Research

As the fall migration season drew to a close, Week 12 of the Cape May Songbird Stopover Project delivered a fitting finale. This week was full of weather shifts, migration surprises, and a celebration of another successful season at the South Cape May Meadows. After days of high winds and…...

Week 11 of the Cape May Songbird Stopover Project brought the full spectrum of fall migration with busy nets, changing winds, and a reminder that weather always has the final say. The week began on a high note, with a remarkable 618 new birds banded over just two days. On…...

Week 10 at The Nature Conservancy’s South Cape May Meadows was nothing short of magnificent. Migration continued in full swing, and the air over Cape May seemed to shimmer with wings — most of them belonging to one unmistakable fall favorite: the Yellow-rumped Warbler. After the record-breaking rush of Week…...

Week 9 of the Cape May Songbird Stopover Project at The Nature Conservancy’s South Cape May Meadows was a rollercoaster of weather, energy, and migration. The week began with quiet recovery time and ended with record-breaking banding totals that left the whole team buzzing. The week opened with two days…...

Week 8 of the Cape May Songbird Stopover Project at The Nature Conservancy’s South Cape May Meadows brought an exciting mix of quiet moments, steady work, and one absolutely insane banding day! The week began on October 5 with a delightful surprise — our first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the season!…...

Week 7 of the Cape May Songbird Stopover Project brought a surge of migratory activity to the South Cape May Meadows, with a total of 434 birds caught, banded, and released. The first four days of the week saw the highest volume of movement, offering the banding team both busy…...

As the Cape May Songbird Stopover Project entered its sixth week, the South Cape May Meadows continued to serve as a vital rest stop for migrating birds making their long journeys south. Although overall bird activity was slower this week, there were still plenty of exciting moments and milestones for…...

As the Cape May Songbird Stopover Banding Project entered its fifth week (September 14th–20th), our team was met with a significant change in the weather. A series of cloudy, rainy days settled in, including two days where conditions prevented us from keeping nets open for the full six-hour duration of…...

After a slower start to the month of September, we had a good push of passerines between September 7th and the 13th. Week four of the Songbird Stopover Project brought a few season firsts, lots of visitors coming to help, four days of over 100 birds banded, and a season…...