Mountain Laurels and a Big Day

One of the joys of living in the Pinelands are the Mountain Laurel flowers which bloom every summer. These pink or white ten-pointed stars open into lovely parachutes for pollinators to lounge in, and they last for weeks, turning trails into twinkling starfields. They give off a light, but sweet perfume and when the flowers fall, the decorate the ground in tumbled teacups.

For the Big Day Out of birding a few weeks ago, the laurels were not out yet, but the birds were. I decided to visit the Woods of Wenonah, a suburban creek between housing developments that has a gazebo where Northern Cardinals like to gather. Merlin heard a lot of birds while I walked the two mile trail, but there was enough greenery that the tiny songbirds were difficult to spot. A Summer Tanager taunted me from the treetops, and never appeared. I saw one on a bike trail a week or two later at Black Run Preserve, but I only had my phone to get a picture, and it is not worth sharing here. It was still lovely to see!

This led me to buy an Olympus Tough TG-7 camera to bring on bike trips, but I couldn’t even get a decent photo of American Redstarts that were a mere fifteen feet away, so I returned it. I’m tempted by an expensive but tiny Sony pocket camera, but nothing that small will compare to my super zoom lens model. Like this Eastern Phoebe, who I could barely see well with my field glasses:

I had been trying to photograph a Common Yellowthroat, and I did get a blurry picture. Then this little one flew from the same tree and landed over the marsh, and I started snapping before I could see it wasn’t my quarry at all. Phoebes are not uncommon, but they are always welcome.

For example, this American Redstart was singing its little heart out and avoiding my sight except for this picture:

The Woods have a Great Blue Heron who is acclimated to people and stalked the shallows without a care in the world. Two turtles watch from the shore.

There is also a Pileated Woodpecker here, but I only ever saw Downys and Red-Bellied when I walk here. I got luckier with seeing and photographing Redstarts and Pileated when I was in Montreal, and I’ll share those next week. I also got some excellent “cheater” photos of the Common Eider ducks at the Montreal Biodome.

There is some contention about “big days” where people drive and try to see as many birds as they can. I’m not very competitive until it gets personal—I’m ruthless at Scrabble and I was very persistent in my days of grappling and boxing, which is why I switched to sports where I compete with myself—so I don’t get trying to out-bird strangers on the internet. I am very conscientious about my carbon footprint, but to put it in plain language, there is no fucking way I am going to curtail a few short car trips to see birds when rich fuckers are taking private jets. Talk to me about that after every private jet is confiscated and we turn off the damn lights at night.

We are making great strides in renewable energy sources¹, but if we are going to shame people for enjoying their lives, we can start with the conspicuous consumers and aristocrats, rather than some poor schmuck who wants to see an oriole.

Speaking of which, I have never seen a Baltimore Oriole. I’ve seen Orchard Orioles, which are a rustier shade, and quite lovely. Reminds me, I don’t think I’ve returned to Blueberry Hill with the big camera, which is where I first saw an Orchard. The quarry has a wetland where Evening Grosbeaks and Indigo Buntings visit at times. Maybe I’ll head there one morning, soon.

That doesn’t mean that I won’t stop and watch a Northern Cardinal, especially a female. There’s something about the orange beaks that makes me smile.

Hopefully these gave you a few smiles, too.

1. from Fix the News:
US clean energy goes on a blitz to beat policy deadline. US clean energy developers announced 54 utility-scale solar, wind and battery projects in the first quarter of 2026, representing more than $18 billion in planned investment and over 12 GW of new capacity. That is nearly double the number announced in all of 2025, as companies rush to qualify before federal tax rules tighten. The flipside: 38 projects were also cancelled, wiping out nearly $13 billion in investment. Electrek
…
Also in Texas (by far the country’s largest energy market), clean energy has overtaken fossil fuels.