Cape May Point Walk

This morning was the first Thursday Bird Walk for All People, which will be held every Thursday from now through August, 8:30-10:30 a.m. at Cape May Point State Park. It switches to 10:00 a.m. for September and October. As the name suggests, it's especially beginner friendly, and we bring an arsenal of loaner binoculars, but we get a mix of folks and often some quality birds. This foggy morning featured Piping Plovers in their nest cages, and Least Tern courtship. One thing Bert Hixon pointed out about CMBO's regularly scheduled walks (all of them, not just this one), is that they give you an opportunity to sample bird life and bird behavior over long periods, and see it change. So, soon we'll see the first precocial Piping Plover chicks, soon all the Least Terns will be incubating eggs, and given another successful year for the colony, as the summer season turns we'll be watching the terns busy feeding their young, encouraging them to fly, and eventually teaching them to fish.

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 6/5/08
Notes: CMBO Bird Walk for All People, led with Chuck and MJ Slugg and Bert Hixon
Number of species: 45
Canada Goose 50
Mute Swan 10
Gadwall 2
Mallard 5
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 2
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 1
Black-bellied Plover 20
Piping Plover 2
American Oystercatcher 1
Greater Yellowlegs 7
Sanderling 2
Semipalmated Sandpiper 2
Short-billed Dowitcher 5
Laughing Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull 50
Least Tern X
Common Tern X
Forster's Tern X
Royal Tern 2
Black Skimmer 3
Rock Pigeon 20
Chimney Swift 10
Eastern Kingbird 1
Fish Crow 5
Purple Martin X
Tree Swallow X
Barn Swallow X
Carolina Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 2
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 3
Cedar Waxwing 5
Common Yellowthroat 1
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle X
House Finch X
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow X