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E-Z Birding at Northwood – April 20, 2021
Leaders: Melissa Roach, Sharon Meeker Temp: 54-60° F Winds: SW 7 mph Weather Conditions: clear and sunny skies 37 species Species Count Canada Goose 1 Mute Swan 13 Mallard 4…
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Birding the Meadows – April 19, 2021
Leaders: Bill Boyle, Karen Thompson Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: 40 species Species Count Canada Goose 4 Mute Swan 3 Blue-winged Teal 10 Gadwall 4 Mallard 16 Green-winged Teal 12 Surf/Black…
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Above Par Birding – April 18, 2021
Leaders: Janet Crawford, Deb Payson Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: 29 species Species Count Canada Goose 13 Mallard 6 Mourning Dove 3 Laughing Gull 14 Herring Gull 1 Glossy Ibis 14…
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Bird Walk for All People – April 17, 2021
Leaders: Bert Hixon, Mary Jane Roache Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: 36 species Species Count Mute Swan 6 Gadwall 6 American Wigeon 1 Mallard 6 American Black Duck 2 Red-breasted Merganser…
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Belleplain Hotspots – April 17, 2021
Leaders: Shaun Bamford, Chris Marks Temp: 45°F Winds: WNW 5 mph Weather Conditions: clear 30 species Species Count Canada Goose 19 Mourning Dove 4 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1 Laughing Gull…
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A Meadows Afternoon – April 16, 2021
Leaders: Mary Jane Roache, Jackie Parker Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: 30 species Species Count Canada Goose 6 Mute Swan 4 Blue-winged Teal 4 Gadwall 4 Mallard 6 American Black Duck…
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Higbee Beach Birding – April 16, 2021
Leaders: Melissa Roach, Mary Watkins, Will Kaselow, Chris Marks, Dave Pollard Temp: 45-55°F Winds: WNW 12-15 mph Weather Conditions: partly cloudy 31 species Species Count Laughing Gull 75 Herring…
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Birds of Belleplain State Forest – April 15, 2021
Leaders: Bert Hixon, Shaun Bamford, Lynn Pollard Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: The first-in-two years Birds of Belleplain State Forest took place in mildly inclement weather and a steady drizzle. The…
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Cape May Springwatch: Late March / Early April update
A Short-eared Owl at the Cape May Springwatch on April 2. Photo © Tom Reed. By Tom Reed The weather has been less than ideal for bird migration in Cape…
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Migration at the Point – April 14, 2021
Leaders: Brett Ewald, Chris Marks, Mary Watkins Temp: 52° F Winds: S 0-5 mph Weather Conditions: sunny 49 species Species Count Canada Goose 2 Mute Swan 10 Gadwall 7 Mallard…
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Meet our spring seasonals!
We’ve got some amazing seasonal employees to help us carry out CMBO’s mission of connecting people with nature while also keeping our finger on the pulse of migration. Let’s meet…
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Hidden Corners of Belleplain – April 13, 2021
Leaders: Janet Crawford, Mary Watkins Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: 25 species Species Count Canada Goose 3 Mourning Dove 1 Turkey Vulture 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Downy Woodpecker 1 Pileated Woodpecker…
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E-Z Birding at Northwood – April 13, 2021
Leaders: Dave Pollard, Lynn Pollard, Sharon Meeker Temp: 50-55° F Winds: 0 mph Weather Conditions: mostly cloudy 45 species Species Count Canada Goose 2 Mute Swan 2 Gadwall 1 Mallard…
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Birding the Meadows – April 12, 2021
Leaders: Bill Boyle, Karen Thompson Temp: 52° F Winds: N 10-12 mph Weather Conditions: South Cape May Meadows – 7:16 am 32 species Species Count Canada Goose 2 Mute…
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Birding Cape May Point – April 10, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: 54°F Winds: SE 5-10 mph Weather Conditions: mostly sunny The predicted rain never arrived and it was a beautiful spring day at the Park.…
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Belleplain Hotspots – April 10, 2021
Leaders: Bert Hixon, BJ Pinnock Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: 46 species Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 2 Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 2 Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) 12 Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) …
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Higbee Beach Birding – April 9, 2021
Leaders: Mary Watkins, Dave Pollard Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: 35 species Species Count Canada Goose 8 Mallard 6 Mourning Dove 5 Sanderling 8 Laughing Gull 25 Herring Gull 5…
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Birds of Nummy Island – April 7, 2021
Leaders: Shaun Bamford, Chris Marks Temp: 56°F Winds: W 5-10 mph Weather Conditions: clear Nummy Island – 4:33pm 26 species Species Count Brant (Atlantic) 35 American Black Duck 4…
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Migration at the Point – April 7, 2021
