Emelia Birds!

I think it's fair to say that we have fun on our walks; we see plenty of great birds without needing to take it too seriously. So it's not surprising that last week we coined a new phrase - Emelia Birds. What are Emelia* Birds? Well, they are birds that are always flying away from you when you see them. There they go, disappearing over the dune top or behind a pavilion roof. Now Karl* Birds are different, they fly towards you and disport themselves in all their glory! So last week, Emelia birds were pointed out to us by Emelia and we saw the tails of Black Skimmers sneaking away behind us; Karl pointed out Black Skimmers to us and they graceful arced their bills down into the water and cut neat lines right across the Plover Ponds. You get the idea...

So today on our Wednesday walk, Emelia Birds were in evidence even when Emelia wasn't there! A bunch of 11 ibises approached and were clearly dropping in to land on Bunker Pond. So clearly, that when I first scanned through them, I quickly fell upon the tell-tale pink face with broad white surround of an adult White-faced Ibis among their number. We were going to get great views of this bird in the scopes - or so I thought! As they emerged on the other side of a line of bushes, they were already powering off towards Pond Creek Marsh - Emelia Birds without a doubt!! Immediately after this, four shorebirds shot right past us, revealing white rumps as they - inevitably it seems - quickly became Emelia Birds! They were White-rumped Sandpipers alright but they really weren't behaving for us this morning! Our walk finished with the ultimate Emelia Bird trick - two Caspian Terns that turned up the very moment that the last walk participant had just turned the corner out of the parking lot!

Of course it wasn't all like that and we enjoyed great scope views of two American Oystercatcher chicks that were just a few days old, tottering around on the beach with their parents, a pair of Cedar Waxwings carrying nest material and some very obliging Blue Grosbeaks and Indigo Buntings among others.

* Note that names may, or may not, have been changed to protect the innocent - or guilty... only those who were there know the truth!

Recent Bird News
A White-faced Ibis has headlined a series of good birds at Brigantine over the first few days of June and maybe was the same bird that flew through Cape May Point today. Brigantine also had Marbled Godwit and American Golden Plover recently - both scarce birds here in spring. Dave Lord tells me that the Semipalmated Sandpiper show remains good on sandy beaches in Cape May Harbor, as seen from our scheduled boat trips, while Tom Reed reported a late Wilson's Warbler in Avalon on June 2nd. Other wandering warblers of late have included Northern Parulas in song at Cape May Point, Cape May Point State Park and Head of River and a Yellow-throated Warbler (not surprisingly with white lores) at Cape May Point on 4th. A Least Flycatcher was somewhat unexpected in the state park on 3rd, while the three Eurasian Collared Doves continue to attract attention at Cape May Point. Elsewhere, the breeding season progresses with Indigo Buntings and Blue Grosbeaks showing well at our usual weekly walk locations and a trickle of late shorebirds passing through included a nice group of four White-rumped Sandpipers at the state park this morning.

Blue Grosbeaks are a nice feature of a summer's day around Cape May - this pair fed on old grass heads on the South Cape May dune today [photo by Karl Lukens].

Success at the beach can be measured by the patter of tiny feet on the sand! One of two still-doddery American Oystercatcher chicks seen on the South Cape May Beach on our morning walk today [photo by Karl Lukens].

Cute, or too much like a Gremlin?! A baby Piping Plover braves a new world at the South Cape May Beach [photo by Sam Galick].

Caspian Tern is certainly not a common bird at Cape May Point during the summer months, so a pair continuing to show breeding behavior here is very interesting [photo by Sam Galick].

I mentioned in a recent post that June is a good time for surprises and wandering, off-course migrants such as this Least Flycatcher at Cape May Point State Park are out there to be found... (note the slightly odd-looking bill on this bird, which seems a little too long and may be the result of a damaged tip [photo by Sam Galick].

Of course, whatever the time of year, there is always interesting bird behavior to be noted. This Prothonotary Warbler was stealing insects from spider webs at Cox Hall Creek WMA recently - a bit like going to the convenience store [photo by Tony Leukering].

Everybody's Talking Moths...

