Leaders: Roger Horn, Holly & Mark Lemieux, Bernie Hodgdon
Temp: 28° F
Winds:
Weather Conditions: cloudy
A quiet cloudy 28 degrees at Cape May Point State Park this morning. The Plover Ponds and Bunker Pond had a good variety of ducks to review, as well as a Lesser Yellowlegs, a species not seen very often this time of year. We were able to scope it and the ducks and see quite a few up close with our binoculars. Many Mallards were interspersed with American Black Duck, Hooded Mergansers, American Widgeon, Gadwall, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Ducks and a couple of Northern Pintail. Many Yellow-rumped Warblers flitted about making it seem lively with bird life. Through the wooded areas we came across a Hermit Thrush on the ground looking around and doing the “tail lift” they often do. As we continued through the wooded area we hit a pocket of Yellow-rumped Warblers mixed with Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wren, White-throated Sparrows, Carolina Chickadees, a Fox Sparrow and a Red-breasted Nuthatch. 35 species, “Not too shabby” for a quiet, cloudy winters’ day.
35 species
| Species | Count |
| Canada Goose | 12 |
| Tundra Swan | 4 |
| Northern Shoveler | 4 |
| Gadwall | 3 |
| American Wigeon | 8 |
| Mallard | 30 |
| American Black Duck | 12 |
| Northern Pintail | 2 |
| Green-winged Teal (American) | 4 |
| Ring-necked Duck | 6 |
| Lesser Scaup | 1 |
| Hooded Merganser | 22 |
| Red-breasted Merganser | 1 |
| Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) | 2 |
| Mourning Dove | 8 |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | 1 |
| Greater Yellowlegs | 1 |
| Ring-billed Gull | 1 |
| American Herring Gull | 8 |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 3 |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 1 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 1 |
| American Crow | 3 |
| Carolina Chickadee | 2 |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | 1 |
| Carolina Wren (Northern) | 8 |
| European Starling | 7 |
| Northern Mockingbird | 4 |
| Hermit Thrush | 1 |
| Fox Sparrow (Red) | 1 |
| White-throated Sparrow | 2 |
| Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) | 2 |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) | 45 |
| Northern Cardinal | 4 |
