A trip to Trenton on ‘Black Duck Friday’

While many Americans were hitting the mall this morning, my friend Laura and I drove down to the Tulpehaking Nature Center, one of the gateways to Abbot Marshlands. We joined a group of about 10 birders for a “Black Duck Friday” birding walk. Gathering in the parking lot, we were treated to a through-the-scope viewContinue reading “A trip to Trenton on ‘Black Duck Friday’”

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”

A futile search for the vesper sparrow, and a bad hair day for a heron

This past week was full of birding adventures close to home, with a typical mixture of highs and lows. I’ve just about given up my quest to spot a vesper sparrow this fall. One (or who knows how many) has been hanging out at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, spotted by several people over theContinue reading “A futile search for the vesper sparrow, and a bad hair day for a heron”

Howdy from Texas — they have birds here

The great-tailed grackles are out in force here in the Brazos Valley of Texas, and it almost seems as if they outnumber the bluebonnets and other wildflowers blooming in spectacular clusters along the highways I drove from Houston airport to College Station. What starlings are to many areas of the country, the great-tails are toContinue reading “Howdy from Texas — they have birds here”