It seems wherever I go, everyone is talking moths right now! Though an interest in moths has been big business in the UK for many years (check out, for instance, the amazing Norfolk Moths website that I used when I was over there), it is still pretty much in its infancy in the US - but things are changing fast. Perhaps with the advent of the first really usable field guide to moths in the Eastern USA, the latest in the Peterson Field Guides series (and available at CMBO stores folks!), these insects have really caught on around Cape May and sales of light bulbs at Lowe's have never been so good!

I think locally it all really started with a dodgy light fitting at Belleplain, which meant that a certain brick hut was being illuminated all night and has now become a feature at the start of my Belleplain Wildlife walks on Sunday mornings. The sheer variety of moths is stunning in itself, but there's all the complex life style types too. For example, on one recent walk we found a female Pink-striped Oakworm sitting under the eaves of the building. Now this is one of the species that attracts a male not by sight or sound, but by smell! And it was clear that the pheromone that she was invisibly emitting was working as no less than three would-be suitors were buzzing around trying to track her down.

If you haven't got 'moth mania' yet, think about adding this new dimension to your wildlife experiences. You can come and get started on our Belleplain Wildlife walks on Sundays, or just leave an outside light on and see what shows up; you can buy the book, or you can just enjoy them for what they are and not worry about the names. One request though, if you do try mothing with a light, do be aware that moth predators such as lizards, birds and even mice, soon learn about regular food supplies. So try not to run a light at the same place every night and, if possible, use a time switch or get up early so that you can turn the light off before it gets light; that way, the moths can sneak away to a daytime hiding place rather than all end up as somebody's breakfast...

Here's a few Cape May moths that I photographed during the past year, just to scratch the surface of moth diversity:

Moths can be tiny - this Suzuki's Promalactis is just 6mm long...

...or they can be monstrous - the Polyphemus Moth has a wingspan up to 150mm, that's six inches in old money!

Moths can be your basic, typical moth, or they can mimic something else - or even get the imagination going! How about this Imperial Moth for looking like an old banana skin...

...the Juniper-twig Geometer looks like a dead leaf...

...the Common Bird-dropping Moth looks like, well, a bird dropping...

...the Grapeleaf Skeletonizer flies during the day and looks pretty similar to some of our wasps...

...and the very woolly Black-waved Flannel? It looks pretty much like a sheep in need of a shave to me! (See, I told you you could use your imagination too!)

Moths can be day-flying, such as this Celery Looper Moth feeding at Wild Radish flowers at The Beanery...

...they can be wildly exuberant like this stunning Io Moth...

...or wildly improbable like the glorious pink-and-yellow Rosy Maple Moth that got many a camera clicking during our Spring Weekend events recently.

And finally, for those who anguished over the repeated near-misses of the Pink-striped Oakworm males recently - just thought you'd like to know that one of them made it!

Don't let summer 'down-time' from birds keep you indoors - there's a whole world to be explored right here in Cape May - come and join us!

Oh, just one more - how about this Snowberry Clearwing for letting your imagination run riot? I swear it looks like it's riding the sand dunes at Higbee Beach on a jet ski!!!

Everybody's on the water!

From the latest batch of photos I have been sent, it seems that everyone is enjoying the current hot weather by getting out on the water! One way to enjoy wetland birds and enjoy those pesky greenhead flies is certainly to get out in a boat, and we certainly have a great schedule of trips available for you to take in the coming summer months. Our regular Saturday trips on the Skimmer and Sunday & Monday trips on the Osprey are proving ever popular so make sure that you don't miss out on the fun. If you want to get even more up close and personal with Cape May's waterbirds, don't forget there are also our kayak trips on Wednesday mornings. Check out our events calendar for times and contact details for all of our fun birding excursions out on the back bays of Cape May.

This photo shows a Black-crowned Night Heron with a tricky problem - a nice fish in its bill, but all the green algae to get rid of first! Birds are amazingly skillful at manipulating their bills and this bird made short work of extricating the fish and getting its dinner (photo by Beth Polvino).

Glossy Ibises always make attractive subjects for photography and getting in close via a kayak is a great way to get the best views you will ever have of these birds (photo by Beth Polvino).

Don't forget the songbirds too! A good range of songbirds can be found down by the water too, especially if there is plenty of feeding opportunities to be had. This Eastern Kingbird was by the bird-rich lagoons at Heislerville recently (photo by Beth Polvino).

