At noon today two Yellow-rumped Warblers emerged from the trees of Higbee Beach WMA and flew north and high, across the Cape May Canal, to parts unknown. Were they migrating? If not, what were they doing? Still so much to learn. . .
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Morning Flight Was Crowded Today
At noon today two Yellow-rumped Warblers emerged from the trees of Higbee Beach WMA and flew north and high, across the Cape May Canal, to parts unknown. Were they migrating? If not, what were they doing? Still so much to learn. . .
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Eagles Everywhere
Although the Cumberland County Eagle Festival has come and gone (a great event, by the way), there are plenty of places Bald Eagles can be seen in southern NJ. For example, I see one nearly every day i drive to the CMBO Center for Research and Education north of Goshen. My route is north on Route 47, which crosses lots of excellent bald eagle habitat.
If you are looking for eagles (or any bird), think first about where the food is. For Bald Eagles, this means wintering waterfowl, fish, and carrion (like dead deer). Coastal marshes are excellent for Bald Eagles, because besides the food factor they are inevitably ringed with dead and dying trees, a sad consequence of saltwater intrusion from sea level rise, but one that provides excellent perching sites.
In no particular order, spots to look for eagles include Jake's Landing Road, Dividing Creek/Turkey Point in Cumberland County, and Forsythe NWR in Atlantic County. I recently saw 3 dueling Bald Eagles along the Avalon Causeway, and often see them standing on Delaware Bay mudflats at low tide, particularly at Norbury's Landing and "Miami Beach," the west end of Miami Avenue in the Villas.
Last week there was an adult Golden Eagle over Beaver Swamp, just north of CMBO/CRE. Goldens are MUCH rarer than Balds in winter; be especially cautious of immature balds that frequently display a well defined white band at the base of the tail, almost as well-defined as that of an immature Golden.
Pretty much everything you'd want to know about Bald Eagles and their spectacular population recovery can be found on the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife raptor page. The state now has over 150 nests when it once had only 1! Many eagles have already begun nesting for the year.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
We, and The Champions of the Flyway, Need Your Help!
Friends and CMBO members, please check out our team page on the Champions of the Flyway website, and consider supporting us in this massively important conservation initiative!
You can read more about it on the American Birding Association Blog.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
"Welcome Back"
"Welcome back." That was the note my longtime friend Pete Dunne left me this week as I started work for the Cape May Bird Observatory for the second time. From 2007 to 2009 I was Director of Birding Programs here, a wonderful time in my life. Now, after five challenging but rewarding years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (think government shutdowns, northeasters, direcho winds, and of course Superstorm Sandy) here I am again, as Program Director.
Mike Crewe, former Program Director and beloved by many, has returned to the U.K. and will work as a birding tour leader. Mike was great, a good friend, and I'm not trying to fill Mike's shoes any more than he tried to fill mine when he started; we have our own shoes.
What to expect? A continuing slate of great field trips, workshops, and events, for sure. Perhaps an eco-tour or two each year (you will hear about them here.) Regular blogs on birds, birding and other natural history (and I hope to continue my personal blog, the Freiday Bird Blog). Excellent migration counts. The Monarch project. And, I hope, a lot of fun for you and I. I'm especially looking forward to working with the team CMBO Director David La Puma has put together. This is a great organization, and it's getting better. Thanks for your support.
Feel free to stop by to say hello, or drop me a line at don.freidayATnjaudubon.org . I'll normally be at the Center for Research and Education in Goshen Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and at the Northwood Center in Cape May Point Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I'll be picking up the Wednesday morning South Cape May Meadows walks beginning March 16, and will likely show up for a few others now and then.
[Two Red Knots and one of the thousands of Knobbed Whelk shells that washed up on Cape May beaches during last week's northeaster, which featured the highest tide ever recorded in North Wildwood, higher than Sandy and higher than the storm of 1962. People always talk about hurricanes, but it is actually fall and winter northeasters that normally do the most damage to coastal NJ. Two Mile Beach Unit of the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge on the morning of Monday, February 1. Click to enlarge.]
Friday, December 18, 2015
Location, location, location
As the Cape May Bird Observatory’s Seawatch Migration Count season comes to a close, it’s only natural that we take a moment to reflect on
the highlights of past 3 months. Overall this season has been fantastic, if not
a little weird. With 70-degree weather in December, late-season big Scoter and
Red-throated Loon flights, and rarities like Sooty Terns and a Masked Booby,
it’s been anything but boring.
