Welcoming the Class of 2016 fall counters and interpretive naturalists

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.

Black Tern Bonanza

Black Terns are one of those uncommon birds at Cape May that everyone likes to see, showing a classic blackish and white pattern that stands out amongst the other terns. This fall has been a banner year for them, with numerous sightings from the hawkwatch platform, Coral Ave., and Sunset Beach – the top count has even exceeded 100. Bunker Pond at Cape May Point State Park has often offered prolonged views and great comparisons with other terns. Black Terns are unique in that they were historically less common in the spring than now, but much more common in the fall (peak years in the 1920s, with 600 occurring on August 22, 1923. With their migration period waning (often departing by the end of September) and a population declining due to habitat loss, get out and enjoy them while you can! -- Bret Ewald

©John McNamara

Fall is (almost) HERE! Come Birding!

Fall is here! Okay, so the Autumn Equinox is still weeks away, but we all know that bird migration happens year-round, and what we consider "fall migration", the southbound movement of billions of birds each year, begins in earnest while tens of thousands of tourists are still flocking to our summer beaches. But recently we've had some drier winds from the northwest, we've even seen cooler temperatures showing up farther north, albeit from our weather apps and weather stations, but it's still clear as day that fall is indeed coming, even if it's not officially here. A few offshore storms are setting the surfers into overdrive as well, and birders anxiously await anything pelagic that might blow in. This is also the time for Jaegers to begin their southbound movement out of the Arctic breeding grounds and down both coasts, so seeing a jaeger offshore of Cape May now isn't rare at all, but seeing one overhead, over land, is always a head-scratcher and draws some excitement. So today when the alert came out that a Jaeger species was soaring over Stevens Street with Turkey Vultures, I had to smile and think "yup, Cape May!"

Here's a photo of the bird, with a Tree Swallow, taken by the original observer and resident of Stevens Street, Michael O'Brien. Michael later confirmed that this was indeed a young Parasitic Jaeger, the "expected" jaeger species from shore here in Cape May.

Fall is (almost) HERE! Come Birding!

Juvenile Parasitic Jaeger soaring overhead with a Tree Swallow above it.
Steven's Street, West Cape May, NJ Aug. 30, 2016. © Michael O'Brien

Identifying shorebirds in flight - Stilt Sandpiper

Stilt Sandpipers are moving through Cape May right now and can be found most days in the freshwater marshes at the southern tip of the peninsula - especially the Meadows and Cape May Point State Park. While this species is highly distinctive and quite striking in breeding plumage, I still think of it as a "tweener" shorebird - a species that can be easily mistaken at a glance for a few other species (Pectoral Sandpiper is another such "tweener" shorebird, easily mistaken for Least Sandpiper, Ruff, and others depending on the context, distance, etc). In this case, flocks of yellowlegs and dowitchers can easily provide "cover" for Stilt Sandpipers. With a careful look at the structure, colors, and size of Stilts, they become much easier to pick out of flocks.

July-August is when adult Stilt Sandpipers molt from their dark-barred alternate (breeding) plumage into the duller basic (winter) plumage. This flock of adults still shows plenty of heavy barring across on the underparts; among our American shorebirds, this pattern is unique to Stilt Sandpiper.

The slim shape and gray and white colors may recall the pattern of yellowlegs, but these Stilt Sandpipers in their unbarred, basic plumage are more compact in wing shape and overall length. The underwing pattern, a white stripe on the underwing coverts isolated in gray, helps set the species apart from yellowlegs and dowitchers which have more evenly patterned underwings. 

This photo of a Stilt Sandpiper (left) with a Lesser Yellowlegs (out of focus at right) gives an idea of the relative shape and size of these two species. The yellowlegs is relatively leggy and shorter-billed than the sandpiper. You can also see the underwing of the yellowlegs, which is more uniformly pale/ evenly barred than a Stilt Sandpiper.