Forster's Terns are getting stuck into their breeding routine now and look very smart in full breeding colors. They often feed around the harbors and marinas and give plenty of opportunity to practice your skills at catching them on camera [photo by Brad Remick].

Green Herons can usually be found along the marsh edge, especially during migration periods and a rusty-necked adult is certainly a fine sight (photo by Brad Remick).

The top prize for many people on a backbay boat trip - a Clapper Rail. This bird took a typically labored flight across the marsh, right in front of birdwatchers on the Osprey and was nicely captured here by Brad Remick.

If you feel you would like some extra tuition in the art of bird photography, don't forget that Scott Whittle's walks continue on Tuesdays through June - though please note that there won't be a walk on Tuesday 5th as Scott has been dragged away to Trinidad for a few days. You have to feel sorry for him don't you?!!

Information on bird sightings has been inevitably quiet during the past few days as scattered showers have kept birds indoors a little more of late, but sunny spells continue to produce nice sightings, including an amazing seven Mississippi Kites over Cape May Point on May 31st.

Into the unknown

Times are getting very exciting right now. Why? Well, we're heading unavoidably into the end of spring migration - and that's a good thing! Why? I again hear you ask! Well, the back end of migration periods are often very interesting, for it is then that the unexpected could almost be expected to show up. Those lost birds that have been wandering around for several weeks may finally surface somewhere obvious like a migration watchpoint, where they are more likely to be found by a birdwatcher and it is this that makes June (and November of course) such a fascinating time. This morning's walk at the state park was a good case in point. Things generally are winding down as local birds get well into this year's breeding routine - and yet we scored more birds this week than we've had in the past few Wednesdays. And the additions were all nice surprises! A lone adult Brown Pelican flew slowly past us offshore, a single Glossy Ibis was poking in the mud around the pond margins and the Plover Ponds were bristling with late migrating shorebirds, including five Short-billed Dowitchers and really fine White-rumped Sandpiper. Perhaps best of all (since eBird asked me to confirm the sighting!) was a very dapper pair of Caspian Terns, their bills resplendent in brilliant red breeding color, that graced the beach for a while and even went through some pretty heavy petting! Karl Lukens sent me these images from this morning's walk.

An adult Brown Pelican cruises past over The Rips

Caspian Terns are scarce birds here in the spring, so a fired up pair on South Cape May Beach this morning was a nice surprise.

A handful of White-rumped Sandpipers find their way to Cape May in spring; this bird was on the Plover Ponds today.

With weather patterns looking changeable over the next few days, good birds may very well continue to come our way and Cape May is certainly going to be an interesting place to be. Richard Crossley reported three Mississippi Kites over the Beanery on 28th, so they may well still be hanging around in the area. Pine and Yellow-throated Warblers are singing quite strongly around Belleplain State Forest at the moment so second broods may well be getting under way. A Willow Flycatcher was calling from my own yard this morning, which is the first of this traditionally late migrant that I have heard of here this spring, so there's still much excitement to be had!

Some recent photos

Spring, all those birds and that warming weather really makes for an ideal combination to bring out those camera-toting birdwatchers! Here's a selection of pictures I have received recently which all deserve a wider audience - and all highlight the wonder that is birding around Cape May.

First, some fond memories of Spring Weekend that Roger Horn sent me:

At so many sites, Eastern Kingbirds checked off happy Spring Weekenders on their lists, atop a convenient Black Cherry (just look at that blue sky too!)...

... while gaudy Indigo Buntings peeped from mulberry perches.

At the Plover Ponds, Semipalmated Plovers could be studied closely and compared directly...

... with nearby Piping Plovers.

Carefully peeping into the bushes gave some of our groups their first looks at just-fledged Pine Warbler youngsters...

... but Orchard Orioles...

... and Yellow Warblers required no careful searching - they just sat and stared back at us!

Our Spring Weekend was ideally timed to see the first American Oystercatchers of the season - here captured for posterity by Karl Lukens.

My post about the breeding-plumaged Purple Sandpipers at the Higbee canal jetty certainly got people heading over there to enjoy this uncommon spectacle. Tony Leukering kept a close eye on the birds and got this amazing picture of one of the birds in flight - I need a new camera!!