As most of you are probably aware, Cape May Bird
Observatory’s Avalon Seawatch moved to a new and improved location, complete
with a beautiful little hide to keep counters and visitors sheltered from the
elements. Now located directly on the beach between 8th and 9th
street in Avalon, counters and visitors alike have an over 200°,
unobstructed view from which to enjoy the spectacle of seabird migration.
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| An aerial map of the Avalon coast is a perfect way to see some of the benefits of the new Avalon Seawatch location--a wider field of view that is closer to the main flight line! |
When asked about the new location, local birders have some
pretty positive things to say. Michael O’Brien thinks it’s fantastic that you
can now get prolonged looks at birds as they make their way past the end of the
jetty and around the corner, which is when they are closest to shore. Mark
Garland feels the new location, complete with the shack that allows visitors to
get out of the elements, gives the count a new sense of professionalism and
makes it a better destination for birders to visit while in Cape May. The
benefit of being directly on the beach and behind the jetty are instantly
obvious to most birders, with shorebirds, gulls, and terns feeding and resting
just a stone’s throw from you. In fact, the counters and a few well-timed
visitors have been treated to Red Phalaropes and Black-legged Kittiwakes who
decided to take a break on the beach in front of the shack.
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| Visitors and Migration Count Coordinator, Tom Reed, enjoying the shelter at the new Avalon Seawatch location. Just being able to sit and get out of the wind make a huge difference to the counters who are up there from dawn to dusk! [Photo by Mark Garland.] |
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| A Red Phalarope and Sanderlings decided to take a rest on the beach directly in front of the Avalon Seawatch shack between 8th and 9th streets. Having the shelter on the beach allows the counter and visitors to stay in the middle of the action despite lousy weather conditions. [Photo by Tom Reed.] |
For the counters, the new location has so many benefits. For
the first time in the 5 years he’s been involved with the Avalon Seawatch, Migration
Count Coordinator Tom Reed finally feels like he is a part of the count, with
birds flying directly in front of him, over him, or even sometimes behind him.
At 7th street, the counter had a restricted field of view that was
pretty far from the flight line and therefore removed from the action. Primary
Seawatch counter, Skye Haas feels the new location results in greater accuracy.
He has double the time to precisely count flocks of Scoters or pick out each
species in a large mixed duck flock. Skye also noted that thanks to the new
shack, on days with less than desirable weather he doesn’t have to battle with
the wind shaking his scope tripod or the raindrops blurring his binocular view.
Instead, he can devote all of his energy and focus to the count.
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| A Northern Gannet gives a great example of how close the flight can be at the new Seawatch location. Birds will fly directly over the end of the jetty, allowing visitors photographic opportunities like this one! [Photo by Sam Wilson.] |
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| The new Seawatch location gives observers more time to study the birds heading south. That extra time can be the difference between catching or missing a Great Cormorant in a flock of Double-crested Cormorants, like the one pictured here. [Photo by Tom Reed.] |
With any kind of change there inevitably comes doubts and unknowns, but there also comes new opportunities. There is a beautiful relationship blooming between CMBO and the city of Avalon, who has been hugely supportive and excited about the new location. Overall, this experiment has been a very successful one and goes to prove that sometimes you don’t realize something is broke until you fix it! If you haven’t made it to Avalon this season, the count goes til December 22nd so you still have a couple days. I encourage you to visit and experience it for yourself.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
No birds at my feeders...
Generally we get a very wide range of inquiries through Cape May Bird Observatory, either from visitors or via phone calls and emails; but now and again a trend in the questions starts to show through, and it can set one thinking... Of late, we have had a rather large number of inquiries regarding bird feeders, and the general question has been "Why are there no birds at my feeders". As it turns out, this is not an uncommon question at this time of year, since the clocks have gone back, the evenings are getting darker - surely winter is on its way and I should be putting food out for the birds...
So what is going on and, in particular, what is going on this year? Well we often do have a relatively mild spell in the run up to the holiday season, but this year it is even more mild than usual. Why should this affect the birds? Well, strange as this might sound, feeding birds is not as straightforward as you might think and often the birds 'know' better than we do. Rest assured, I am not going to tell you not to feed your backyard birds, but I would certainly encourage you to think about what food you put out, how, and when.
