Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

So this past Sunday, I visited a cool spot called Pennypack Trust in Huntington Valley to check out whether I could get some early warblers that were migrating through. When I had arrived, it was already 5 o' clock and I only had about an hour and a half of light, but I managed to take a good number of pictures. As I headed out, a male Northern Cardinal ( Cardinalis cardinalis ) hid in a tangle near the feeders. While a favorite of many feeder watchers and birders, cardinals are a lot more shy and retiring than people realize and are more likely to heard making their obvious chip notes from the undergrowth or by the male's sweet, ringing song in the morning and afternoon. A male Mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos ) made an appearance with his mate and dabbled around in a small pond near the entrance. I marveled at the different patches and swatches of color that were apparent on its body. The second photo shows the speckled back suggesting that this bird might be younger...

A Palm Warbler ( Setophaga palmarum ) feeds among fading Goldenrods ( Solidago spp. ) and New York Asters ( Symphyotrichum spp.). A Song Sparrow ( Melospiza melodia ) plays hide and go seek while giving alarm calls all the while. This Brown Thrasher ( Toxostoma rufum ) proved to be a tough cookie to ID. I thought I was looked at an inverted color jay or even a late cuckoo, but the shape didn't seem right. I've been lucky to see so many this year. A Field Sparrow ( Spizella pusilla ) looks on as I watch it from the trail. Wary, but ubiquitous birds of the fields and meadows on the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed property. A towhee's eye view along one of the trails at SBMWA. The ground is just littered with hickory nuts at this time of year attracting the attention of squirrels and children alike. A recently molted American Wigeon ( Anas americana ) was floating around the pond. It was pointed out to me by my roommate and his girlfriend. Plenti...

A lovely time was had in Florida by myself and my friends, but this being a birding blog, I'm going to post the pictures I'm most excited about and I hope you enjoy them too. Poking it's head out of the bush, this Northern Mockingbird ( Mimus polyglottos ) peers around the neighborhood. It didn't seem particularly bothered by my presence, but it did keep an eye on me. The hybrids keep showing up. Mallard x American Black Ducks ( Anas platyrhynchos x rubripes ) are fairly uncommon in the Northeast, but it feels like the Mottled Ducks ( A. fulvigula ) down here have the same problem. It would be interesting to get the stats on the threat to the breeding population from errant Mallard breeding fiascoes. It always seems to be males that are present. Very rarely, if ever have I seen female hybrids. The characteristics of the male Mallard and female Mottled are well noticeable here. A lonely decoy keeps watch over the chaos taking place within the Mottled Duck ge...