happens frequently on my outings that I point my binoculars at a distant bird and can’t figure out what it is. If I’m lucky, I have enough time to point my camera and capture a few frames, hoping that the bird’s identity will be revealed once I get the images up on screen backContinue reading “Birding joy: Finding the unexpected on your camera roll”
The bald eagles living next door
Although I generally head to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm for most of my morning outings, I occasionally switch my destination to another nearby park. I did so today and was rewarded with an encounter with two bald eagles. I headed to Colonial Lake and Park, which is a mile and a half from myContinue reading “The bald eagles living next door”
Ringing out 2022 with one last birding outing
I could not let this final day of the year pass by without heading out with my camera and binoculars, even if the weather was less than ideal. Heavy fog rolled in before sunrise and remained with us the entire day. Hoping I might catch a few waterbirds that were unlikely to appear at theContinue reading “Ringing out 2022 with one last birding outing”
The Jersey Birder 