Nature Detective

One or two events recently have found me kicking back to my childhood - a time in our lives when I reckon we all have the potential to get the most out of the natural world. The one thing that children do so well is ask questions - interminably! You know, "Are we nearly there yet?", "Are we going soon?", "Why did Johnny get more than me?" and the completely indescriminate "Why?" to just about everything. Applying this questioning to the natural world as we get a little more adventurous - and more focused and directional in our questioning - is how we learn and, as I said to someone just a couple of days ago, the day we stop asking questions is the day we stop learning anything new!

What am I babbling about? Well, here's a few pictures I took yesterday that should instill questions in us all. The sort of pictures that turn us into nature detectives...

I pass the wooden jetty on bunker pond almost daily and it can be easy to become glib about the Forster's Terns that are almost always there this time of year. Yesterday though, they caught my eye. Why? Well, there heads look a bit odd don't they? What are they doing? One thing I learnt a long time ago is that birds have much better eyes than me and are very good at spotting predators - they have to be! Birds eyes are fixed in their sockets (they can't look left and right before crossing the road!) so they have to turn their heads to look in different directions. These birds have their heads cocked to one side because they are looking up. Keep an eye out for this behavior and take a cue from the birds. I looked up and there was a Mississippi Kite! So high, I couldn't get a photo of it, but the birds had spotted it and were checking it out. I have seen many birds of prey in this way, by noticing the bird I am watching looking up...

Blue Dashers are very common dragonflies and one of the few that tolerate sub-optimum, disturbed habitats so do well at Cape May Point State Park. What we must ask about this guy is why is he trying to stand on his head?! The answer is that this behavior is called 'obelisking'. Why do they do it? It was pushing 90F lunchtime yesterday at the state park and the sun was high in the sky. The best way for a dragonfly to stay a little cooler whilst still being able to stay out and hunt for food is to minimize the surface area of its body that is presented to the sun. Pointing the abdomen straight up is the simplest solution - even if it does make you look a bit silly!

Anyone who has visited Cape May Point will know that Fish Crows are a serious problem down there, systematically working their way through all the eggs and chicks painstakingly cared for by Nature Conservancy and DEP staff. The solution is very simply but not popular, but while I was at the state park yesterday this bird flew past me and gave me another nature detective episode - what species of bird is it having for lunch? While the possibilities may seem endless, we can actually get there quite quickly. We can rule out pretty much all non-passerines by the long hind toe, which is as long as the fore-toes. Several groups can be ruled out by having black or gray legs, while others, such as woodpeckers and cuckoos have two toes forward and two back instead of three forward and one back. I quite quickly found myself reckoning this to be a pigeon of some sort, with the pale pink suggesting it is (or was) a young bird. I would therefore presume (it being Cape May) that it's either a Mourning Dove or Feral Rock Dove. I guess that's better than a Piping Plover...

My day of nature detection yesterday continued right through to the evening when I was about to brush this tiny ant off my shorts. Something somehow struck me as unusual so I gave it a second look. This thing is tiny (here it is on my finger nail), just like those annoying minuscule ants that seem to come as a compulsory extra in kitchens around here, yet it somehow seemed different.

Here's a closer look and we can now make a call on what it is. In both pictures, what should be apparent is that this minibeast comes in two - we could loosely call them a head and a body. Ants are typical insects and have three sections - the head, thorax and abdomen. In addition, this closer picture reveals at least six eyes - two of which are placed at the back of the elongated head. You can also just make out two large, forward facing eyes on the front, like a pair of goggles - and all of the eyes are simple, not compound. This is all pointing towards a spider, and that is what we have. An amazing spider which mimics ants as a way to get closde to its prey. It probably also means that it gets left alone by potential predators whi hdon't want to tangle with an ant and all that formic acid thing that they have going on! This looks like one of the antmimic jumping spiders so I'm hoping spider fanatic Dick Walton can help me with this one!

Just for balance, here's one I keep missing! My nature detective radar keeps letting me down on Roseate Terns, which pop up at time to time here - I've yet to see one at Cape May! This bird was photographed at the South Cape May Meadows yesterday afternoon by Karl Lukens. Roseate Tern is an intensively-studied species and pretty much all birds that turn up in Cape May are banded.