Stilt Sandpipers often feed in deeper water with Short-billed Dowitchers, and so you often see the two species together in flight. Note the slim shape of the Stilt Sandpiper's body and wings, the leg projection beyond the tail, and the slightly droopy bill. Compare the isolated white stripe in the middle of the underwing of the Stilt Sandpiper to the evenly barred underwing of the dowitcher.

Of course, dowitchers (of both species) show an obvious white stripe running up the back, which Stilt Sandpipers lack. Here, a Stilt Sandpiper (at left) shows off its pale hind end and dark back, strikingly different from the high contrast backs of the four Short-billed Dowitchers.

Summer's Main Event

Mike Kilpatrick operates a nature photography guide service specializing in New Jersey coastal marsh and seashore subjects.  A life-long resident of North Wildwood, NJ his work has appeared in national publications, including Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited. 

Summer's Main Event
by Mike Kilpatrick

The main event of salt marsh bird life in the summer is the nesting season of colonial gulls and terns.  Colonies of Laughing Gulls, Forster’s Terns and Common Terns are strung along the tidal waterways behind the Atlantic coast barrier islands, where nests can be found in very high density.

Laughing Gull with chicks, nesting in wrack on marsh edge.
© Michael Kilpatrick

In order to avoid losing nests to tides, the gulls and terns tend to nest on wrack.  Wrack forms as the tide ebbs and flows across the marsh, pushed into masses of dead reeds.   It accumulates in, and along, the taller grass boarders of breached ponds and creeks and forms slightly raised platforms used to support nests.   Predominant among the wrack nesters is the Laughing Gull and Forster’s Tern. 

Pair of Forster's Terns at the nest.
© Michael Kilpatrick

Less frequent is the common tern being more associated with beach nesting colonies yet they join the wrack nesting community with enough frequency that finding a few nesting on the marsh is not a surprise. 

Common Tern nest in wrack.
© Michael Kilpatrick

Amidst the colony drama created by many thousands of birds spread across a vast area, it is easy to overlook a rare player whose appearance on the stage is fleeting:  The Gull-billed Tern.  It, like the common tern, is more often associated with beach nesting locations but it is a nomadic and adaptable bird that has shown throughout its range a diversity of nesting locations including the marsh.   Once known as “The Marsh Tern”, nesting records in New Jersey, at the northern edge of its range, are sporadic.   On the Cape May Peninsula, such records are few and far between.

But exist they do, as I discovered this past season.  I was tucked in the tall grass edge of a breached pond in pursuit of photos with clear views of a line of Laughing Gulls and Forster’s Terns nesting along a small creek west of Stone Harbor/Avalon.   The colony soon forgot me and I watched parent birds tend to their nesting cuties. 

Gull-billed Tern with young.
© Michael Kilpatrick

The chorus of calls around me included Laughing Gulls and Forster’s Terns along with an intermittent Clapper Rail, passing egrets and Herring Gulls.   A second tern voice emerged in the background:  a Common Tern.   Then there was another addition to the choir, a different voice, it was a Gull-billed Tern. As my attention turned to this voice, it became a consistent presence in the marsh chorus.  It was not just one bird.   It was with excitement that I set out to locate the source of these voices.  One Gull-billed Tern passing overhead turned into another and then two more passed overhead.   Following their flight, they appeared to be landing and rising from the same spot.    When a passing Herring Gull was quickly met by a mob of Common and Gull-billed Terns rising off the marsh, I had one thought: “Nesting?”    When finally approaching this area, it was apparent.   On a mat of wrack there were twenty-one Gull-billed Terns with eight nests along with nests of Common Terns present in slightly higher numbers.

Gull-billed Tern and chick exchanging calls.
© Michael Kilpatrick

That afternoon, I embarked on an obsessed search of the literature, as books flung from the shelf began to form chaotic piles upon the floor.   I uncovered a timeline spanning hundreds of years of natural history observations, starting with writings of Philadelphia Naturalist William Bartram in the 1700’s through recent sightings on eBird.  Across the observations of naturalists and plume hunters and information contained in modern research papers and state survey records, one conclusive truth emerged.  There is very little information about the Gull-billed Tern nesting in Cape May County.    

