Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge (CMMBR)

First, I'd like to say sorry if anyone had any issues with the map I photo shopped yesterday. I anticipated that the photo would be displayed at a larger size. I guess you can chalk it up to a new website in it infancy. As with all sites there is constant tweaking to be done and bugs to be worked out.

That leads me to ponder; where did we get the phrase "bugs to be worked out"? Anyone have any ideas? Feel free to email if you know.

Today is one of those days......it's so gorgeous outside that hate to think of having to be inside at work all day. Even worse I had a hard time deciding where to go birding. With the passage of a cool front (fall's here!) I thought, maybe Higbee would be good to try for a few of the early passerine migrants. But, since I had predicted that shorebirds would be showing up in numbers I figured that I'd try the CMMBR again.

I still maintain that the property needs a good bit more water to be truly a great shorebirding spot. Though, there were slightly inflated numbers of some species in comparison to my visit there last week. Least sandpiper numbers certainly have grown at the CMMBR. Just a note for anyone who is planning on birding this location. Most all of the shorebirds I encountered were seen from the east trail (the one closer to town) and all on the east side of the trail. Most who are not familiar with the geography of the Cape would think that what I am calling east is north, just something to keep in mind.

So following in Don Freiday's footsteps, I have decide to use e-Bird to keep track of my sightings as well as make posting a list in it's entirety easier. In fact, I would encourage all of you to use e-Bird for keeping record of your sightings. Not only does it do most of the work for you, you are contributing to science as well. For those whom are unfamiliar with e-Bird, check it out at https://ebird.org/content/ebird/index.html

My most exciting observations of the morning were 3 Northern gannets flying south over the ocean. By the way there were big numbers of birds moving around out there today. Mostly Laughing gulls and various terns but all in pretty good numbers. The second was hearing the resident Northern bobwhite calling in the distance. Bobwhite is a good bird on the island with only a pair or two left. I was lucky enough to see a male with three chicks at the back feeders of the Northwood Center last summer.


This time my list is in a particular order. An "X" by a species mean that there were numbers present and I did not make note of exact counts. More than 100 would probably be a good bench mark.

Location: Cape May County, NJ, US
Observation date: 7/21/07
Notes: Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge
Number of species: 39

Canada Goose 66
Mute Swan 15
Mallard 26
Northern Bobwhite 1
Northern Gannet 3
Great Blue Heron 2
Green Heron 1
Black Vulture 3
Turkey Vulture 5
Osprey 3
Semipalmated Plover 27
Killdeer 15
American Oystercatcher 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Sanderling 72
Semipalmated Sandpiper 2
Least Sandpiper 87
Pectoral Sandpiper 3
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull 2
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull 15
Forster's Tern X
Least Tern X
Tree Swallow 5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 3
Northern Mockingbird 6
Cedar Waxwing 2
Yellow Warbler 3
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Bobolink 2
Red-winged Blackbird 5
Common Grackle 25
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)