Exactly why there are no birds at your feeder right now will depend on where you are and what species of birds you typically get. For many of us in the Mid-Atlantic States, a large number of the birds at our feeders will be winter visitors from the north. These birds are escaping the worst of the weather and will remain until well into spring before heading back north. Species such as Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows are typical of this group, but may also include birds such as Northern Cardinals and American Robins, which are both resident and migratory. Put simply, these birds appear not to be at our feeders yet simply because it's still so mild so they really don't seem to have headed our way in any great number yet.
Other feeder birds include our local residents, such as Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadees, Carolina Wrens, Downy Woodpeckers and the like. These birds will still be in your area, but they will be feeding elsewhere. What does this mean? Well, the answer is twofold; firstly, feeders are not exactly the most comfortable of places to hang out for many birds. There is much jostling for position and any number of potentially stressful situations. It's a bit like comparing a dinner for two at a quiet, back street restaurant with the hustle and bustle of a food stand at a carnival parade! Secondly, there's plenty of natural food still out there, since there's been very little frost to shrivel the berries, and no snow to cover the ground.
So, there's plenty of natural food out in the wider countryside, where birds can feed comfortably, at a natural pace, without all the hurly burly of the backyard feeder and all the undue attention and rivalry from other birds. But there are other issues with feeders too. The unnaturally high density of birds can be a magnet for local predators, whether it be Cooper's Hawks or the neighbor's cat - again putting undue stress on the birds, since they need to be constantly on the lookout for such threats. Then there's the problem of infectious diseases; such diseases may be more readily spread around bird populations if they are not only in close proximity with each other, but also stressed. Finally, research in the UK and New Zealand has revealed that the type of feeding opportunities that backyard feeders provide tend to encourage the 'bullies', the species which dominate at such locations, which in North America includes non-native species such as European Starlings and House Sparrows.
It may be starting to sound as though we shouldn't be feeding birds, but that isn't entirely the case. You should consider very carefully how and when to feed; don't put your feeders close to places where predators might easily lurk within catching range, such as close to shrubby borders or edges; don't put out large amounts of food - it's better to put little and often, and let the food run out for a short while between feeds. It's also good to put out as wide a range of foods as possible to provide a balanced diet. But do remember, if you do put out food, it is vital to keep it going during hard weather, since that artificially high population of birds that you have created may become dependent on the food during such periods.
For the very best advice on feeding birds, we have a great range of publications available at our stores, and our staff will be happy to advice you on best practice, based on sound research.
If you have few birds at your feeders right now, rest assured that it is not because their populations have suddenly and dramatically crashed; the birds are out there somewhere, rummaging in the undergrowth and enjoying a balanced diet from nature's food closet, and they will be heading your way eventually...
So what is going on and, in particular, what is going on this year? Well we often do have a relatively mild spell in the run up to the holiday season, but this year it is even more mild than usual. Why should this affect the birds? Well, strange as this might sound, feeding birds is not as straightforward as you might think and often the birds 'know' better than we do. Rest assured, I am not going to tell you not to feed your backyard birds, but I would certainly encourage you to think about what food you put out, how, and when.
Exactly why there are no birds at your feeder right now will depend on where you are and what species of birds you typically get. For many of us in the Mid-Atlantic States, a large number of the birds at our feeders will be winter visitors from the north. These birds are escaping the worst of the weather and will remain until well into spring before heading back north. Species such as Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows are typical of this group, but may also include birds such as Northern Cardinals and American Robins, which are both resident and migratory. Put simply, these birds appear not to be at our feeders yet simply because it's still so mild so they really don't seem to have headed our way in any great number yet.
Other feeder birds include our local residents, such as Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadees, Carolina Wrens, Downy Woodpeckers and the like. These birds will still be in your area, but they will be feeding elsewhere. What does this mean? Well, the answer is twofold; firstly, feeders are not exactly the most comfortable of places to hang out for many birds. There is much jostling for position and any number of potentially stressful situations. It's a bit like comparing a dinner for two at a quiet, back street restaurant with the hustle and bustle of a food stand at a carnival parade! Secondly, there's plenty of natural food still out there, since there's been very little frost to shrivel the berries, and no snow to cover the ground.
So, there's plenty of natural food out in the wider countryside, where birds can feed comfortably, at a natural pace, without all the hurly burly of the backyard feeder and all the undue attention and rivalry from other birds. But there are other issues with feeders too. The unnaturally high density of birds can be a magnet for local predators, whether it be Cooper's Hawks or the neighbor's cat - again putting undue stress on the birds, since they need to be constantly on the lookout for such threats. Then there's the problem of infectious diseases; such diseases may be more readily spread around bird populations if they are not only in close proximity with each other, but also stressed. Finally, research in the UK and New Zealand has revealed that the type of feeding opportunities that backyard feeders provide tend to encourage the 'bullies', the species which dominate at such locations, which in North America includes non-native species such as European Starlings and House Sparrows.
