Mariton: Birding at Jacobsburg

by Tim Burris, Preserve Manger.  Photos by Carole Mebus (unless otherwise stated)

This Tuesday, we visited Jacobsburg State Park for our birding field trip.  I took this photo of our group on a bridge over Sobers Run.  We had a great morning ramble and got some really great birds.  It was interesting which warblers we aren’t hearing because they have migrated north; and how much harder it was to locate birds behind leaves.  One week really made a difference.  Being able to distinguish the bird songs really makes a difference at this time of year when the trees start leafing out.

We saw Cedar Waxwings (above) right at the parking lot .

An Indigo Bunting under the power lines.

Price of Admission bird?  This Yellow-billed Cuckoo that everyone saw.  Fortunately, the bird and birders were patient, because it took a little time to direct binoculars into the tree where this was obscured.  Note the large teardrop shaped white spots on the tail.  The Black-billed Cuckoo has thinner crescents on its tail.  Carole was also able to capture the yellow bill in her photo.  Sometimes, that is a little harder to see when the bird is hiding in brush.

At the same time that the cuckoo made its appearance, we heard a Louisiana Waterthrush.  We never did see it, but Carole shared a photo of one that she took earlier this year.

We had brief views of Scarlet Tanagers, Red-eyed Vireos, Common Yellowthroats, Veery and Ovenbirds among others.   A great morning to go out birding.