The Cape May population swells in
summer, by some estimates between 40 and 50,000 tourists. By Labor Day, though,
the throngs of beach goers subside and a new group of visitors begins to
replace them. The birders. Cape May, as you know, is Mecca for birds and
birders each fall and New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory is the
organization that serves both of them. Each year since 1976 CMBO has counted
the hawks migrating over Cape May, en route for points south, from the
Hawkwatch Platform at Cape May Point State Park. Since 1990 CMBO has counted
the monarch butterflies migrating en route to Mexico, our second longest
running monitoring project. Since 1993 we have had a paid counter positioned in
Avalon to quantify the migration of southbound waterbirds, most recently from
September 22 to December 22, sunrise to sunset, on the beach between 8th and
9th street at our new Seawatching Center constructed by our partners, the
Borough of Avalon. Since 2003 we have staffed a daily count of visible songbird
migration that occurs in the first hours after sunrise, from atop the
"Higbee Dike" dredge spoil, at Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area.
In short, CMBO has its finger on the pulse of migration in Cape May. But
collecting data is only part of the equation, and just as important as
collecting data, is connecting people to nature through our innovative
programming. We, of course, do this throughout the year with our all-volunteer
Associate Naturalists and Field Trip Leaders, but each fall we also bring on a crew
of Interpretive Naturalist Interns in addition to our counting staff, to engage
all of the visitors who come through Cape May during the autumn migration
period. This great team of naturalists represent the future of conservation,
and will forever carry forth the torch of New Jersey Audubon wherever they go
from here.
Before the start of the season, we held the first "orientation week" in the history of these
seasonal positions, and it was a roaring success. A mix of presentations and
experiential learning, led by the region's top ornithologists, educators,
conservationists and field naturalists, the Class of 2016 experienced a full
immersion into Cape May migration ecology and interpretation. Now we'd like to
introduce to you our Class of 2016 interpretive naturalist interns and
counters, and hope you will come and visit them at the various count sites
throughout the 2016 fall season!
In alphabetical order:
Jesse Amesbury – Interpretive Naturalist
I was born and raised in northern New Jersey, but have lived
in Cape May County the last 3.5 years, so I am no stranger to the magic of
birding in Cape May. I became fascinated with birds at the age of 6 and have
never looked back since. My passion for birds and wildlife brought me to
Stockton University where I majored in Environmental Science. After graduation,
I worked at Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, where I was involved in various marsh
related studies involving sea level rise, as well as American Black Duck
carrying capacity. For the past 2 years I worked with the Conserve Wildlife
Foundation of NJ doing Piping Plover monitoring. When I'm not watching and
photographing birds, I like playing basketball and tennis.
Lindsey Brendel – Monarch Monitoring Project
Lindsey grew up on a farm in
White Lake, Michigan and developed a love of nature early on. She attended
Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan where she studied film, focusing on
the genre of documentary. This is her third year working as a naturalist for
the Monarch Monitoring Project in Cape May, New Jersey. Before heading to Cape
May for the fall, Lindsey spent the summer working as a naturalist at the
Walking Mountains Science Center in Avon, Colorado where she taught programs,
lead guided hikes on Vail Mountain, and also gained her accreditation as a
Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association for
Interpretation. Lindsey has also worked for New Jersey Fish and Wildlife as a
field technician on their endangered non-game species team, monitoring
endangered beach nesting birds along the Atlantic coast. When at home in
Michigan, Lindsey is a volunteer at the Organization for Bat Conservation,
where she has enjoyed learning about and taking care of insectivorous, fruit,
and vampire bats. She is thrilled to be working as a naturalist once more for
the Monarch Monitoring Project and for the chance to experience the magic of
fall in Cape May.
Erik Bruhnke – Cape May Hawkwatch Counter
Erik
Bruhnke has had a love for birds since he was a child. He graduated from
Northland College in Wisconsin with a Natural Resources degree in 2008. Erik
taught field ornithology various times at Northland College. During his first
six fall seasons following college, Erik worked as an interpreter at Hawk Ridge
Bird Observatory in Duluth, Minnesota and was a board member of the Duluth
Audubon Society. He has counted migrating raptors at the Corpus Christi
HawkWatch in Texas. Erik’s wildlife photography has won national awards, and
his writings have been featured in Birder’s
Guide via the
American Birding Association, BirdWatching,
and Birdwatcher’s Digest. Erik leads tours for Victor
Emanuel Nature Tours as well as his own business, Naturally Avian Birding
Tours. He loves to cook and bake in his free time, often while sipping
bird-friendly coffee.
