Cape May Adventure

Cape May Adventure

An expert birder and I went to Cape May last Thursday. BTW, joining a group where you can meet advanced birders who are nice enough to put up with you tagging along with them, is a must if you are going to advance in your birding expertise. Our first stop was The Point to use the facilities. While there, we admired the Purple Martins and EB took time to tutor me in how to better use my digital camera.

Then on to Higbee Beach, or more accurately, the woods and fields that border it. It’s hard to imagine such a verdant area so near the ocean. Its trails and raised observation platforms provide numerous opportunities for bird sightings. But alas, ours were limited, probably because we didn’t arrive until after 10AM.  EB identified some calls, but most of the birds remained among the leaves. We did see a Cedar Waxwing sitting out on a branch, but my only picture of him is just a shadow. 

We drove the short distance down to Higbee Beach, but saw little of interest there until we were leaving. Then we spotted an Indigo Bunting, a bright blue bird. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a clear picture of him. 

It was now nearing lunch time, but we weren’t ready to go inside on such a perfect weather day. So we drove back to The Point. There wasn’t much visible from the observation deck by the parking lot, so we walked to the first pond. There EB spotted some Least Terns as well as a few Gadwalls, Mute Swans, and a Short-Billed Dowitcher.. It took a long time, much scrutinizing through our binoculars, and taking zoom digital pictures to better study the detail before EB ascertained that this long-billed bird was actually the Short-Billed Dowitcher, after conferring with a man at Audubon’s Northwood Center. I still have my doubts. 

After lunch at an ocean side restaurant, we visited a few shops on the mall before deciding whether to return to The Point or drive north to Cook’s Beach on the Delaware Bay where we’d been told thousands of Red Knots were gathering. We opted for the latter. Twenty minutes later we were bumping along a dirt road, navigating around numerous potholes. What we found at the end of it was worth the drive. We made our way around a huge mound of sand, we guessed put there lest a hapless driver end up in the Bay. Thousands of sea birds could be seen along the shore, some rushing around gathering food, others just sitting there: a few gulls, many Semi Palmated Sandpipers, Red Knots, a few Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, and terns flying overhead.

Before heading home two hours later, we glimpsed a Marsh Wren and Seaside Sparrows flitting up out of the marsh. A Great Egret flew past, croaking and Glossy Ibises flew into the marsh as we stood waiting for a Clapper Rail to appear. When one finally did, we decided to call it a day.

The accompanying picture is of a Lesser Yellowlegs, which we also saw on Thursday.