It may be starting to sound as though we shouldn't be feeding birds, but that isn't entirely the case. You should consider very carefully how and when to feed; don't put your feeders close to places where predators might easily lurk within catching range, such as close to shrubby borders or edges; don't put out large amounts of food - it's better to put little and often, and let the food run out for a short while between feeds. It's also good to put out as wide a range of foods as possible to provide a balanced diet. But do remember, if you do put out food, it is vital to keep it going during hard weather, since that artificially high population of birds that you have created may become dependent on the food during such periods.
For the very best advice on feeding birds, we have a great range of publications available at our stores, and our staff will be happy to advice you on best practice, based on sound research.
If you have few birds at your feeders right now, rest assured that it is not because their populations have suddenly and dramatically crashed; the birds are out there somewhere, rummaging in the undergrowth and enjoying a balanced diet from nature's food closet, and they will be heading your way eventually...
Birds arriving at backyard feeding or drinking opportunities find themselves in unusually close proximity to each other. This is OK while numbers are small...
...as more birds are attracted to the treats, pressure increase - here a White-throated Sparrow literally gets trampled underfoot by a boisterous House Sparrow...
...and once the 'pack' really arrives, there's little room for anyone else and less aggressive species will choose to move away from your yard, as has been shown from recent studies. Here, a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird is the only one brave enough to stick it out at the lido!
If you put up artificial feeders, those with individual feed ports have been shown to be less stressful for the birds than hopper types - Tufted Titmouse, American Goldfinch and Pine Siskin all manage to find a space here at the Northwood Center feeder.
The high number of birds visiting some feeders creates ideal conditions for infectious diseases to spread. In Eastern North America, a form of conjunctivitis is virulent in House Finch populations and it is imperative that high standards of hygiene are maintained at backyard feeders to prevent this, and other diseases, from becoming a major concern.
Through research studies, aggressive species have been shown to become even more prevalent in areas where there are significant backyard feeder opportunities. Although Common Grackles are native to our region, they naturally form roving flocks in the winter that move constantly through an extended home range. Keeping backyard feeders well stocked could be encouraging them to target specific locations more often than they would naturally; this not only enables an even larger population of these aggressive birds to develop, but can have negative impacts on other species, causing them to move away from the area.
Though we might think we know best, nature usually does offer the best solution to natural problems. Feeders are fine in moderation, but do consider also providing natural foods so that a wide range of birds can enjoy your natural space - and you'll enjoy them too! Eastern Bluebirds are regular visitors to our pokeweed patch, which is growing well away from the feeders on the other side of the house and away from any 'bullies' that might drop by.
And finally, don't forget that water is vital to birds, especially during prolonged cold spells. Cedar Waxwings are exciting birds that can be attracted to the garden by keeping one or two native red cedars in the corners of the yard, but they need plenty of water to help them cope with the astringent berries.
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
To Be Thankful
If you put the word ‘thankful’ into an internet search
engine you get any number of results. But this morning, my favorite was from
the Merriam-Webster dictionary website: glad
that something has happened or not happened, that something or someone exists,
etc. Thankful that someone exists…what an incredible sentiment.
This year we have much to be thankful for. Here in Cape May,
we are thankful that we get to live in one of the most beautiful places in the
country. We are thankful for our birding community, the birders who travel to
visit us each year, and of course, the birds! We are thankful we have the time
and energy to be outside and exploring. We are thankful that we live in an age
where we can communicate and support one another from the other side of the
world. We are thankful for the moments we get to spend with our friends and
families, and the memories we share with those who left us too soon.
Personally, I am thankful for the guidance from mentors who
have helped me become a better naturalist, a better teacher, and a better
person. I am thankful for a supportive collection of friends who have welcomed me
into their hearts and homes. I am thankful that I get to do what I love and share it with like-minded people. But
most of all, I am thankful for the beauty and goodness I find in the world
everyday.
From all of us here at Cape May Bird Observatory, we thank
you for your support and friendship, and we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.
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| Sunday's sunset over Lake Lily in front of Cape May Bird Observatory's Northwood Center. It's picturesque moments like this that make us slow down and be thankful that we are able to do what we love. [Photo by Mike Crewe.] |