It's fair to say that, like most places in temperate regions, mid-winter days can be slow for birds some times, but not this weekend it seems. The continuing mild weather is allowing recent good birds in Cape May to hang on and it really looks like a good weekend to be down here birding. As of today, the
Crested Caracara continues to hang out around the Rt 626 canal bridge in Lower Township (that's the one that leads straight into West Cape May, not the one near the harbor), the
Western Tanager continues at Dias Creek Road/Hand Avenue intersection in Cape May Court House, the
Western Grebe continues in Cape May harbor and the
Townsend's Warbler continues in Cape May Point State Park. Also in the state park,
Pine, Nashville and
Orange-crowned Warblers, Common Yellowthroat,
Baltimore Oriole and
White-eyed Vireo all appear to be around and the
King Eider continues to hang out off St Mary's at the point. Two
Blue-winged Teal wander between the state park and The Beanery ponds and a
Cackling Goose is wandering around south of the canal, most recently reported from The Meadows.
Ospreys have been a surprise this winter too, with singles most recently at Jake's Landing on 7th and Brigantine on 8th. In Cumberland County, a
Red-necked Grebe has been reported intermittently from the channel at Turkey Point.
This Nashville Warbler has been present but pretty elusive in the state park for some weeks now, but Sam Galick finally got this great shot as it posed briefly on a bramble stem along the main trail.
The male Western Tanager continues to delight many in Cape May Court House. Here it is seen at a sapsucker hole, a habit it has taken to frequently of late [photo by Beth Polvino].
If you're further up the Delaware Bay in Cumberland or Salem Counties, don't forget that there are always great eagle viewing opportunities at this time of year. These two shots were sent to me recently by Jeff White, up in Salem County.
