nature – Page 6 – The Jersey Birder

Hanging at the Pole Farm ‘hot corner’

Baltimore oriole perched atop a tree trunk, with clear blue sky in background,

Every so often, I like to take a different tack when visiting my favorite birding spots. This morning at the Pole Farm, I headed to the Blackwell Road parking lot and crossed into Mercer Meadows. My hope was to get a few photos of indigo buntings, which often sing from the trees along the walkingContinue reading “Hanging at the Pole Farm ‘hot corner’”

It’s groundhog day at our place

Groundhog scouring the grass for something to eat.

Living on the edge of a golf course, we see a daily parade of birds and other critters, more than we would if we had a row of houses behind our lot. Among those critters are groundhogs, and they entertain us as they comb the ground for good things to eat. Groundhogs are surprisingly fast,Continue reading “It’s groundhog day at our place”

A couple of yellowthroats. But are they a couple?

Female common yellowthroat perched on a thorny vertical branch.

One of the joys of birding in my area is hearing and seeing common yellowthroats. My sightings of the males vastly outnumbered those of the females, and days when I get photos of both sexes are rare. I’ve given the female yellowthroat top billing on this post. I spotted her amid the tall grasses nearContinue reading “A couple of yellowthroats. But are they a couple?”

Another yellow warbler brightens a gray day

Yellow warbler singing from skinny vertical branch at the top of a tree, with a few leaves below it.

For the past few years, yellow warblers have made a home in a group of trees about 100 yards up from the Cold Soil Road parking lot at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. From their arrival during Spring migration until their departure in Fall, I can count on hearing one of them in this sameContinue reading “Another yellow warbler brightens a gray day”

A lesson in allofeeding

A mother sparrow feeds a young sparrow from her beak as both birds sit on a curved iron plant stand. They are seen through an orchid with white blossoms.

While doing my morning reading from my easy chair Wednesday, I looked up to see a pair of house sparrows perched on a plant hanger propped against one of our dining room windows. One bird was feeding the other, zipping back and forth to the nearby tube feeder while the other stayed put. The birdsContinue reading “A lesson in allofeeding”

Lunch al fresco, with a birdsong soundtrack

View over a wooden fence into a big stand of tall trees.

With a pair of off-campus meetings bookending the lunch hour yesterday, I stopped at the Charles Rogers Nature Preserve in between appointments to have lunch with the birds. I parked near the main observation platform overlooking a large pond that at this time of year is covered almost completely in rushes and reeds. As IContinue reading “Lunch al fresco, with a birdsong soundtrack”

In search of yellow birds, with bald eagles as a bonus

Yellow warbler perched amid tree branches.

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”

My ‘Big Day’ gets off to a nice (red)start

American redstart perched on a tree branch.

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

A common yellowthroat, jaws wide open, belts out a song from a small branch.

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

Black-billed cuckoo, neck outstretched, looks to the sky from tree branches.

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”