Suggestions for the weekend - water levels at the South Cape May Meadows are excellent at the moment and the site is currently attracting large numbers of terns and gulls and a few shorebirds, egrets and herons. Try an evening walk there, any time after 5PM and scan through the flocks in search of Black or Roseate Terns. Marsh Wren can be heard on the main (west) path and you might get Virginia Rail or  Black-crowned Night Heron too. (Don't forget to get your pass on the way in - $5 for the whole year is pretty good value for money and helps pay for habitat maintenance).

How's the Tour Going?

 [Welcome to Alaska: breaching Humpback outside Resurrection Bay near Seward. Click to enlarge all photos.]

NJA VP of Education Dale Rosselet sent Mark Garland and I a text message yesterday asking how the Alaska tour we are currently leading for New Jersey Audubon/CMBO was going. Answer: Awesome!

Mark's laptop unfortunately died, but you can follow our progress on my blog at http://freidaybird.blogspot.com/ .

New Jersey Audubon's Eco-travel Program, in my humble opinion, is as good as any tour company's and better than most, with the combination of broad natural history focus and great success on finding targetted birds on any tour they offer.

 [Horned Puffins are common to abundant in parts of coastal Alaska.]

[Our NJA/CMBO group with the Aialik Glacier in the background, and a piece of it in Chuck Slugg's hands.]

Cape May Birding Hotline 6-9-2011

Hotline: Cape May Birding Hotline
To Report: call (609) 884-2736, or email sightingsATbirdcapemay.org
Coverage: Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic Counties , NJ
Compiler: David Lord, Cape May Bird Observatory
URL: http://www.njaudubon.org ; http://www.birdcapemay.org

This is the Cape May Birding Hotline, a service of New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory. This week's message was prepared on Thursday, June 9th, 2011. Highlights this week include sightings of MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD, LARK SPARROW, ROSEATE TERN, SANDHILL CRANE, BLACK TERN.

A female MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD was seen on Monday, May 30th, 2011, circling over Cove Beach in Cape May.

A LARK SPARROW was seen along the North Side of Ackley Road in Cumberland County on Tuesday, May 31st, 2011, and was last reported there on Monday, June 6th, 2011.

A ROSEATE TERN was seen flying toward Sunset Blvd. from the South Cape May Meadows on Monday, June 6th, 2011.

A SANDHILL CRANE was seen flying east along Route 47 north of Goshen on Tuesday, May 31st, 2011.

A BLACK TERN was observed along the west path of the South Cape May Meadows on Wednesday, June 8th, 2011, and was last observed on Thursday, June 9th, 2011.



-For up-to-the-minute Cape May sightings information, photos and downloadable birding maps and checklist of Cape May, visit www.birdcapemay.org . Follow rarity sightings, many spring arrivals, and spectacles on www.twitter.com/CMBObirds -



ANNOUNCEMENTS:

******CMBO SUMMER HOURS are as follows: Northwood Center on East Lake Drive in Cape May Point is open every day except Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Center for Research and Education on Rt. 47 in Goshen is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30am to 4:30pm; closed Sundays and Mondays. ******

The Cape May Birding Hotline is a service of the New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory and details sightings from Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic Counties. Updates are made weekly. Please report sightings of rare or unusual birds to CMBO at 609-884-2736. Sponsorship for this hotline comes from the support of CMBO members and business members, and should you not be a member, we cordially invite you to join. Individual membership is $39 per year; $49 for families. You can call either center to become a member or visit. Become a member in person and you'll receive a FREE gift (in addition to member discounts in the stores).

Good Luck and Good Birding!

Drifters and Loafers

At this time of year, a few drifters and loafers can be expected around Cape May Point and it's a pretty good time to essentially expect the unexpected. So what are they? Well, for me, drifters are birds that aren't breeding and therefore have no reason to be tied to one spot - thus they drift around and often turn up outside of the normal breeding range. These are usually one of two things; either they are first-summer (second calendar-year) birds that are not breeding yet so spend their first summer just 'hanging out', or they are birds that have had their breeding season cut short, perhaps by the eggs or young being taken by a predator, the nest washed out or blown down by bad weather or some other form of bad luck.

