Molly and I are doing “Grammy and Grampa” camp. We have our two oldest grandchildren visiting for the week, and we’re trying to give them a fun time, when other options are not available during this Pandemic. For me that means “Birding with Grampa” which includes the required food … plain cake doughnuts! We enjoyed a stop at the Sax-Zim Bog Welcome center where the first doughnut was consumed, and then the boardwalk where a second doughnut was consumed!

Our surprises of the morning were coming across a wild turkey family with baby chicks right on Owl Avenue near the Welcome Center. While turkeys have expanded their range dramatically over the past twenty years, I still find it very off to find this kind of bird in the middle of the Bog … in Boreal Forest. In addition, Grampa (and the kids) saw lifer! I had never seen and photographed a Sedge Wren (see below), which leads me to answer a question that Jill H. had asked via the comments in a recent post. She was curious what birds she might see in the grasslands. Up in the Meadowlands just south of the Bog habitat there are lots of grassland areas. Jill had asked what sparrows (in addition to other birds) she might be expected to see. While the answer will vary depending upon where one lives, I use two excellent resources to help me identify those birds which I do see … iBird Pro (Apple / Android). This app provides useful facts for all North American birds, and has excellent bird song recordings.

I combine iBird with Merlin from the Cornell School of Ornithology. Merlin has a downloadable database of birds which will identify the bird you saw from a photograph you took of said bird. Using Merlin is how I identified the Sedge Wren. I knew the wren was not a sparrow based upon its shape, but I did not know what kind of bird it was.

My Sedge Wren Photographs

My Partners in Crime … Plain Cake Doughnut Eaters!

On the way home we stopped off at one of three Osprey Nests I have been monitoring. I wanted to give them a chance to easily try their new binoculars. I gave them each a pair of binoculars for their birthdays. I purchased them each a pair of Occer 12×25 Compact Binoculars. I am impressed with the quality and they are perfect for small hands … light and not to expensive ($50). (just a fyi … I have receive no financial benefit from ANY product to which I link via my blog).

The Merlin Bird ID Identification Process (screenshots from my tablet)