Cape May and Bombay Hook Sep 25—Oct 01, 2011
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
Fall migration is driven by weather. Birders' conversations inevitably turn to the weather's relativity to yesterday, today, or tomorrow's birding. When will the cold front arrive? Will the winds hold from the northwest? Gosh, I hope that it doesn't rain. Our tour began with fog. Yes, fog in September. Quite unusual, but it set the scene for a wonderful week in Cape May and Bombay Hook. For each morning's fog brought very little rain, mild temperatures, and fine afternoons. Oh, and unpredictably good birding!
We made our first birding stop at Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area after a text alert informed us of a "vireopalooza" taking place there. In addition to the promised Red-eyed Vireos, we had excellent views of some other berry-eaters: Gray Catbirds and Brown Thrashers. The flock also included obliging bug-eating Black-and-white Warblers picking their way through the tree branches, and hover gleaning American Redstarts. After a brief stop at our hotel, the VENT group became whole, and we continued our birding day via the Cape May beachfront. Here we saw a large flock of Black Skimmers and Royal Terns at rest, a favorite of birders and non-birders alike this time of year.
After lunch we enjoyed a leisurely afternoon on "The Osprey" backbay pontoon cruise. Highlights were many. We had wonderful views of night-herons, egrets, and shorebirds (two Ruddy Turnstones had legible bands on their legs!) and we got good looks at Clapper Rails (usually stealthy) under a sky teeming with Tree Swallows. But the bird that stole the show, by far, was the female Brown Booby on channel marker #425. She, with her yellow legs and bill, and black smudges next to her eyes, just looked down at us as we passed her by. Slowly. Full frame. What a treat!
Our second day in the field was spent entirely on Cape Island. After some early morning listening to thrushes and warblers with Michael, and breakfast at Uncle Bill's, we experienced "morning flight" at Higbee. It is always a source of wonder that off-course passerines will backtrack into the wind before finding a daytime rest stop. One of the best places in North America to witness this spectacle is the Higbee dike. After saying hello to this year's counter, Cornell alumni Tom Johnson, and viewing birds in flight (and some nicely perched in nearby trees including Black-throated Blue Warbler and American Redstart), we headed for the fields. Northern Flickers, Sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks moved along the treetops as songbirds ducked in and out of shrubbery. A Canada Warbler, late in its migration, was a pleasant surprise.
Thermals build as the earth warms. The Rea Farm in West Cape May provides perfect viewing of "thermaling" raptors. We spent some time enjoying the migrant hawks (six Broad-winged Hawks included) and hunting kestrels. The natural flow of a birding day in Cape May took us to Cape May Bird Observatory's Northwood Center, lunch at Depot Market Café, and Cape May Point State Park. The afternoon was filled with more hawk-watching and jaeger-watching. It is always a thrill to watch Merlins zip by hunting for dragonflies, and Parasitic Jaegers executing aerial acrobatics—stealing fish from terns in the tidal rips. Louise, an experienced Monarch researcher, tagged a Monarch and answered many questions about this amazing insect. A hot tip took us back to Higbee for an Upland Sandpiper that was quietly feeding in the corner of a freshly plowed field.
It is always a treat to take an excursion on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry across the Delaware Bay. The 14 miles of open water seem to create an invisible barrier between Cape May and some fine birds on the other side. Brown-headed Nuthatch is the first that comes to mind. After making our crossing, we immediately embarked on our search. It was not long until we found a small flock in the pines at Cape Henlopen State Park. Our challenge lessened when we discovered a feeder at the nature center with multiple visitors. An unseen predator created much excitement for a flock of songbirds near the feeder and excellent viewing opportunities for us birders. Blue Grosbeak, Nashville Warbler, Clay-colored Sparrow, and Baltimore Oriole were highlights.
The birding continued en route to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. High tide had pushed many of the shorebirds out of the marshes and into the farm fields. We counted 150 Killdeer and 80 Semipalmated Plovers along Bayside Drive. A Northern Harrier flushed and revealed a nice mixed flock of peeps and two American Golden-Plovers at Whitehall Crossroads near the entrance to Bombay Hook. Michael took the opportunity to point out the differences between White-rumped Sandpiper and Dunlin compared to the smaller sandpipers. Horned Lark was a non-shorebird favorite. Raymond Pool provided the best birding in the refuge. There were quite a few ducks, having recently arrived from the breeding grounds, the first Snow Geese of the season, and a number of shorebirds. The fresh water ponds in the refuge attract American Avocets (204 seen during our visit) and Long-billed Dowitchers (220), two more species uncommon in Cape May. After a fine picnic lunch, and watching a Peregrine Falcon catch and eat dragonflies (behavior more befitting a kestrel or Merlin) we departed for Lewes.
The remaining two days of the tour were spent further exploring Cape May's diverse habitats. We started each day at Cape May Point's Coral Avenue dune crossing where we enjoyed migrant hawks and songbirds following the dunes, terns and gulls loafing on the beach, and seabirds passing by. We worked such identification challenges as Sharp-shinned/Cooper's hawks, Common/Forster's terns, Herring/Lesser Black-backed gulls, and Mourning Dove/Eurasian Collared-Dove. The Collared-Dove, a rarity for the moment, is a recent arrival in Cape May. We birded the Atlantic coastline and marsh at Stone Harbor where we saw thousands of shorebirds, including 7 Piping Plovers, and hundreds of egrets and herons. A visit to South Cape May Meadow, one of the Nature Conservancy's crown jewels, provided many highlights. Each afternoon we gravitated to Cape May Point State Park where there is always great birding and camaraderie.