But, the record was not entirely empty.   The most compelling information on the gull-billed tern was offered by Charles S. Shick in 1890, published in The Auk, who wrote “A rather common visitor.  Breeds on meadows and sand flats at the southern point of the island.   I have found it to breed in the company with Larus artricilla.  Mr. Harry G. Parker has also taken eggs in the same locality.”

No Laughing Gulls Allowed!
Gull-billed Tern driving off a Laughing Gull chick from its territory.
© Michael Kilpatrick

The island he references is the Seven-mile Beach Island, know better today as Stone Harbor and Avalon, described by Shick as “one of the richest ornithological fields open to collectors.”  It is interesting that Witmer Stone, in his iconic “Bird Studies of Old Cape May” leans toward discrediting Shick’s account of the gull-billed tern.  Yet, on the morning of July 2, 2016, as I stood on a marsh island behind Stone Harbor and Avalon, the gull-billed tern was present and nesting, surrounded by Larus atricilla (laughing gull).

The stately Gull-billed Tern showing of its namesake feature.
© Michael Kilpatrick

The 19th century records are complimented with two other references confirming nesting in Cape May County.   The US Fish and Wildlife Service Status Review and Conservation Recommendations for the Gull-billed Tern in North America notes no research studies specific to the Gull-billed Tern have been conducted in New Jersey other than annual aerial censuses of mixed gull and tern colonies. Still, very few nests are actually discovered despite this bird being an annual breeder.   Clay and Pat Sutton make reference in Birds and Birding at Cape May of two pairs nesting on Stone Harbor Point in 2003. 

Gull-billed Tern family vocalizing.
© Michael Kilpatrick

The lack of accessible references about the Gull-billed Tern on the Cape May Peninsula may not represent the entirety of what is, or was known.   It is likely that only a fraction of what was observed regularly makes it into the public record.

Today we have the luxury of advanced tools and technology that allows all of us to participate and contribute, at any level, to the ever evolving ornithological record.   From novice to expert, from research scientist to casual vacationer, from birder to photographer to fisherman to hunter, thanks to citizen science tools like eBird, the ornithological record now accommodates participation.  As a result, in the future this record will be much more complete.

It’s always a memorable moment when a Gull-billed tern crosses over head and it is certainly exciting to find them nesting in Cape May County. It is also thrilling to take a journey through the ever evolving ornithological record: combing through historic references, the experience of the present moment (as mine on the morning of July 2nd),  and imagining someone 100 years in the future creating their own map of discovery from the references recorded today. 

Editor's Note: Annual aerial surveys by the State of New Jersey do detect Gull-billed Terns each year in the marshes from Stone Harbor northward. Their low-density nesting does indeed make them harder to find than other species. For those interested seeing more of these marsh breeding species, our Birding by Boat trip on The Osprey and/or The Skimmer Salt Marsh Safari are both highly recommended. 

Circumnavigating Delaware Bay - a day trip

While most of the year you can find our Associate Naturalists leading walks and programs for the public in Cape May, every once in a while we get to take a field trip to explore somewhere we haven’t been yet, or haven't been lately. On July 19, eight of us took a day trip to Delaware to explore our sister cape, Cape Henlopen, the Delaware side of Delaware Bay, and pay a visit to our friends and allies in the protection of the Delaware Bay, the American Birding Association, headquartered in Delaware City. 

Our trip began on the 7:00am Cape May - Lewes Ferry. It was a gorgeous morning with clear skies and a calm crossing of the bay making for excellent views of inshore bottlenose dolphin as well as several good looks at WILSON’S STORM PETREL. Other birds encountered were a single Bonaparte’s Gull near the New Jersey side, a flyby Solitary Sandpiper, and two flocks of lingering (presumably non-breeding) Black Scoter, one about midway across and the other on the beach near the ferry terminal in Lewes, Delaware. 