Loafers are birds that are usually young birds not yet in breeding condition and therefore having no need to head off to breeding grounds elsewhere. They are usually species that have wintered with us and just stay in the area. I guess drifters become loafers once they decide to stay for a while, or remain drifers if they wander off! Recent drifters included the Magnificent Frigatebird last week, as well as the Roseate Tern seen at the South Cape May Meadows on Monday morning. Loafers include Lesser Black-backed Gull and White-winged and Surf Scoters that Chris Hajduk reported on Monday from Poverty Beach. Chris works for the Coastguards so has the privilege of being able to visit Poverty Beach regularly. If you wish to look for birds there, remember it is a closed beach so you will need to scope from the public beach to the south, at the north end of Cape May beachfront.

Blending In

Birding with friends is just the greatest isn't it? And of course, birding as part of a CMBO guided walk is truly awesome (I know, I know, I'm biased!!) But now and again, just for a change, it's nice to go solo; just you and nature, to see what you can see. For me, such solo adventures often involve an element of "to see what I can get away with"! For many of us, a lifetime spent in a town or city has removed us from all but the briefest close encounters with nature and the skills of 'blending in' and becoming part of the landscape have been lost by much of our society. But despite this, I think that many of us hanker for those stolen moments when we suddenly get an opportunity to be part of the bigger picture. More often than not, such encounters are incidental; more to do with the animal than with us and a matter of us just being in the right place at the right time - like the Raccoon I caught rummaging under a wooden pallet last week, in a bog miles from where he expected any people to be! But that's where I like to test the barriers - to see what I can get away with.

Perceived as potential predators by many species, we have to overcome a lot to get close to wildlife. But it's all about not being seen as a threat. No need to wear camoflage gear - actually, blending in that well is not always a good idea as animals might see you suddenly and without warning which can actually startle them more. Wear muted colors though and try to look as though you're not really interested in whatever it is that you are interested in (if you see what I mean!). Here are a few close encounters I had just this past few days.

One way to be seen as less of a threat is to lie down (getting down is easy, it's the getting back up you have to think about when your joints start to creak like mine!). When you're lower, you're smaller, and thus not so threatening. From a low angle, you'll find you get much more interesting shots of insects. This is a Snowberry Clearwing moth that settled in the dunes at Higbee's Beach. Looks a bit like he's riding a jetski!

Insects are mostly relatively easy to get close to compared to other animals because, in part at least, we are so large that we probably don't even feature in their landscape a lot of the time. A bit like walking past a really tall building and not thinking about it. Dragonflies are a different story however, especially Swamp Darner - our biggest dragonfly in Cape May. I finally got the shot I had wanted for so long when I persuaded one that perching on my hand really was OK. In fact, I took it indoors with me, got my camera, went back outside and found a nice sunny spot to get pictures!

I featured another shot of this Ovenbird nest-building a few weeks ago, but wanted to include it here as an example of a species that is famously hard to see, but is actually quite easy if you put the time in. The secret here was to sit with this bird for half an hour before I even showed interest in her - and of course, I didn't want to get too close when she was clearly involved in breeding behavior. But before long, she accepted me and went about her duties. Kept an eye on me, but resumed her chores. It was only then that I started taking pictures. No photographic blind, no camo gear. Just sitting down, back to a tree, part of the landscape...

One of my closest encounters of late - and one which of course triggered this post - was with this female White-tailed Deer. Once the nose-licking and tail flagging starts, you know you've been seen and the end result is always the same as they turn tail and run. Have you ever tried talking to deer? They seem to quite like it! Having already seen me, this deer proceeded to just walk right on by...

Yep, right on by! Luckily I have a zoom lens as a fixed 300mm would have simply got me an eyeball shot I reckon! I note from the metadata on this photo that I had to shrink back to 135mm to take this head shot and I wasn't even hiding, just standing still, being part of the scenery; blending in. I took this photo on one of the main trails on my lunch break at Higbee's today!

