Cape May, New Jersey: 2-6 October 2024

Had four productive mornings in Cape May this autumn. I was joined by David Wilcove and some of his graduate students, who are always fun. One of the students, Alex Wiebe, is a very fine field ornithologist and all-around naturalist. Between Wiebe and Cape May resident naturalists Michael O'Brien and Louise Zemaitis, we saw a lot, enoyed ourselves immensely, and also (as usual) had some fine meals. At Cape May, it is all about the movement of birds, butterflies, and dragonflies. I will let the images speak for themselves, but I here note that our overall natural highlight was a morning with 4,500 Northern Flickers passing the Hawk Watch. That's a lot of flickers for one morning! 

    Dunlin transitioning to winter adult plumage.

    Red Knot in juvenile plumage.

    Short-billed Dowitcher (molting juveniles?)

    Corson's Inlet, north of Cape May: Royal and Forster's Terns, Laughing and Lesser Black-backed Gulls...

    Forster's Tern with baitfish... 

    Left: Great Black-backed Gull; right: Lesser Black-backed Gull.

    Loafing Royal Terns in winter plumage; notice numbered band on lefthand bird.

    Juvenile Bald Eagle

    Osprey

    Sharp-shinned Hawk

    American Kestrel juvenile. 

    Juvenile Peregrine

    Adult Peregrine

    Adult male Northern Flicker

    Adult male Northern Flicker

    Adult male Northern Flicker

    Adult Red-headed Woodpecker

    freshly molted European Starling

    Juvenile Yellow-rumped Warbler