Leaders: Brett Ewald, Chris Marks, Mary Watkins Temp: 52°F Winds: NW 0-5 mph Weather Conditions: mostly sunny 50 species Species Count Canada Goose 5 Mute Swan 2 Gadwall 18…
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Birding the Meadows – April 5, 2021
Leaders: Bill Boyle, Karen Thompson, Mary Watkins Temp: 50° F Winds: 5-10 mph Weather Conditions: 40 species Species Count Canada Goose 10 Mute Swan 2 Blue-winged Teal 2 Northern…
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Sunset Beach: A Place for all Seasons – April 4, 2021
Leaders: Mary Watkins, Eileen Mathers, Ruth Bergstrom Temp: 46° F Winds: SW 9 mph Weather Conditions: Partly cloudy 40 species Species Count Mute Swan 2 Mallard 8 American Black…
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Above Par Birding at Cox Hall Creek – April 4, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Janet Crawford Temp: 50° F Winds: SW 0-5mph Weather Conditions: Mostly cloudy This morning’s first-of-season walk at the CHC WMA was full of bird song with the…
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Birding Cape May Point – April 3, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Kyle Chelius, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: 38°F Winds: W 15-20 mph Weather Conditions: sunny Though it felt like winter, it looked like spring at the State Park this…
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Poor Man’s Pelagic – March 20, 2021
Leaders: Melissa Roach, Mary Watkins, Janet Crawford, Alan Crawford Temp: 58°F Winds: 12 mph Weather Conditions: sunny Cape May Lewes Ferry – NJ Waters – 12:49 PM 25 species…
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Birding the Meadows – March 29, 2021
Leaders: Bill Boyle, Karen Thompson, Mary Watkins Temp: 47° F Winds: W 22mph Weather Conditions: 29 species Species Count Canada Goose 4 Mute Swan 1 Northern Shoveler 1 Gadwall 14…
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Birding Cape May Point – March 27, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Kyle Chelius Temp: 60° F Winds: SW 0-5mph Weather Conditions: sunny Though it’s only March, signs of spring migration are everywhere at the State Park. Eastern Phoebes,…
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Cape May Springwatch: March 11-22, 2021
A Snow Bunting at the Cape May Springwatch on March 16. Photo © Tom Reed. By Tom Reed Summary The period opened with southerly winds and another push of Canada…
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Birding the Meadows – March 22, 2021
Leaders: Bill Boyle, Karen Thompson, Mary Watkins, Eileen Mathers Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: 34 species Species Count Canada Goose 4 Mute Swan 4 Northern Shoveler 3 Gadwall 6 American…
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Birding Cape May Point – March 20, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Kyle Chelius, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: 38° F Winds: N 0-5mph Weather Conditions: sunny It was a good day to be out birding in Cape May, chilly but…
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Nightfall at Jake’s Landing – March 14, 2021
Leaders: Chris Marks, Mary Watkins, BJ Pinnock, Bert Hixon Temp: 57°F Winds: WNW 18-30 mph Weather Conditions: 11 species Species Count American Black Duck 22 Mourning Dove 1 Dunlin…
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Birding the Meadows – March 15, 2021
Leaders: Bill Boyle, Karen Thompson, Mary Watkins Temp: 30°F Winds: 20 mph Weather Conditions: 33 species Species Count Canada Goose 2 Mute Swan 1 Gadwall 10 Mallard 6 Green-winged…
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Sunday Morning at Turkey Point – March 14, 2021
Leaders: Janet Crawford, Chris Marks, Mary Watkins Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: Glades Wildlife Refuge – 8:00 am 13 species Species Count Snow Goose 45 Canada Goose 2 Mute Swan…
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Birding Cape May Point – March 13, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Kyle Chelius Temp: Winds: NNW 5-15 mph Weather Conditions: Sunny Birds are definitely on the move as migration starts to intensify. Hundreds of Northern Gannets were diving…
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Cape May Springwatch: March 1-10, 2021
[An Ipswich Savannah Sparrow stops by the Cape May Springwatch. Photo © Tom Reed.] By Tom Reed Introduction Spring greetings from Cape May! The 2021 Cape May Springwatch season commenced…
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Sunday Morning at Turkey Point – March 7, 2021
Leaders: Janet Crawford, Chris Marks Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: 29 species Species Count Canada Goose 26 Mute Swan 15 Gadwall 10 American Black Duck 20 Green-winged Teal 250 Ring-necked Duck…
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Nightfall at Jake’s Landing – March 7, 2021
Leaders: Chris Marks, Mary Watkins, BJ Pinnock, Bert Hixon Temp: 41° F Winds: WNW 14-20 mph Weather Conditions: Clear 15 species Species Count Snow Goose 125 Canada Goose 20 Mute…
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Sunset Beach: A Place for all Seasons – March 7, 2021
Leaders: Mary Watkins, Ruth Bergstrom, Eileen Mathers, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: 35° F Winds: NW 8 mph Weather Conditions: 24 species Species Count Mute Swan 2 Gadwall 7 American Black Duck…
