The Beanery is a famously reliable hotspot for migrant passerines in fall. Photo: Mark Scheel
Cape May is the place to observe the spectacle of fall migration in North America. This sandy peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean funnels south-bound migrants to its narrow terminus. Renowned the world over for magnificent morning flights with more than 20 warbler species and daytime flights of nearly a dozen species of raptors, September in Cape May is as exciting as it gets for seeing a new suite of birds every day. Furthermore, nearby areas in coastal southern New Jersey and in adjacent Delaware hold staggering numbers of staging shorebirds and waterfowl. In addition to migrants, a number of uncommon and local species occur along the New Jersey coast and will be an additional focus of this trip.
Bird migration is highly dependent on the weather, so the details of this itinerary may change with the conditions.
Day 1: The tour begins this evening in Philadelphia. Night in Philadelphia near the airport.
Day 2: It’s a two-hour drive from Philadelphia to Cape May. If the overnight weather suggests the possibility of a large passerine flight, we’ll drive straight through; otherwise, we’ll make a few stops along the Delaware Bay shore for migrant waterbirds. Once in Cape May we’ll walk around the weedy fields of Higbee Beach or Hidden Valley to see what migrants may have dropped in to join the common Carolina Wrens, White-eyed Vireos, Gray Catbirds, and Brown Thrashers. We’ll spend the afternoon at Cape May Point State Park walking the beach for gulls and terns, checking the ponds for waterfowl, and looking up from the famous hawkwatch platform as the raptors come to us. Bald Eagles fly over daily this time of year, and American Kestrels, Merlins, and Peregrine Falcons may occur in numbers. After dinner, those interested can sit outside our motel to listen for the flight calls of passing thrushes and warblers. Night in Cape May.
Day 3: Our first taste of the real majesty of fall migration in Cape May will begin when we arrive at Higbee Beach before dawn. As the sun comes up, the morning flight of flickers, vireos, warblers, tanagers, and Bobolinks reaches its peak. The most numerous species of migrant warbler will be Northern Parula, Black-and-white, and Blackpoll. Philadelphia Vireo and Connecticut Warbler are possible on good flight days. After watching the dawn flight and checking to see what may have dropped in to the fields, we’ll take a walk around the Rea Farm, one of the best places in Cape May to watch a few Broad-winged Hawks and many Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks taking to the sky as the air warms. A roost of Black and Turkey Vultures is also usually present here. From there we’ll take a walk around the Nature Conservancy’s South Cape May Meadows, a freshwater marsh just over the dunes from the ocean and a great place for roosting waterfowl, shorebirds, and terns. In the afternoon we’ll drive north along the Atlantic coast to Stone Harbor Point, a long sandy spit at the end of a barrier island, a regular hang-out for American Oystercatchers, Piping Plovers, roosting terns (Caspian, Common, Forster’s, Royal, and possibly Sandwich), and Black Skimmers. Nearby is the saltmarsh of Nummy Island with its Tricolored, Little Blue, and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons. Night in Cape May.
“I have done many birding tours, and Jon stands out as having a handle on the whole environment. He completely knew the birds but also had good knowledge of plants, reptiles, insects, mammals, etc. He showed significant knowledge of geology, too. He is always upbeat, happy, and fun to be with. Jon ranks with the very best!”
- Robert Stull
Day 4: Depending on the weather overnight, our pre-dawn start will take us back to Higbee Beach, to the neighborhoods around Cape May Point, or to the South Cape May Meadows. We’ll then drive north to the Brigantine unit of Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, a vast complex of tidal marshes and ponds that hosts thousands of staging and wintering shorebirds and waterfowl. This is the best place around to look for Hudsonian Godwit, and we’ll see White-rumped Sandpipers among the thousands of Semipalmated Sandpipers. American Golden-Plover is also possible. Seaside and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows and Boat-tailed Grackle are common here, and Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow is a possibility. Night in Cape May.
Day 5: We’ll take the 1.5-hour ferry ride across the Delaware Bay to Lewes, Delaware. Along the way we’ll be on the lookout for oceanic birds like Parasitic Jaeger amid feeding flocks of Common and Forster’s Terns. Once in Delaware, we’ll make a stop in Cape Henlopen for Brown-headed Nuthatches at the northern limit of their range, then drive to Bombay Hook, where extensive saltmarshes harbor great numbers of shorebirds, occasionally including Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, and Marbled Godwit, all much rarer across the bay in New Jersey. Night in Dover, Delaware.
Day 6: We’ll take the ferry back to New Jersey, where we’ll check to see what’s flying at Cape May Point State Park, then work our way north, stopping frequently at the beaches and marshes along the Delaware Bay shore. With patience, Clapper Rail can be seen, and Marsh Wren, Savannah Sparrow, Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, and Seaside Sparrow are common. Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, and Bald Eagle are all regular migrants. We may spend dusk in a saltmarsh looking for migrant Common Nighthawks and owls. Night near Philadelphia airport.
Day 7: The tour concludes this morning at Philadelphia Airport.
Updated: 28 October 2009
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Notes
Maximum group size 7 with one leader, 14 with two.