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Birding Cape May Point – February 8, 2025

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
New Jersey Audubon