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Birding Cape May Point – March 6, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Kyle Chelius, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: 35° F Winds: N 10-15 mph Weather Conditions: Sunny The Hermit Thrush below was pretty cooperative during this morning’s Point walk, showing…
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Coastal Birding at Stone Harbor Point – February 27, 2021
Leaders: Chris Marks, Lynn Pollard, Dave Pollard Temp: 54° F Winds: WSW 14-19mph Weather Conditions: overcast Stone Harbor Point – 1:04pm 14 species Species Count Brant (Atlantic) 65 American Black…
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Birding Cape May Point – February 20, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: 28° F Winds: NW 25mph Weather Conditions: clear/windy Today’s walk reminded me once again why we get up early on a cold winter’s morning…
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Snapshots in History: Black Environmentalists
By Kip Le Warn, Engagement Coordinator, Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed To celebrate Black History Month this February, take some time to learn about historical figures and groups in…
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Longtails in Love – February 13, 2021
Leaders: Chuck Slugg, Janet Crawford Temp: ° F Winds: Weather Conditions: light rain/frozen mix Avalon – 8th St. Jetty – Avalon Seawatch – 10:05 am 4 species Species Count…
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Birding Cape May Point – February 13, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: 28° F Winds: NE 5-15 mph Weather Conditions: light rain/frozen mix Despite a light but persistent drizzle, interesting birds showed up for the walk…
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Sunset Beach: A Place for all Seasons – February 7, 2021
Leaders: Ruth Bergstrom, Eileen Mathers Temp: 39° F Winds: NW 12 mph Weather Conditions: steady rain 25 species Species Count Gadwall 6 Mallard 3 Green-winged Teal 20 Hooded Merganser 7…
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Birding Cape May Point – February 6, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn Temp: 42° F Winds: SW 10-15 mph Weather Conditions: Sunny The Point was quite birdy this morning with lots of feeding robins, house finches and cedar waxwings.…
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What is, and Why, Femelschlag
There is no such thing as a “Shade-Loving” plant, plain and simple. In elementary school we learned about photosynthesis. Remember photosynthesis? The essential process of how plants, (except holoparasitic or…
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Birding Cape May Point – January 30, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: 17° F Winds: NW 5-8 mph Weather Conditions: Sunny With subfreezing temperatures overnight, the lakes and ponds are mostly ice-covered, so ducks and swans…
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Northern Bobwhite Restoration Initiative Published in Journal of Wildlife Management!
In the February 2021 edition of The Wildlife Society’s prestigious Journal of Wildlife Management, the first of several research papers associated with the Northern Bobwhite Restoration Initiative will be published.…
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Brigantine and Mott’s Creek Special Field Trip – January 24, 2021
Leaders: Janet Crawford, Chris Marks, Mary Watkins, Kyle Chelius Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: Edwin B. Forsythe WMA (formerly Brig) – 1:34 PM 27 species Species Count Snow Goose 600…
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Birding Cape May Point – January 16, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn and Bernie Hodgdon Temp: 43° F Winds: W 5-15 mph Weather Conditions: mostly cloudy The variety of ducks at the State Park is always good in the…
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Birding the Meadows – January 11, 2021
Leaders: Mary Watkins, Dave Pollard, Adehl Schwaderer, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: Very nice but quiet morning. Good looks at Cooper’s Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk and Red-shouldered Hawk. Lots of…
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Coastal Birding at Stone Harbor Point – January 9, 2021
Leaders: Chris Marks, Dave Pollard, Lynn Pollard Temp: 42° F Winds: 9-14 mph NW Weather Conditions: Stone Harbor Point – 12:44pm 21 species Species Count Common Eider 1 Surf…
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Birding Cape May Point – January 9, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Bernie Hodgdon, Kyle Chelius Temp: 32° F Winds: 15-20 mph NNW Weather Conditions: Sunny Ponds and feeders held the birds on this windy, cold day. There are…
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Sunset Beach: A Place for all Seasons – January 3, 2021
Leaders: Ruth Bergstrom, MJ Roache Temp: 42° – 49° F Winds: 9 mph NE Weather Conditions: Steady rain and wind 24 species Species Count Canada Goose 2 Mute Swan…
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AVALON SEAWATCH UPDATE – December & Season Summary