And since it's nearly dinner time as I write this, here are some White Mulberries in our garden, the darkest of which are in a bowl in the kitchen and we'll have with ice-cream tonight! A close encounter with berries? Surely that's pretty easy to achieve? Yes, but there were Cedar Waxwings feeding in the tree while I was picking the fruit - but my camera was indoors! You can't win them all!!

Birding news was a little thin today, but Michael O'Brien seemed to chance upon a small, late fall of flycatchers at Cape May Point State Park this morning. Alder, Willow and Acadian Flycatchers were all present. Higbee's Beach didn't seem to have any migrants this morning, but Indigo Buntings are still present and breeding now and the Yellow-breasted Chat remains faithful to the first field - and actually became a new species for the list of birds I've seen in my favorite tree there!

Beach Babes!

You know that summer is here when the beach babes appear! Down at South Cape May Beach - Cape May's real beach - moms are busy tending to their charges, which at present are little fluffy balls on two sticks. Both American Oystercatchers and Piping Plovers have young right now and they are an obvious target for local photographers, so here's a little photo gallery of our latest additions.

First the American Oystercatchers, with one here testing the boundaries of edibility! [Photo by Mike Hannisian]

Time for both parents to get involved [Photo by Beth Polvino]

When danger threatens, patches of American Beachgrass come in handy [Photo by Beth Polvino]

Now the Piping Plovers - and one of the things you quickly notice is that their parents are far less attentive than those of the oystercatchers'. [Photo by Beth Polvino]

A walk along the strand might turn up something nice for breakfast... [photo by Mike Hannisian]

...or it might be so scary that you have to run back home! [Photo by Beth Polvino]

Looking at Long Legs...

Downloading my latest batch of pictures today, I realized that a common thread had run through them without me realizing it - I had been looking at an awful lot of long legs lately! Nothing to do with Memorial Day Weekend I can assure you, I'm talking about herons and their kin. Looking at the pictures and thinking about the birds I had seen, I started trying to answer a few questions...

First up, this Great Blue Heron; first question - what's it doing here in Cape May County during the breeding season (they don't breed with us here)? Answer: the large amount of streaking on lower neck and breast and the washed out, pale coloration on the thighs show that this is a bird born last summer, so almost certainly won't breed this year. This bird is happy to hang out on its own and not have to share the spoils of a good hunt. Second question - why is it in a field, don't they eat fish? Yes they do eat fish, but an awful lot more besides. This bird was in damp grassland at Villas WMA and is probably hunting frogs, but they really are generalists and will eat pretty much anything they can catch. Back in the UK, I once saw a Gray Heron (similar to this guy but a fraction smaller) kill and eat a Brown Rat, whilst friends of mine have reported European Mole and even a Stoat (Long-tailed Weasel over here) as prey!! [Photo by Mike Crewe]

Our Cape May Point walk this morning turned up this seemingly well-out-of-place Green Heron, perched on the fence rail at the top of the dune crossover. Question: What is he doing there?! Next time you flush a Green Heron, watch what it does; though these birds hunt low down and often in fairly dense vegetation where they can be hard to see, very often, they will fly up once flushed and sit right on top of the nearest high object while they check what's going on. Dune crossover? A perfect vantage point for a good look round! [Photo by Karl Lukens]

Lunchtime today, I ate my sandwiches at one of my favorite wetlands (no, it's a secret place - we all have them!) and enjoyed a smart adult Little Blue Heron and six shiny Glossy Ibises. While watching the ibises (and dodging the Deer Flies!) I noticed that they frequently held their wings up in an almost angelic pose for prolonged periods - clearly not just a wing flap or about to take flight. Question: Why do they do this? Answer: I don't know yet, but I'm going to try and find out!! And that's the point of this post; when migration tails off, don't lose heart. Spend time watching the birds that are around and be sure to ask questions, lots of questions - how? what? why? where? when? which? Six questions to choose from - or use them all!! [Photo by Mike Crewe]

Bird news today was a little scant, but another frigatebird sighting came in from Kate Atkins, this time a bird seen over the Avalon causeway. Oh, and though I suggested that migration is tailing off, 10 Black-bellied Plovers flew over my house whilst I was tackling those darned Multiflora Roses this evening...