Upon arriving to Lewes we were greeted by several Osprey nests with young…the pair breeding right atop the boat lift at the terminal makes you question whether this species is susceptible to human disturbance! At least this pair doesn’t mind the constant attention. Once back on dry land we drove into Cape Henlopen State Park and stopped first at the Seaside Nature Center to walk the interpretive trail. Almost immediately we were greeted by both Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCHES, the latter being a species that doesn’t regularly occur in New Jersey but is quite widespread in the state park on the Delaware side. Therefore seeing and hearing them, often quite comical in their antics, was a treat for all of us. Walking out to the water we found few birds, but once we reached the water Warren spotted a duck about a quarter mile away. Walking closer we realized it to be a Red-breasted Merganser, most likely another non-breeding bird that lingered through the summer. Our loop back to the cars turned up several of the regularly expected species, including Great-crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, and Eastern Wood-Peewee. 

After a short break in the nature center we headed south to the parking lot opposite Herring Point, where we walked the newly constructed Gordon’s Pond connector trail - a state of the art multi-use boardwalk trail that traverses dunes, pine forest, marsh, and eventually Gordon’s Pond at the very south. This trail is very popular with day bikers and cyclists alike, and so requires one to pay close attention to where you’re standing! That said, the birding from here is excellent, and there are several pull-out sections that allow you to sit and enjoy the scenery while the commuters whiz by. At the beginning of the trail we spotted an Eastern Hognose snake. Eastern Hognose display some of the most fascinating anti-predatory behaviors. As Catherine Busch approached the snake, it flattened out its head like a cobra and assumed the strike position! Then it rattled its rattle-less tail mimicking a rattlesnake, and finally, once Catherine picked it up to show the group, it wrapped itself in a writing ball, defecated, and flopped its head back with its tongue lolling out the side; playing dead!!! Check out the photos for the full experience.

Along the 1.5 mile stretch we walked, we encountered several BLACK-NECKED STILTS, various expected terns and gulls, Blue Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole, Indigo Bunting, and more of the common marsh/scrub species. Several more Brown-headed Nuthatches were also seen and heard along the trail. While several species of dragonfly were present, the Seaside Dragonlet (Erithrodiplax berenice) was the most abundant as we crossed the salt marsh. Males and females of varying ages, and therefore varied in color and pattern, were everywhere. 

Doubling back, we returned to our cars and headed for Bombay Hook, but not without first stopping at the famous Sambo’s Tavern for some local seafood and a cold drink to temper the rising heat of the day. 

Although we arrived as the tide was falling fast, Bombay Hook still produced good numbers of shorebirds and wadingbirds. Hundreds of Short-billed Dowitchers (no definitive Long-billed this time though) joined a mix of Semipalmated and Western Sandpipers, with Westerns in much higher numbers than we typically get in New Jersey.  More Black-necked Stilts were present along the refuge drive, while Cattle, Great and Snowy egrets joined Great Blue and Little Blue herons. We were unable to turn up any American Avocet, which are common here in the late summer, probably due to the poor timing with the tides. Even still, Bombay Hook is aways worth the visit, even if you spend an equal amount of time trying to deter the greenhead flies from biting you as you do scanning the flats for the odd shorebird! 

Leaving Bombay Hook we headed for Delaware City where we would meet up with Jeff and Liz Gordon, the President and First Lady of the American Birding Association. Delaware City is a quaint town with a great little waterfront on the Delaware River, just above the mouth of the Delaware Bay. This town is the gateway to the Delaware marshes and now boasts a 14 mile bike path connecting Delaware City to Chesapeake City. The bike path terminates (or begins, depending on your destination) right outside the American Birding Association headquarters, a four-story building with a rich history as a hotel, seafood packing house, and rowdy bar. Fully restored now it’s a beautiful example of historic preservation meets modern amenities. Jeff and Liz gave us the full tour, which wrapped up with a few beers on the back deck where we engaged in a great conversation of the history of the ABA, and the future of birding. 

