It was a chilly 13 degrees Fahrenheit when I reached the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm yesterday morning. Even without a breeze, few birds were out half an hour after sunrise. But avian activity picked up as I reached the woods up the central trail. First to appear were several robins flitting about the trees. IContinue reading “Cold-weather birding is back”
Tag Archives: hairy woodpecker
Molting makes for some odd-looking birds
For many birds, mid- to late-summer is molting season. As a result, you may see some odd-looking ones like the “bald” male Northern cardinal we’ve been seeing in our yard. His head is black; the red feathers have fallen off. While looking out to the yard this afternoon, I was surprised to see a hairyContinue reading “Molting makes for some odd-looking birds”
‘Soul Friend’ book: a love letter to birds and nature
In the book “Soul Friend,” released last month by Blackwater Press, my friend Sheila McEntee writes movingly of her affinity for nature. She draws insights from her experiences observing flora and fauna whether hiking deep in the Appalachian woods or merely looking out the windows of her West Virginia home. Sheila and I were classmatesContinue reading “‘Soul Friend’ book: a love letter to birds and nature”
How to tell downy and hairy woodpeckers apart
I wrote Sunday about the relatively rare appearance of a hairy woodpecker in our yard. But there’s more to the story! First off, after the male hairy woodpecker appeared in the morning, I looked out the window during lunch to find a female hairy woodpecker on the feeder. That gives me hope that a breedingContinue reading “How to tell downy and hairy woodpeckers apart”
The Jersey Birder 