red-winged blackbirds – The Jersey Birder

A day of discovery and a lifer, sort of

A juvenile red-headed woodpecker flies toward a tree.

I made two visits to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm today, and it was full of surprises. On a longer than usual three-mile walk in the morning, I finally added a red-headed woodpecker to my e-Bird reports. It was a lifer. Or was it? I’ve been hoping to spot a red-headed woodpecker since I beganContinue reading “A day of discovery and a lifer, sort of”

With the onset of summer, bird sightings slow down

Male red-winged blackbird, wings outstretched, takes off from a tree branch.

Spring migration is over. As the days of summer pile up, bird activity appears to slow down. Plenty of birds are still about, of course, but the variety isn’t quite as wide now that the migrants have flown north. I’m still observing plenty of species on my outings, but it seems the photo opportunities areContinue reading “With the onset of summer, bird sightings slow down”

An instant bluebird sighting

An Eastern bluebird perches on the left edge of a sign that reads "Park Map." Green tree leaves are in the background.

Rarely does a photo opportunity present itself so quickly as it did this afternoon when I stepped out of my car at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. After a morning of rain, the sun shone weakly through an overcast sky late in the afternoon. I spotted a bird atop the park map sign at theContinue reading “An instant bluebird sighting”

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”