Glen Davis – Morning Flight Counter
Glen hails from Brooklyn, NY, but has called Cape May home
for more than 16 years. Simply put, he loves living and birding here! Working
for CMBO in the fall of 1999 (and subsequently in 2007, 2014, 2015, and 2016)
made the biggest of impacts on him. Glen has/has had lots of jobs: professional
tour leader, biological consultant, start-up-tech-company tech, grad student,
bartender, musician, school teacher, garbage man, veterinary technician to name
a few. He has traveled, explored, and birded in 47 states and over 20
countries. Glen has worked seasonally for CMBO as a researcher, naturalist, and
salesperson and is very excited to be returning for a third consecutive year as
the 2016 fall season's official songbird counter with the Morning Flight
Project. He resides and engages in BBQ in Cape May Point with his wife,
Christina "Kashi" Davis.
Kirsten Fuller –
George Myers Naturalist
Hi, my name is Kirsten Fuller,
and I am the George Myers Naturalist Intern this year. I am from
Woodstown, New Jersey and a graduate of Rowan University. I have a
bachelors degree in biology and a minor in secondary education. So far, I
have truly enjoyed my time working for New Jersey Audubon, and my experiences
here have strengthened my interest in becoming a science teacher in the future.
Meaghan Lyon – Seawatch Counter
I am a recent graduate from College of the Atlantic. I grew
up along the coast of New Jersey watching shorebirds with my Mother. Since then,
I have immersed myself in seabird research and monitoring efforts. For two
seasons I studied breeding colonies of gulls, guillemots, and petrels on
offshore islands in the Gulf of Maine. Most recently, I monitored Piping
Plovers and Least Terns breeding on the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge.
Whether I am banding a seabird or observing through my binoculars, I always
enjoy my time being in nature and watching birds.
Tom Reed - Migration Count Coordinator
A 6
th-generation area resident, Tom is one
of very few birders who can truly call Cape May home. He discovered birds at
the age of ten and was immediately captivated by the spectacle of migration
that engulfs the Cape May area. Tom has traveled through much of North America since graduating
Rutgers University in 2011, with assignments that have ranged from wintering
Piping Plover surveys in the Bahamas, to breeding bird atlas work in Wisconsin,
to tour-guiding in Alaska, and of course, several fall seasons at Cape May. One
of the area’s most in-demand birding guides, he has also appeared at various
local and national birding events and represented CMBO at the 2016 Champions of
the Flyway competition in Israel. In his spare time, Tom is a Regional Editor
for the journal
North American Birds,
sits on the Board of Directors for the Hawk Migration Association of North
America, serves as a statewide editor for eBird, and is a voting member of the
New Jersey Bird Records Committee. Tom is perhaps the only person who has logged over 1,000 counting
hours at both the Avalon Seawatch and Cape May Hawkwatch, and he was also
responsible for developing the Cape May Springwatch, the area’s first full-time
spring migration count. Tom’s leadership was instrumental in the creation of
the Migration Count Coordinator position in 2015, and CMBO is thrilled to have
him return in that capacity for Fall 2016.
Maria Smith - Interpretive Naturalist
Maria is from Mount Airy,
Maryland, and she grew up enjoying wildlife she found in her yard and on road
trips with her dad. She recently graduated from Cornell University in
Ithaca, New York, with a degree in Biological Sciences. Maria has enjoyed
opportunities to travel and conduct field research on Black-throated Blue
Warbler and Western Bluebird behavior. Her recent public outreach position
at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology allowed her to share her love of birds and
other wildlife with visitors through tours and trail walks. Maria is
excited to be joining the naturalist team at CMBO and continuing to interact with
the public. She hopes to study bird behavior in graduate school and begin
a career involving teaching.
Diane Tassey – Monarch Monitoring Project
Diane is a veteran monarch enthusiast with many years of
public school teaching which included a focus on cross-curricular monarch
studies. She also travelled to Mexico with Dr. Bill Calvert to visit El Rosario
and Chincua - two major monarch overwintering areas. With a Master 's Degree in
Environmental Education, Diane has organized much community outreach. She also
studied rainforest ecology in Belize, and was an Earthwatch participant in
Washington to help restore salmon habitat. She has frequently visited Cape May
during the fall to witness the monarch migration.
David Weber – Montclair Hawkwatch Counter
David grew up near
Vineland, NJ. and has loved nature and animals his whole life. He recently
graduated from Cornell University, where he took his birding skills to new
levels, gained research experience with Acorn Woodpeckers, and traveled to other
countries for classes. At Cornell he also worked for the eBird Team and
lead tours and guided walks at the Lab of Ornithology. David is excited to
fine-tune his raptor identification skills and contribute to a 60-year dataset
at the Monclair Hawkwatch. David intends to continue his education by
seeking a Master's degree next year.