Hi everyone! We’ve come to the end of another Seawatch season! This December has been somewhat slow, so rather than give a day-by-day breakdown, I’ll just point out some highlights…
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Birding Cape May Point – January 2, 2021
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: Winds: 10-15 NE Weather Conditions: Cloudy, on and off drizzle Though it was great to see a variety of ducks, including the American Coot…
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Kick Off Your Year List – January 1, 2021
Leaders: Brett Ewald, Chris Marks, Mary Watkins, Alan Crawford Temp: 45° Winds: 5-10 WNW Weather Conditions: Overcast, rain starting early afternoon Cape May Point State Park – Hawkwatch Platform…
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New Jersey Audubon and Mars Wrigley Partner in Water and Wildlife Conservation
With assistance from New Jersey Audubon, Mars Wrigley recently enrolled into the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program to shape a better world by protecting…
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Sunset Beach: A Place for all Seasons – December 13, 2020
Leaders: Mary Watkins, MJ Roache, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: Winds: Weather Conditions: Beautiful morning at Sunset Beach and the Magnesite plant…hard to believe it’s mid-December! Highlights included black and surf…
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Harlequin Romance – December 12, 2020
Leaders: Melissa Roach Temp: 57F Winds: South winds 10-13mph (gusts up to 22) Weather Conditions: Cloudy, cool, and windy. The day started with dark, overcast skies with a period of heavy fog, but…
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Birding Cape May Point – December 12, 2020
Leaders: Kathy Horn, Kyle Chelius Temp: 50° F Winds: S 0-5 mph Weather Conditions: cloudy 45 species Species Count Canada Goose 15 Mute Swan 45 Tundra Swan 3 Northern…
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MONTCLAIR HAWKWATCH UPDATE – Late Season Summary
The second half of this unique 2020 season had its share of challenges but was also a boon of amazing observations. Bad weather continued through the last two weeks of…
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Birding Cape May Point – December 5, 2020
Leaders: Kathy Horn Temp: 42° F Winds: NW 30-35 mph Weather Conditions: Rain – Light to Heavy 44 species Species Count Canada Goose 18 Mute Swan 65 Tundra Swan…
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Monarch Quilt Silent Auction
SILENT AUCTION! This handmade quilt with a monarch butterfly motif has been donated to the Cape May Bird Observatory’s Monarch Monitoring Project to help raise funds for the project. The…
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Brigantine and Mott’s Creek Special Field Trip 11/28/20
Leaders: Chris Marks, Barb Bassett, and Mary Watkins Temp: 54° F – 58° F Winds: West 2-10 mph Weather Conditions: partly cloudy 44 species Species Count Brant 2500 Canada…
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CAPE MAY HAWKWATCH UPDATE – Nov 20th to 30th
That’s all she wrote. The 2020 Cape May Hawkwatch, sponsored by Swarovski Optik, is officially finished and in the books. Stayed tuned to the end of this post for the…
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AVALON SEAWATCH UPDATE – Nov. 11th to Nov. 24th
This period started off slow but ramped up into quite a busy two weeks! Wednesday the 11th was overall slow, with a little over 1000 gannets and over 150 Laughing…
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MORNING FLIGHT UPDATE – Winter Finch Invasion
With late-November upon us and the 2020 morning flight count in the books, I’ve been meaning to post about the last few weeks of the season. An incredible early season…
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CAPE MAY HAWKWATCH UPDATE – November 13th to19th
Wind was the name of the game this week at the Cape May Hawkwatch, sponsored by Swarovski Optik. Almost every day saw sustained winds at 20mph and even up to…
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Reflecting on Successful Advocacy: NJ’s Comprehensive Plastics Law
By Dini Checko, Project Director, ANJEC; Sandra Meola, Director, Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed; and Alex Ambrose, Policy Associate, ANJEC It’s official. New Jersey is now home to the…
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Building a Trans-Inclusive Workplace
By Olivia Le Warn, Engagement Coordinator, Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed November 13th-19th is Transgender Awareness Week, followed by Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20th. Transgender Awareness Week…
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AVALON SEAWATCH UPDATE – November 4th to 10th
While we have passed our scoter peak, this week still brought plenty of scoter and increasing numbers of gannets and loons. The 4th was dominated by gannets, with 4716 southbound…
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Stewardship and Community Engagement in Cape May
Cape May is a place with many titles, a community known for its pristine beaches, history, beautiful architecture, and diverse offerings of food and drink. To others, the Cape May…
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CAPE MAY HAWKWATCH UPDATE – November 6th to 12th
