We’ve had a beautiful fall weekend here in central New Jersey, with warmer-than-we-really-should-have temperatures poking into the upper 70s. I was able to get two good outings in at the Mercer Meadow Pole Farm, where sparrows took center stage. I’m leading the post with two of the Savannah sparrows I saw while walking up theContinue reading “Sparrows a-go-go at the Pole Farm”
Tag Archives: Mercer Meadows
A beautiful weekend for birding, part 2
On Sunday, I made my first stop at the Charles Rogers Preserve in Princeton, where other birders have been reporting good warbler traffic. As I stepped out of my car at the parking lot, plenty of birds were calling. My warbler brain has not been challenged much this fall, and I struggled at first toContinue reading “A beautiful weekend for birding, part 2”
A good day for sparrows, and an owl call
Dawn arrived with a temperature of 43 degrees , our first truly Fall-feeling morning. I pulled on a green plaid jacket, turned on the heater in the car and headed to the Pole Farm. At the parking lot, I heard the cry of a pileated woodpecker as I switched to my hiking shoes, figuring thatContinue reading “A good day for sparrows, and an owl call”
Great light brightens the birds
My last two outings to Mercer Meadows brought lighting challenges and opportunities. Each morning started with heavy fog, with the sun ultimately breaking through and burning off the gray stuff. Sometimes, the fog makes for interesting, moody shots. I went to the Reed-Bryan Farm side of the park today. The fog was heavy, and throughContinue reading “Great light brightens the birds”
Finding beauty in common birds
With their plain-Jane garb of brownish gray and drab white, female house finches don’t draw the eye the way their male companions do with their deep red feathers. When the female finches show up at our feeders, I glance at them, make a mental note of their number and hope something brighter will fly inContinue reading “Finding beauty in common birds”
Common yellowthroats are still with us
I am not shy in sharing my enthusiasm for common yellowthroats. Consider this another stanza in a long-running poem in tribute. As with many species, the yellowthroat’s territory-claiming, mate-seeking songs of spring subside over the summer. Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard scant few of their familiar “wickety-wickety-wickety” proclaimings from the parks and preservesContinue reading “Common yellowthroats are still with us”
A bobolink party at the Pole Farm
The classic Dr. Seuss book “Go, Dog. Go!” ends [spoiler alert] with a pack of dogs climbing a ladder to the top of a big tree for a big dog party. My birding buddy Lee and I experienced the avian equivalent today at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. We pulled into the parking lot oneContinue reading “A bobolink party at the Pole Farm”
Birds kissed by morning light
We’ve had a delightful run of sunny days of late. I’ve donned a jacket a few times on my morning walks because the post-dawn temperatures have dipped into the low 60s and even the 50s. This morning dawned gloriously, and I got out to the Pole Farm hoping to photograph some of the warblers thatContinue reading “Birds kissed by morning light”
An abundance of pewees enlivens the soundscape
The sweet “pee-uh-wee!” call of the Eastern wood pewee has been sounding repeatedly in my part of New Jersey this Labor Day weekend. I heard several again this morning at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm and at the Dyson Tract along the Delaware and Raritan Canal. More often than not, I log my e-Bird peweeContinue reading “An abundance of pewees enlivens the soundscape”
The (bird) dog days of summer
We are in the “dog days” of summer. The dog star, Sirius, dips low on the horizon, and our canine companions, sapped by the heat, are low on energy. For birders, this time of year brings a lull in species sightings. The migrant warblers are in their northern breeding grounds, many weeks off from whenContinue reading “The (bird) dog days of summer”
The Jersey Birder 