Rarely does a photo opportunity present itself so quickly as it did this afternoon when I stepped out of my car at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. After a morning of rain, the sun shone weakly through an overcast sky late in the afternoon. I spotted a bird atop the park map sign at theContinue reading “An instant bluebird sighting”
Tag Archives: bluebirds
A real estate rush at the Pole Farm
Even without the formal arrival of Spring on the calendar, you know it’s a new season at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. The tree swallows are back, jetting over the fields and checking out the bird boxes. The boxes are cozy quarters for the swallows and Eastern bluebirds, the latter staying in the park year-round.Continue reading “A real estate rush at the Pole Farm”
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”
Backyard bluebirds = joy
While I’m fortunate to see Eastern bluebirds during much of the year on my birding outings, it’s rare to see them at home. Two of them surprised my wife and me a few mornings back as we were eating breakfast at the kitchen table. One perched briefly on our suet feeder while another hung outContinue reading “Backyard bluebirds = joy”
Baby bluebirds!
My friend Andy and I took our usual route at the Mercer Meadows Pole farm this morning. Piercing the gloom of the heavy overcast conditions was this pair of fledgling Eastern bluebirds huddled on the ground. It’s great to see these and other newly hatched birds, reminding us that avian life is perpetuating itself. We’veContinue reading “Baby bluebirds!”
Are the birds hinting at spring?
As the dreary days of winter drag on, I’m ever on alert for early signs of spring. Maybe the imminent arrival of Groundhog Day is stoking my curiosity, but I know for sure that certain bird behavior hints that hope springs vernal! As I stepped out of the house yesterday morning, I heard a cardinalContinue reading “Are the birds hinting at spring?”
Bluebirds bring happiness
The sun came out in full force this Sunday morning, and the temperature was a brisk 28 degrees Fahrenheit as I headed to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. The park’s paths offer a few turning points, and the first one to confront is just up from the Cold Soil Road parking lot: either go upContinue reading “Bluebirds bring happiness”
In praise of the not-quite-so-early birder
Most of my morning birding walks are at dawn or even slightly ahead of it, typically a convergence of my believing the birds are most active when they wake up and my needing to get home and get ready for work. Even on the weekends and especially on Saturdays, I stick to the same earlyContinue reading “In praise of the not-quite-so-early birder”
The Jersey Birder 