Day Four
This morning I joined Sue and Alan on a trip over to the Cape Island - Higbee Beach - Morning Flight Platform. We arrived about 7:15am. Weather - Cloudy, 66F NW winds 9mph. We finally got the NW winds. We watched as many Yellow-rumped Warblers dropped in from flight.
I recorded:
2 Laughing Gulls
3 Herring Gulls
1 Osprey
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
2 Bald Eagles
1 Northern Flicker
1 Carolina Wren
1 Gray Catbird
1 Brown Thrasher
26 Cedar Waxwing
6 Red-winged Blackbirds
125 Yellow-rumped Warblers (probably many more than that)
1 Northern Cardinal
After spending about 40 minutes at the platform we birded along the meadow near the parking area.
Birds I saw during the walk:
2 Osprey
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
3 Red-bellied Woodpeckers
7 Northern Flickers
1 American Kestrel
2 Merlins
7 Blue Jays
7 Carolina Wrens
6 Gray Catbirds
2 Brown Thrashers
2 White-throated Sparrows
5 Swamp Sparrows
2 Eastern Towhees
14 Red-winged Blackbirds
2 Black-and-white Warblers
1 Palm Warbler
429 Yellow-rumped Warblers
3 Northern Cardinals
Next I headed back over to the Hawk Watch, but first ducked into the Red Trail and got some pictures of Yellow-rumped Warblers:
At the Hawk Watch the raptors were moving - getting that NW wind made a big difference. At this point in the day the wind was about 9mph. Pete Dunne was again at the platform calling out raptors and educating the spectators. The sun had come out and it was a beautiful day.
Well it’s time to leave Cape May. I’m taking the ferry back this leg of the journey. I’ll do a little birding from the boat (saw some Brown Pelicans). It’s been a wonderful trip - saw some great birds, spent time in Cape May, and enjoyed spending some time with my friends.
4 Days
86 Species
4 Life Birds
1 Rare Bird
It is a real challenge (I think) to identify raptors in flight. I decided to use the pictures I got here (and others) to create on my website a section on Learning to Identify Raptors. I invite you to check out.
