Cape May Island Birding (04/26/2008)
Greetings,
With the weekend off, and an uncertainty about what day was going to be better for birding, my housemates (David y Cesar) and I decided to head down to Cape May for some early season birding. Driving from the center it took us about 30 minutes or perhaps a little more to reach our first destination of Higbee Beach WMA. This site is perhaps better known for some of its resident breeders such as Yellow-breasted Chat (Chatley), Blue Grosbeak, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and White-eyed Vireo. However, most of those were not present yesterday as it is still a few weeks early for the majority of those species to be around. I believe some of those have been reported however in the area, but just not in any good numbers.
We walked around the fields that typically house those types of birds, but only the WHITE-EYED VIREO was to be found. This was to be Cesar’s first look at this species after hearing many singing, and the look we had was downright amazing. The wind, which would factor in greatly with the rest of the day started to build at this point, but only slightly. At Higbee we also heard many CAROLINA WRENS which like most of the residents around here was new for my Peruvian housemate. We did have some luck with a nice, albeit small mixed flock. The flock was very reminiscent of one that I would find home in NY during this time of year as it held the typical suite of early season migrants: BLUE-HEADED VIREO, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. Another thing that Higbee held for us before departing was ticks. In fact including the one on my car’s ceiling found at the center, we took off 3-4 ticks that morning…almost all on me.
Deciding that we had made the most of Higbee with the time of day, increasing winds, and lack of migrants, we headed into town to grab some lunch, and then made our way to the end of Sunset Blvd for the wreckage to look for Purple Sandpipers, which there were none. There were hundreds of Forster’s Terns feeing off of the rips, but no other species were observed here with them. Our next stop was the other Cape May Bird Observatory, the Northwood Center. Then we stopped in and looked around the shop for a good hour, which gave my housemates sufficient time to find some souvenirs to take home to their country. Unfortunately, the Hyacinth Macaw seen below with Cesar stayed at the shop. Birds observed around the center included Fish Crow, Boat-tailed Grackle, and of course the highlight for Cesar, a pair of Mallards which made their way across the road from Lily Lake to feed on tossed corn.
After the stop at CMBO, our next stop at the Cape May Point Lighthouse (State Park), held perhaps the best birding, despite the fact that the wind was the worst of the day at that point. We walked the windy beach for about a mile past the lighthouse in search of terns, shorebirds, and of course any ocean, or pelagic species that we could muster. Our luck didn’t take long, and Cesar and David had great looks at a pair of male SURF SCOTERS near a group of rocks sticking out from the shore. They were plenty close and the white patches and colored bill could be seen well with binoculars. Our next group of rocks found mostly gulls and Forster’s Terns, but with some walking we found a nice group of about 100 shorebirds working the rocks. The flock contained 3 species, two of which were new for either Cesar and/or David. The species present included a handful of RUDDY TURNSTONES, and the rest were mixed with SANDERLING and PURPLE SANDPIPERS. The purples was a species that the two guys from Latin America had hoped to see once I told them it was a possibility, and our looks were nothing short of pornographic. We walked progressively closer and closer to the algae covered rocks until we were just 10 meters or so away from the closest birds! This felt like the highlight of the day.
Walking back from the mixed flock of feeding Calidris we saw 2-3 flyover LEAST TERNS, however, they were only identified by their size, which while obvious, isn’t the best field mark for a life bird if you are from another continent. Upon walking back to where the Surf Scoters were I noticed two other scoters, a male and female pair of BLACK SCOTERS. The differences between the two were obvious enough for the new guys, but it was hard to focus on them when a lone COMMON LOON swam within 20 feet of shore. This was a new bird for both my housemates, and a real treat even for me. Other birds observed from shore were few and far between, however, we did have great looks at NORTHERN GANNETS working off shore! This is always a favorite experience of mine.
At this point we walked back to the car where Cesar found more of his elusive Canada Geese, as well as great looks at Purple Martins that were just starting to come back to the provided houses. All in all, it was a great trip, and as I told my housemates, it was a great experience for me as well. Too often I bird with birders who know the species with the same level that I do, and all that is required to identify it, or to share it with them is to call the name. However, by working with birders from other countries, it allows me to really sit back and think about why the bird is what it is, and to give good thoughts and words to them for the identification. It is a process that will only make me better! Certainly a day to remember…I can’t wait for more!
~Chad
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