Cape May, New Jersey,
20-23 September 2018

 Cape May lighthouse

CAPE MAY NEVER DISAPPOINTS!

Each autumn I do a Cape May birding trip with David Wilcove. No matter the weather or winds, we find something special there, be it nature, old friends, or a fine dinner. This year was no exception. Changeable weather, generally unfavorable winds, great friends, and some nifty birds!

Merlin

Late September promises falcons no matter what the weather brings. American Kestrels and Merlins were abundant on this weekend, and there were plenty of Peregrines as well—63 of those big raptors on Saturday. There were also scads of Ospreys, often groups of 5-6 passing high overhead. It’s particular fun to watch the Merlins feeding on dragonflies while in flight.

Merlin with dragonfly

Out on Stone Harbor Point there were flocks of Semipalmated Plovers and Sanderlings and a few sandy-colored Piping Plovers up in the dry wrack far from the breaking waves.

Piping Plover

Caspian Terns, Royal Terns, Common Terns, and Forster’s Terns were out and about, but always outnumbered by young Laughing Gulls and Herring Gulls.

 Royal Tern hunting

On one occasion we came upon a feeding frenzy of Laughing Gulls near Coral Avenue at Cape May Point. These birds were feeding on baitfish driven up by snapper Bluefish.

Laughing Gull feeding frenzy

The gulls were joined by foraging Royal Terns and Common Terns and the occasional Forster’s Tern, which stand out because they are so white all over.

Royal Tern Diving

The feeding gulls and terns off Cape May Point (in the rough water called “the rips”) attracted plenty of Parasitic Jaegers, in search of food, which they collect from other waterbirds. The jaegers harass the gulls and terns, forcing them to give up fish they have caught. Jaegers are both handsome seabirds and wonderful acrobats, as made evident in the following images...

Parasitic Jaeger adult

Parasitic Jaeger pair on the prowl

Parasitic Jaeger chasing a tern

Parasitic Jaeger chasing a Laughing Gull

Parasitic Jaeger chasing a Laughing Gull

Parasitic Jaeger chasing a Laughing Gull

Parasitic Jaeger chasing a Laughing Gull

Saturday morning, after an abysmal visit to Higbee Beach in search of warblers in the shrubby field edges, we retreated to Sunset Beach to have breakfast with Louise Zemaitis and Michael O’Brien. While eating, Michael, ever on the lookout for a rare bird, spotted a dark form far out on the Bay. He put the scope on the bird, which proved to be a young Brown Booby, a tropical waif, presumably brought here by the winds of Hurricane Florence. The bird, which apparently had an injured wing, took to the beach and soon was surrounded by a gaggle of eager birders, once the word had gone out via social media.

Brown Booby juvenile

Booby admiring David Wilcove, Louise Zemaitis, and other assembled birders

The Brown Booby is rarely seen in the Mid-Atlantic. There are only a handful of records from Cape May. This was the bird of the weekend... 

Brown Booby juvenile preening

Sunday started with rain and yet the warblers arrived in numbers anyway. We saw a dozen species at Higbee Beach in the morning, and Wilcove added more in the afternoon, while I was stuck in miserable traffic head north toward the Delaware Memorial Bridge... going home via the Cape May-Lewes Ferry may have been a better option. Next year!