
Salem County, March 18, 2026
Salem County in spring can offer very interesting birding; it has early migrants and arrivals, but also can hold on to winter birds.

Salem County in spring can offer very interesting birding; it has early migrants and arrivals, but also can hold on to winter birds.

Arriving at the hawkwatch about 10:15, we found a moderate flight of accipiters underway, with constant Cooper’s and Sharpshinned Hawks in the air…. On our way home we found and identified a couple of interesting caterpillars.

Two trips in one – a scouting run and a fall field trip, in shorebird season.

A great day of bird photography at the rookery.

The ML Birders headed out to Belleplain State Forest on a gray and blustery day hoping to see some early arriving warblers. The birding gods were conspiring against them!

Mannington Marsh, the tidal estuary of the Salem River, is a beautiful place to look for waterfowl and early spring migrants.


A beautiful day, with thousands of Myrtle (Yellow-rumped) Warblers and plenty of hawks to watch.

We had a fine warm day with light clouds and a bit of wind; the showers in the forecast failed to materialize. Spring was in the air and Speedwell was in bloom. Eagles and Sandhill Cranes made appearances, and we were happy.

The ML Birders headed for the shore to look for winter waterfowl. Conditions conspired to offer fantastic concentrations of the beautiful Long-tailed Ducks in Barnegat Inlet, with hundreds of birds splashing, courting and calling.

The Medford Leas Birders scouted a route along the entire Burlington County side of the Delaware River, from Bordentown to Palmyra and a bit beyond. We didn’t have many ducks, but visited some interesting places.

It was a beautiful day to enjoy the last colors of Fall and the first waterfowl of Winter. Even on Nov. 10 we didn’t need heavy coats or gloves. The Bombay Hook refuge on the Delaware side of the bay is always a pleasing birding destination.

The ML Birders gathered on an overcast, calm day for a trip to Brigantine to see what we could see. In between summer and winter, the refuge can seem quiet, but we managed to find a good number of birds.

We welcomed new members as we resumed our field trip schedule after the pandemic pause. The weather was partly cloudy and hazy with an east wind, far from ideal for landbird migration, but you can’t choose the weather when you schedule a field trip.

The Medford Leas Birders hoped for a cloudy day for their August trip to Brigantine; the weather wasn’t cooperative, and the green-headed flies were biting, but the birds did not disappoint.

Several ML Birders from the Lumberton Campus put in a full day of birding, beginning at the Visitor’s Center for Ocean City, NJ. A heron rookery is situated behind the Center and birders have an excellent vantage point for viewing.

ML Birders traveled to Delaware to visit Bombay Hook NWR on a beautiful day, sunny with temperatures ranging from 50-70 degrees.

It was a cloudy, foggy morning temperatures in the 60 degree range until about 10:30 then, sun in and out with temperatures climbing into the 80s.

It was a beautiful sunny day when the ML Birders visited Dorothy, where they enjoyed a colony of Red-headed Woodpeckers. They also visited Estell Manor park for migrants, and Tuckahoe state WMA for water birds.

It was a sunny, very cold day with the temperature about 32 degrees!

A partly sunny day with temperatures in the 50 degree range and a strong northwest wind.

A cold, sunny day with temperatures below freezing, a north west wind, 10-15 miles an hour.

A beautiful sunny day, temperature around 50 F. with a strong, southwest wind.

16 birders traveled about 80 miles (almost 2 hours), leaving Medford Leas at 7 a.m., to Bombay Hook NWR. The day became beautiful with blue sunny skies and a brisk, warm north-west wind.