Good friend and regular visitor to the bird observatory, Lambert Orkis never ceases to amaze me with the fabulous shots he manages to get around Cape May. I just had to post these two shots of a Black Skimmer fishing that Lambert took over Spring Weekend.

Recent reports
Our local network has been rather quiet this past few days, but there is always much to enjoy around Cape May, any time of year. Breeding birds are well into their season now with many first broods of youngsters already put and about and adult males starting to sing again as they prepare for the next brood. The bayshore remains exciting too as horseshoe crabs will continue to be much in evidence for at least another two weeks yet. Head for the delaware Bay and enoy shorebirds at Cook's and Reed's Beach or higher up at Thompson's Beach, East Point or Heislerville - but be prepared for the no see 'ums!

Sooty Shearwater

Sooty Shearwaters are in the news around Cape May right, for it is in late May and early June that their life cycle sees them passing off our shores. Sooties breed in the Southern Hemisphere, on Sub-Antarctic islands off southern South America, New Zealand and Australia. After breeding during October to April, the Atlantic Ocean birds - mostly breeding around the Falklands and neighboring islands off Argentina and Chile - start to head north up the east coast of the Americas, with many spending the northern summer off Newfoundland, around the Grand Banks. As the season passes, many return southward directly to their breeding grounds, while others - perhaps none-breeders - continue eastward and spend August to October moving south via the coasts of Europe and Africa.

To us, this seems like an extraordinary lifestyle, essentially cruising from one end of the planet and back again under their own steam! But shearwaters are highly adapted to such a lifestyle and I had a rare opportunity to look into this today. Sam Galick called to tell me that he had found a dead Sooty Shearwater on the South Cape May beach, so I hurried along to try to retrieve the body before the heat and gulls had a chance to do their worst (on the walk out I passed a nice Lesser Black-backed Gull by the way!). Here's a few photos I took of the bird before it was put in the icebox to await delivery to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

The upper side of a Sooty Shearwater is pretty much uniform, dark chocolate brown.

Below, sooties are a little paler, though still rather plain, brown without any of the white found on many shearwater species.

One feature that can be seen on a flying Sootie is the pale gray, sometimes silvery-looking, underwing, which can be seen here.

I consulted quite a number of books to try and establish something useful with regard to molt and ageing of our bird, but didn't come up with anything that the books seem to agree on. However, it did seem to me that all the bird's feathers were of the same age, there was no clear evidence of it having a contrast in the plumage that would indicate a mix of old and new feathers. Also, in the picture above, the tips of the secondary wing feathers seem to be broad and show no obvious sign of wear, suggesting they are pretty fresh. This would all seem to suggest that this is most likely a juvenile bird, born this past breeding season.

Shearwater legs and feet are interesting. The legs are laterally compressed, providing a shape that give a much stronger structure for shuffling along on. As with many seabirds, shearwaters shuffle along on the back of the lower leg (technically the equivalent of the sole of our foot, so fair enough!), rather than standing up on their toes like most birds. This is important to know if you go banding them, as you have to use specially designed, C-shaped bands. Note here that the Sootie's legs are a different color on the inside and outside!

Shearwaters are in a group of birds collectively known as tubenoses. This group of seabirds, which also includes the albatrosses, has a special adaptation for getting rid of all that salt that dominates their marine world. salt-laden water is filtered out of the bird's body and exits via those two large nostrils (the eponymous 'tubenose') on the top of the bill. The water runs along the groove that you can see here and finally drips off the end of the bill - like a runny nose! Pretty clever stuff.

Keep an eye out these next few weeks for these ocean wanderers as they pass by far out over the waves, or look for Wilson's Storm-petrels which have a similar life cycle but may often be seen much closer to land in the mouth of the Delaware Bay, fluttering over the water like swallows or martins.

Sneaking over the border

Anyone who knows me will know that I don't venture outside of Cape May County very often. Indeed, you may be very surprised to hear that I have only been to Heislerville (in Cumberland County) once since moving to Cape May three years ago - and I've never been in spring, when the place truly is at its best! So, with my fondly cherished record soon to be in tatters, it was with a heavy heart that I found myself heading down Matt's Landing Road today - though our arrival was held up briefly while I shifted a Mud Turtle off the road!

