For weeks, I’ve been hearing yellow warblers on my birding jaunts but until this morning I hadn’t seen one. For days, I’ve been seeing reports of a prothonotary warbler nearby, and I hoped I might spot it today on my first attempt. I went to the Dyson Tract along the Delaware and Raritan Canal withContinue reading “In search of yellow birds, with bald eagles as a bonus”
Tag Archives: nature
My ‘Big Day’ gets off to a nice (red)start
I suffer from warbler deprivation syndrome. I head to the woods, hoping to find multiple migrants flitting above me or, even better, right in front of me. I was feeling particularly underserved by the warbler community as I headed to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm early this morning. While my Merlin app the last coupleContinue reading “My ‘Big Day’ gets off to a nice (red)start”
Patience paid off: My first common yellowthroat photos of 2025
I’ve been hearing common yellowthroats for the past couple of weeks, and I’d managed to catch glimpses of them a couple of times. I knew that if I were patient, I’d eventually get a clear shot. That happened this morning, and in an unexpected way. Common yellowthroats typically lurk in the grasses and often popContinue reading “Patience paid off: My first common yellowthroat photos of 2025”
A cuckoo surprise to start the day
Unpredictably is one of the true pleasures of birding. You simply have no clue when something unusual will appear. So it was Saturday when I pulled into the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm parking lot around 7 o’clock in the morning. I had just put my car in park when Lee pulled in beside me. I’dContinue reading “A cuckoo surprise to start the day”
A suprisingly good morning for photos
After a few days of rain and a forecast for heavy clouds today, I wasn’t expecting good conditions for photos as I headed to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm this morning. I was hoping that I might be able to spot a few early arriving warblers in the trees, which wasn’t to be. But IContinue reading “A suprisingly good morning for photos”
Bird Safe program at Princeton saves bird lives
Distressed over the heartbreaking number of birds killed by striking windows on campus, a group of Princeton University students set out on ambitious plan to study the problem and find a solution. Their inspiring work has led to changes in the university’s building procedures, saving the lives of countless numbers of birds. The students ofContinue reading “Bird Safe program at Princeton saves bird lives”
An end-of-the-hike surprise
I have always depended on the kindness of other birders. Yesterday was no exception as I finished my walk around Spring Lake at John A. Roebling Park, a.k.a. Trenton marsh. As I was finishing my loop around the lake, I spotted at least three yellow-rumped warblers in the trees near the parking lot. They wereContinue reading “An end-of-the-hike surprise”
My big zoom is back!
I was able to pick up my Sigma 150-600 mm Contemporary lens from the camera shop on Friday afternoon. I am happily back out shooting with it again. The problem with the zoom mechanism locking up is gone, and the repair gave me another fix I wasn’t expecting. Ever since my Canon R7 arrived severalContinue reading “My big zoom is back!”
Watching a bald eagle is good for the soul
The other day I headed to the Millstone River Impoundment in Princeton to see what I could see. This would turn out to be a visit of quality over quantity. The scores of common mergansers that had flocked here a few days before had flown off, and only a few gulls and Canada geese wereContinue reading “Watching a bald eagle is good for the soul”
Backup plan: shooting birds at the home feeder
Today I made two trips to Mercer Meadows, to the Pole Farm at mid-morning and to the Reed-Bryan Farm in late afternoon. The only bird shots I took were of an American kestrel sitting atop a bird box, too far off for a clear photo. When I got home this afternoon, I spotted a chickadeeContinue reading “Backup plan: shooting birds at the home feeder”
The Jersey Birder 