When I first started paying attention to the Spring migration a couple of years ago, I saw sporadic, excited reports of prothonotary warblers being spotted here in New Jersey. What a weird name for a bird, I thought, and I’ll be darned if I’m going to chase all over kingdom come to find one. AContinue reading “Big days in May: chasing the rare prothonotary warbler”
Tag Archives: rare birds
Advanced birding fever: Chasing a rare sparrow
Today afforded a unique opportunity to merge two of my favorite pursuits, baseball and birding. In the process, I got a glimpse of a bird common in the central plains of this continent but a rare visitor here in New Jersey, the Harris’s sparrow. I’d been following reports of a Harris’s sparrow hanging out withContinue reading “Advanced birding fever: Chasing a rare sparrow”
I rely upon the kindness of other birders
Every day I’m reminded of how kind other birders can be in sharing their knowledge. Thanks to one of them, today at the Abbott Marshlands at the edge of Trenton, I was treated to a rare sight: a least bittern. Knowing that these elusive birds have been visiting the marsh across from Silver Lake atContinue reading “I rely upon the kindness of other birders”
Digging the Dickcissels in our midst
For the past several weeks, Dickcissels have been frequenting the grassland fields of the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, and it has been a thing of wonder. Initially, I wondered if I’d ever see the bird. My Merlin sound app kept hearing the bird, but I could never spot it. I’d see reports of Dickcissel sightingsContinue reading “Digging the Dickcissels in our midst”
The Jersey Birder 