A big cold front passed through Cape May Thursday night into Friday morning, bringing strong northwest winds onto the Cape. Northwest winds trigger all sorts of migration, and more than 5,000 American Kestrels (shown here) were counted from the Cape May hawkwatch on Friday. Northwest winds are the best for…...
Peak Migration
What ever happened to bird watching? I remember when this was just a quaint little closet avocation, practiced by professorial types and other social misfits. Just last weekend I was just one of the standing-room-only crowd at the Cape May Hawkwatch Platform. Around mid-afternoon a trio of non-birders (identified by…...
CMBO Daily Roundup – October 11, 2018
Weather: Yet another summery day with highs reaching 80ºF at various locations, even under mainly overcast skies. Scattered, heavy rain showers moved north across the peninsula primarily during the morning hours; much more rain is expected during the overnight as Tropical Storm Michael arrives with a strong cold front. Migration counts: Morning Flight…...
Major Milestones at the Banding Station
The last week has been very busy for New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory (CMBO) in partnership with Cellular Tracking Technologies (CTT), Cornell University and The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Our first deployment of LifeTags™, tiny solar-powered radio transmitters weighing about 0.35g (less than a dollar bill cut in half).…...
CMBO Daily Roundup – October 10, 2018
Weather: A very warm October day, with afternoon highs reaching 80ºF at a number of locations. Skies were mainly sunny and winds were steady from the S/SSE, light in the morning and gradually increasing through the day. Migration counts: Morning Flight (0649-0934), Hawkwatch (0700-1700), Seawatch (0704-1828) Banding: 5.5 hours (0635-1205), 46…...
Fall Banding Update: Week 8 (10/04 – 10/10)
By Laura-Marie Koitsch, 2018 Bander In Charge The eighth week of NJ Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory (CMBO) inaugural banding season saw mostly southerly winds and warmer temperatures in The Nature Conservancy’s South Cape May Meadows (The Meadows), and yet we had quite a few surprises and an impressive total…...
Outsiders
I had an interesting revelation the weekend of September 1st. While sitting on the hawk watch platform at Cape May Point State Park; a platform overflowing with raptor enthusiasts, I overhead a non-birding trio as they mounted the platform, who were expressing their astonishment over the number of bird watchers…...
CMBO Daily Roundup – October 8, 2018
Weather: A seasonably mild and mainly overcast day with areas of fog during the morning. Winds were steady from the east at about 10mph throughout. Migration counts: Morning Flight (0647-1032), Hawkwatch (0700-1745), Seawatch (0702-1831) Banding: 6.5 hours (0630-1300), 101 individuals across 17 species (+1 recapture only). Highlights: Yellow-billed Cuckoo (2), Least…...
NJA and Rutgers Study Sheds Light on North Jersey Farmers Opinions on Conservation, Habitat and Water Quality
The central region of the Delaware River Watershed is a critical resource for locally-grown food and drinking water, prompting New Jersey Audubon to conduct a comprehensive survey of local farmers in Warren, Sussex and Hunterdon counties about regional agriculture and conservation issues that impact land management. Partnering with Dr. Ethan…...
CMBO Daily Roundup – October 5, 2018
Weather: A cooler day behind the passage of a cold front, with skies primarily overcast throughout and some showers passing through during the afternoon hours. North winds shifted to northeast by mid-morning and increased as the day went along, with gusts to 25mph by mid-afternoon. Migration counts: Morning Flight (0645-1100), Hawkwatch…...