Heislerville really buzzes with activity in Spring; even as we were arriving, Great and Snowy Egrets were busy at their nests, two Glossy Ibises cruised over and single Black-crowned Night Herons could be seen ferrying back and forth overhead. Water levels on the main shorebird lagoon have been unfortunately unpredictable this year due - I'm told - to a problematic sluice, but even so, the assorted masses of shorebirds were still a delight to behold. Chief among them were great swathes of Dunlin and Semipalmated Sandpipers, all either resting or refueling before their onward connection to the Arctic tundra. Good numbers of other shorebirds were present too, including Short-billed Dowitchers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Turnstone (actually just one or two of these as they prefer to be lower down the Delaware Bay), Willet and Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers. But our main interest was in the one that was a little different, a little out of place here - a Curlew Sandpiper, which by rights should be making its way up through Eastern Europe to the Russian Arctic about now! Heislerville has become one of the most reliable places in all of North America for this species in recent years and today we were in luck. As well as the Curlew Sandpiper, we also got lucky with a Clapper Rail which crossed the dirt road in front of our car, as well as a female Least Bittern which we saw well in flight. Give Heislerville a go around high tide any time over the next two weeks and you should find a whole lot of great birds to enjoy! Here's a short picture essay of today's visit.

Heislerville is packed with birds right now and none are more snazzy than these Dunlins in full breeding colors [photo by Mike Crewe].

Our target - the Curlew Sandpiper we had been seeking. Note the curlew-like, decurved bill with very fine tip, the rich rufous and black tones on the back, brick-colored flanks and white undertail [photo by Mike Crewe].

Curlew Sandpiper at Heislerville today; note all the points as listed above. This individual is most likely a female as the underpart coloration is pinkish rather than dark cinnamon and barely extends to the head, which is largely grayish in color [photo by Mike Crewe].

Just for size comparison, here's the same bird with a Semipalmated Plover [photo by Mike Crewe].

Here's the Curlew Sandpiper (far right) with a group of other shorebirds - a breeding-plumaged Dunlin (front left) Semipalmated Sandpiper (in front of Curlew Sandpiper) and five Short-billed Dowitchers. This offers many opportunities to compare and contrast the birds. Note that the Curlew Sandpiper is about the size of the Dunlin but with a finer-tipped bill, and clearly smaller than the dowitchers. The plumage of the sandpiper is pretty similar to the dowitchers, but note that the sandpiper has barely any supercilium above the eye, has a decurved (not straight) bill and is much whiter towards the back end below [photo by Mike Crewe].

If you are shorebird watching over the next couple of weeks, be sure not to miss the Black-bellied Plovers, which look fabulous this time of year [photo by Mike Crewe].

Always have the camera ready! This male Orchard Oriole showed off in the reeds right beside our car - click, click, click!!! [Photo by Mike Crewe].

A quick word of warning. Be careful if you navigate your way onto the driveable dirt trails at Heislerville. Female Diamondback Terrapins are nesting right now and - like this one - like the relatively soft sand of the trail sides to dig into with their back legs. Please give them due care and attention, we like these little guys! [Photo by Mike Crewe]

Recent Sightings

With winds primarily in the East or North-easterly sectors this past few days, Cape May has been pretty quiet for migrants, though Tom Reed had a few warblers along the bayshore at Reed's Beach this morning. On May 20th, Sooty Shearwaters were in the news, with reports from a number of locations, including the beachfront at Avalon, where Tom Reed was able to notch up a tally of over 60 birds between spells of work (!). Wilson's Storm-petrels and a distant, unidentified jaeger were off Cape May Point on 21st, Vince Elia reported a Western Sandpiper among the Semipalmateds at Heislerville today (22nd) and Tom Reed had two Western Willets at Stone Harbor Point, also today. The Purple Sandpipers at the canal jetty nearest to Higbee Beach continue to attract attention and Tony Leukering reported 43 from there today. For anyone seeking Red Knots, it seems that numbers are at last growing with some high counts coming in now from both Nummy's Island and Cook's Beach.

A good passage of northbound shorebirds took place up the lower Delaware Bay today and Tony Leukering took these nice shots of Semipalmated Sandpipers (upper) and Willets and Ruddy Turnstones (lower) passing the ferry. Wilson's Storm-petrels were also east to see from the ferry today.