Also right outside of ABA headquarters is the dock for the ferry to Fort Delaware, located on Pea Patch Island a mere mile out into the river. On the island is both a heron rookery, and a great living history exhibit within the walls of the fort. On this trip we decided not to venture out to the island due to time, but did spend an hour watching the herons flying back to the rookery as the sun set. It was quite beautiful with Cattle Egrets, Little Blue Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets and Glossy Ibis making up the bulk of the birds. A Black-crowned Night-Heron made an appearance just before we headed to dinner. 

Dinner was had at Lewinsky’s on Clinton, a great little gastro-pub which also happened to be hosting trivia night. You can imagine, with a team of associate naturalists, who won that game; We did! Following dinner we made our way back to Cape May via the Delaware Memorial Bridge, completing our full circumnavigation of the great Delaware Bay, and introducing us (or reintroducing us) to some of the wonderful birding and birder-centric stops in our neighboring state. 

For anyone interested in joining us on a future visit to Delaware, CMBO and the Nature Center of Cape May are teaming up for a “Birds and Beers by Bike” tour of the twin capes. Saturday August 13th will be the Cape May area, and Sunday August 14th will be Cape Henlopen in Delaware. 

Click Here for more information, and contact the Nature Center of Cape May to register; this trip is always a ton of fun!

Photos by Barb Bassett, B.J. Pinnock and the Author

Shorebird feature - Solitary Sandpiper

July is sometimes thought of as a slow month for birding, but shorebird migration is ON in a major way in the Cape May area, with new birds arriving from the northern breeding grounds in the boreal forest and Arctic tundra each day. In a series of posts, we will focus on a few species of shorebirds to help get us ready to identify and enjoy watching these migration athletes in flight!

Solitary Sandpipers have started to move through the mid-Atlantic region on their southbound migration, though they are a bit harder to detect than the obvious flocks of yellowlegs and dowitchers that are rushing through along the coast right now. Solitary Sandpipers tend to migrate in a, well, solitary fashion, and it's fairly easy to overlook one.

One tip that can help you detect and identify more Solitary Sandpipers is simple - learn the flight call! The thin, high flight call is typically doubled in a piercing "Tsee-Tsee!", higher and apparently less variable than similar calls given by Spotted Sandpipers.

To have a listen, check out this great recording from Mike Andersen at the Cornell Lab's Macaulay Library: http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/132487

The flight calls on the recording starting at the 15 second mark are the ones that I hear most frequently on migration.

So, you hear that sharp "Tsee-Tsee!" call - what next? Look up! Typically, a Solitary Sandpiper makes that doubled call in flight. Dawn and dusk are particularly good times to see these shorebirds flying over, but it can happen at any time of day.

Solitary Sandpipers are small members of the genus Tringa, the same genus that includes the yellowlegs and Willet (and a number of Old World species that we won't discuss here). Yellowlegs, Lessers in particular, are relatively similar in appearance to Solitary Sandpipers, but they are longer in wingspan and body length, with longer legs that stick out farther beyond the tail in flight (on Solitary, just the tips of the toes project beyond the tail in flight).

Two things in particular stand out to me when I see a Solitary Sandpiper in flight:

1) Dark underwing. The underwing coverts of a Solitary Sandpiper are barred dark and white, but in real life when a Solitary flies overhead rapidly, this pattern just appears really dark, contrasting strongly with the bird's white body. Yellowlegs have a lot more white in the barred underwing coverts, so their underwings don't contrast nearly as much with their white bodies.

2) Flight posture and style. Solitary Sandpipers cover a lot of sky in flight while in a tucked position with the wings mostly folded in to the body. This gives the bird's flight a bounding look with the wings outstretched for relatively short periods of time during each quick flap. In comparison, yellowlegs have more regularly spaced wingbeats and aren't nearly as bounding in flight.

These three photos are all of the same Solitary Sandpiper flying over at the Meadows (AKA The Nature Conservancy's Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge) in Cape May on 17 July 2016.

Check this space for more identification tips and updates on shorebird migration. Good luck out there!