This week felt more like September than November at the Cape May Hawkwatch, sponsored by Swarovski Optik. Every day this week we saw above average temperatures with dew points in…
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The 2020 Women in Conservation Leadership Summit: An Intentional Shift to Racial Equity & Justice
By Rita Yelda, Outreach & Communications Manager, Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed Despite COVID-19 preventing an in-person Women in Conservation Leadership Summit this year, the National Wildlife Federation’s team…
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MONARCH MONITORING PROJECT – November Monarchs
Our field season runs from September 1 to October 31, and in some years, we see very few monarchs after about October 20. Big numbers of migrating monarchs arrive to…
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MONARCH MONITORING PROJECT – Results of the 2020 Census
Perhaps the most important parts of the Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project is the census that we conduct. Our census is modification of a technique known as a “Pollard Transect,”…
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CAPE MAY HAWKWATCH UPDATE – October 30th to November 5th
The Cape May Hawkwatch, sponsored by Swarovski Optik, is two-thirds finished and the final month of the autumn season is now underway. More on that later. October, as a whole,…
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AVALON SEAWATCH UPDATE – October 28th to November 3rd
Our peak scoter movement continues from last week! Read on to see the day-by-day breakdown, but Halloween was especially notable, with over 68,000 birds, the largest day I have counted…
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MONARCH MONITORING PROJECT – Season Wrap Up
The 2020 Field Season for the Monarch Monitoring Project wrapped up on Saturday, October 31 — our field season runs from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 each year. We have…
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AVALON SEAWATCH UPDATE – October 21st to 27th
The scoters have arrived! Massive scoter movement dominated this week, culminating in a 20,000+ bird day, a 35,000 bird day, two 40,000+ bird days, and a 50,000 bird day; back-to-back,…
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CAPE MAY HAWKWATCH UPDATE – October 23rd to 29th
Yet another week of unsettled weather at the Cape May Hawkwatch sponsored by Swarovski Optik. It seemed like each day produced a unique suite of weather conditions ranging from rainy…
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MONTCLAIR HAWKWATCH UPDATE – October 13th to 16th
The weather was tough this week with Monday and Friday being washed out and Tuesday’s count being delayed; however, migration continued and our cast of characters shifted a bit to…
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MORNING FLIGHT UPDATE – October 18th
It’s really looking like fall in Cape May with leaves changing, temps dropping, and winter species arriving. The overall trend this fall continued as consistent cold fronts brought northwest winds…
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MONTCLAIR HAWKWATCH UPDATE – October 5th to 11th
The morning of October 5th was dominated by songbirds as noisy flocks of Pine Siskins and Purple Finches bounced past the watch, a sure sign of the season. As the…
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AVALON SEAWATCH UPDATE – October 7th to 20th
These past two weeks saw a noticeable uptick in movement, with our first 10,000+ bird days. Double-crested Cormorants continued in good numbers daily, Black Scoters arrived in force, and a…
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CAPE MAY HAWKWATCH UPDATE – October 16th to 22nd
Unfortunately, migration was mostly at a standstill this week at the Cape May Hawkwatch sponsored by Swarovski Optik. Up until this week, migration was more or less nonstop minus a…
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MONARCH MONITORING PROJECT – Final Events
The last of our originally scheduled educational programs occurred on October 17th. With the continuation of mild weather and presence of good numbers of monarchs around Cape May, we are…
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CAPE MAY HAWKWATCH UPDATE – OCTOBER 9th – 15th
October continues to roll on with exceptional hawk migrations at the Cape May Hawkwatch sponsored by Swarovski Optik. The NW winds continued to blow throughout the region. And as we…
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MONTCLAIR HAWKWATCH UPDATE – OCTOBER 9TH
Saying Goodbye to September and Remembering a Montclair Icon As we round out the month of September, we reluctantly say goodbye to peak season for Broad-winged Hawks. This week’s total…
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AVALON SEAWATCH UPDATE – OCTOBER 6TH
Hi everyone! This is David Weber, and I’m back for my 4th year counting the Avalon Seawatch! Time sure does fly by! I’ll be posting weekly updates from here on…
New Jersey Audubon fosters environmental awareness and a conservation ethic among New Jersey’s citizens; protects New Jersey’s birds, mammals, other animals, and plants, especially endangered and threatened species; and promotes preservation of New Jersey’s valuable natural habitats.