Cape May, Hawk Mountain & Bombay Hook Sep 27—Oct 04, 2009
Posted by Louise Zemaitis
Louise Zemaitis
Louise Zemaitis is an artist and naturalist living in Cape May, New Jersey where she is a popular field trip leader teaching birding workshops as an Associate Naturalist wi...Related Trips
Our tour began on a sunny morning near Atlantic City at the huge impoundments of Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by stunning views of Gray Catbirds feeding amongst the fall foliage. Around the wildlife drive, hundreds of Double-crested Cormorants and Forster's Terns hunted for fish as we studied the flocks of ducks, herons, and shorebirds. A group favorite was a Clapper Rail that landed in full view and proceeded to walk along the muddy edge of the marsh not far from where we spotted two American Avocets.
Continuing down the coast, a visit to the Avalon Seawatch and Townsend's Inlet gave us our first look at the Atlantic Ocean. Here we enjoyed nice views of terns feeding in the surf and a large flock of roosting shorebirds and terns. This diverse group included many Black-bellied Plovers and Black Skimmers, at least 100 American Oystercatchers, and two Marbled Godwits. Our closest bird of the day was a beautiful Ruddy Turnstone that stood on the seawall, just a few feet away from our van. Our arrival in Cape May coincided with a cold front, creating ideal birding conditions for the days to come.
We began each day in Cape May with an early breakfast at my house. The consistency of westerly winds dictated morning outings at Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area. During our first morning at Higbee we found a nice feeding flock of Baltimore Orioles, vireos, and warblers including a beautiful Bay-breasted Warbler. Other highlights included a glimpse of a Red-headed Woodpecker flying by, a Merlin chasing American Crows (they just can't help themselves!), and an Eastern Towhee in the woods. The remainder of the day was spent enjoying the Cape May Point area. We tagged monarch butterflies at Bill and Edie Schuhl's garden, studied gulls on the beach at the end of Coral Avenue, visited Cape May Bird Observatory's Northwood Center, watched hawks at Lily Lake, and spent some time at the Hawkwatch with Pete Dunne (Cape May's celebrity hawk counter).
Our second morning at Higbee began with a rainbow over the "Morning Flight" platform. Northern Flickers flew overhead as we searched for passerines along the field edges. We enjoyed excellent hawkwatching throughout the day in Cape May Point. Other highlights included an indecisive migrant Ruby-throated Hummingbird that we watched turn back from its southbound journey over Delaware Bay, two Cape May Warblers at Cape May Point State Park, two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers at the Schuhl's garden, and over 500 Black Skimmers on the beach in Cape May City.
We began our last morning in Cape May before breakfast listening to the pre-dawn booming of Great Horned Owls as migrant thrushes called overhead. A fine morning of birding at Higbee included many birds in the air as well as on the ground. We saw many Northern Flickers, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Cedar Waxwings, and a few Bobolinks in flight, while sunny edges produced quite a few songbirds including Tennessee, Black-and-white, Black-throated Blue, and Black-throated Green warblers. Stops were made at the Rea Farm where we enjoyed good views of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Cape May Point State Park where we had lunch with a Prairie Warbler, and Pavilion Circle for more hawkwatching before departing for Pennsylvania in the afternoon.
The time spent in the van over the next two days was quite enjoyable. We viewed the autumn foliage and scenery while playing games along the way.
On Friday, after a hearty breakfast at the Nottingham Inn, we went to the nearby Wawa to make our lunch selections and drove north to the Kittatinny Ridge (with a quick field trip to Cabela's en route) to visit the celebrated Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. It was heartening to visit this wonderful sanctuary on the year of its 75th anniversary. We began at the visitor's center before making the one-mile hike to the North Lookout. Winds were not ideal for hawkwatching, but there was a refreshing chill in the air and the threat of rain did not materialize. A lone Merlin who took two passes at an owl decoy over our heads was the highlight of our hawkwatching day. We did, however, enjoy some lovely scenery along with lengthy views of two fine Black-throated Blue Warblers and some human entertainment on the North Lookout. Birds of note around the visitor's center included Magnolia Warbler, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and hybrid Black-capped x Carolina Chickadees. One of the best sightings of the day occurred upon our return to the hotel where five Eastern Bluebirds were spotted in the back yard.
On our last day in the field we drove south to visit Delaware's bayshore. The wildlife drive at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge was full of ducks, geese, egrets, and a few shorebirds. Most memorable was an incoming flock of Snow Geese, apparently making their first arrival from their tundra nesting grounds. We marveled as they made a couple of tentative passes before finally coming to rest. After a delicious crab lunch at Sambo's Tavern (a "must" after a morning at Bombay Hook!), we went to Port Mahon. Here we found flocks of terns and shorebirds along the bayshore, including many Dunlin and Western Sandpipers, a couple of Black-bellied Plovers, and the real prize, three American Golden-Plovers. It was quite puzzling to see a young Peregrine Falcon sitting on the beach in close proximity to the flock. Kim made the best find of the day when she discovered an immature Yellow-crowned Night-Heron amongst the marsh grasses. At the end of the birding day we made our way back to Philadelphia where Michael, our honorary second leader, joined us for our farewell dinner.