Black Rail SEEN!!!!!! & 17 Brown Pelicans

So Michael O'Brien and his CMBO workshop group walked up to us as we were finishing the Bird Walk for All People, and said "Guess what we saw [his emphasis] at the meadows."

I knew right away, but it still seems impossible. They had the Black Rail calling on the west side of the west path (it had been on the east side). Michael told me he thought, hmmm, how'd it get over there. . . .he told everyone there was an almost 0% chance of seeing it. . . and it walked across the path 30 feet in front of them. Some people have all the luck. Important: DO NOT do anything to harass the Black Rail. Stay on the path, listen, hope, and enjoy.

We got a dose of luck on our walk as it ended, when a flock of 17 Brown Pelicans sailed over the parking lot at the Cape May Point State Park, which is more by about a dozen than I have seen together at once since I moved to Cape May in 2007. The full list from our walk is below (note to the participants: some species were heard only), with more interesting observations bolded:

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 6/25/09
Notes: CMBO Bird Walk for All People.
Number of species: 55

Canada Goose 20
Mute Swan 15
Mallard 40
Brown Pelican 17
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 1
Green Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 2
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 15
Osprey 5
Piping Plover 2
Killdeer 1
American Oystercatcher 1
Laughing Gull 50
Herring Gull 10
Great Black-backed Gull 5
Least Tern 20
Common Tern 2
Forster's Tern 40
Black Skimmer 1
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 10
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Chimney Swift 10
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Willow Flycatcher 2
Eastern Kingbird 5
American Crow 5
Fish Crow 10
Purple Martin 30
Tree Swallow 5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 15
Carolina Chickadee 8
Carolina Wren 10
American Robin 20
Northern Mockingbird 5
European Starling 5
Cedar Waxwing 15
Common Yellowthroat 5
Yellow-breasted Chat 3
Northern Cardinal 8
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 3
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle 40
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
Orchard Oriole 1
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 10
House Sparrow 15