Day Three

Written By Adele

I had to be at Cape May Point State Park at 7:30 for the Audubon bird walk, sadly I didn’t allow enough time to get coffee at the cafe. No liquid wakeup this morning. This is a 2 hr. walk through the neighborhoods around Cape May Point, including parts of the beach.

It’s a beautiful morning - finally, there is sun. We meet in the small parking lot across from the lighthouse. After getting out of my car I look up to see a number of raptors flying overhead (this spot is close to the hawk watch platform). The weather is cloudy, 68F NNE winds 4mph.

Leading this walk is Brett Ewald, Director of Cape May Bird Observatory (CMBO). I took a 3-day field raptor course a couple of years ago from Brett, it was excellent. He is extremely knowledgeable and is very enthusiastic about sharing that knowledge. Brett is joined by other CMBO Naturalists in leading this walk, also excellent birders.

The pictures below are all Sharp-shinned Hawks.

Walking along the streets we look into the neighborhood trees checking for passerines (song birds). I see/hear:

  • 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

  • 2 Downy Woodpeckers

  • 11 Northern Flickers (mostly flyovers)

  • 57 Blue Jays (mostly flyover groups)

  • 6 Fish Crows

  • 5 Carolina Chickadees

  • 4 Carolina Wrens

  • 9 European Starlings

  • 2 Gray Catbirds

  • 4 Northern Mockingbirds

  • 1 Cedar Waxwing

  • 3 House Sparrows

  • 2 House Finches

  • 1 American Goldfinch

  • 12 Red-winged Blackbirds

  • 2 Common Yellowthroats

  • 1 American Redstart

  • 1 Northern Parula

  • 39 Yellow-rumped Warblers

  • 5 Northern Cardinals

    Raptor flyovers included:

  • 1 Osprey

  • 14 Sharp-shinned Hawks

  • 1 Bald Eagle

At the beach I see:

  • 12 Sanderling

  • 15 Laughing Gulls

  • 2 Ring-billed Gulls

  • 2 Herring Gulls

  • 5 Great Black-backed Gulls

  • 2 Lesser-black Backed Gulls

  • 2 Royal Tern

  • 1 Northern Gannet

  • 2 Double-crested Cormorant

  • 1 Osprey

Before making our way back to the lighthouse we stopped by the Lake Lilly and saw:

  • 8 Mute Swans

  • 22 Mallards

  • 1 American Black Duck

  • 3 Great Egrets

  • 2 Common Yellowthroat Warblers

lighthouse.jpeg

Before the parking lot we stopped by Lighthouse Pond and saw a Belted Kingfisher.

That was an excellent walk led by very knowledgeable individuals. Not only are you birding, but you are learning as you go. Some of the subjects they cover are flight characteristics, migration and plumage. I highly recommend including at least one of these walks if you visit Cape May for birding.

My original plan was to go home today, but I decided to extend my trip another day, giving me another full day to bird. I decide to go back to The Meadow to see if I can locate the Bobolink again. The clouds were rolling in with only moments of sunshine - but it wasn’t raining!

Starting the trail I noticed there wasn’t as much activity as the day before (in the rain). I didn’t see the Bobolink this time, saw mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers and a couple Swamp Sparrows.

I then reached the Blind overlooking the large pond and saw Sue and Alan. There was a bit of excitement in the Blind, obviously an unusual sighting of some kind. They motioned me to come in and see the Wilson’s Phalarope. This was not only unusual but a rare bird for the location, it normally migrates over the midwest. What a beauty, and my third life bird for the trip!

Also in the pond is a White-rumped Sandpiper, a fourth life bird for the trip! As we were watching the Wilson’s Phalarope a Cooper’s Hawk came out of nowhere (as they do) and picked out one of the shorebirds for a meal. Yes, that is the circle of life, but it still is a bit hard to witness.

Birds for this walk included:

  • 4 Canada Geese

  • 4 Mute Swan

  • 32 Mallards

  • 36 Green-winged Teal

  • 2 Mourning Doves

  • 1 Virginia Rail

  • 1 Sora

  • 3 Stilt Sandpipers

  • 2 White-rumped Sandpipers

  • 1 Pectoral Sandpipers

  • 19 Semipalmated Sandpipers

  • 1 Wilson’s Phalarope

  • 2 Double-crested Cormorant

  • 1 Great Blue Heron

  • 2 Great Egrets

  • 1 Turkey Vulture

  • 1 Osprey

  • 1 Cooper’s Hawk

  • 1 Belted Kingfisher

  • 1 Peregrine Falcon

  • 4 American Crows

  • 3 Fish Crows

  • 350 Tree Swallows

  • 2 Carolina Wrens

  • 14 European Starlings

  • 3 Gray Catbirds

  • 2 Swamp Sparrows

  • 1 Common Yellowthroat

  • 36 Yellow-rumped Warblers

I headed back over the the Hawk Watch for a bit before going to the hotel to give my achilles tendons a break and do some writing.

I joined my friends Sue and Alan for a lovely evening and excellent dinner at Sapore’s in Cape May - what a fabulous way to end this great day of birding.

(Yes, a lot of adjectives, but what else can I say - it was a fine day).

Adele
Previous

Day Four
Next

Day Two