View From The Cape

Sunset Beach: A Place for all Seasons – December 12, 2021

Leaders: Mary Watkins, Eileen Mathers, Ruth Bergstrom Temp: 45° F Winds:  NW 26 mph Weather Conditions: sunny 22 species Species Count Mallard 15 Mourning Dove 1 Ring-billed Gull 8 Herring Gull 6 Great Black-backed Gull 10 Northern Gannet 2 Double-crested Cormorant 4 Great Blue Heron 1 Great Egret 1 Turkey…...

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Harlequin Romance – December 11, 2021

Leaders: Melissa Roach, Mary Watkins, Jackie Parker, and Jesse Amesbury Temp: 52°- 57° F Winds:  SW 22-25 mph Weather Conditions: overcast, dense fog, some rain Barnegat Lighthouse State Park – 9:41am 26 species Species Count Canada Goose 45 Mallard 16 American Black Duck 4 Harlequin Duck 8 Long-tailed Duck 5…...

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Birding Cape May Point – December 11, 2021

Leaders: Kathy Horn, Roger Horn, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: 55° F Winds:  S 28 mph Weather Conditions: cloudy It was a little strange hearing the frequent chips of Yellow-rumped Warblers coming from below the level of the boardwalk as they hunkered down out of the wind and drizzle at the State Park this…...

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Avalon Seawatch Update: November 3rd – 23rd

A group of Wood Ducks migrating in the early morning. The West winds have provided a good diversity and abundance of non-scoter ducks, which provides a good ID challenge in the morning light. Hello Everyone! Things have been quite busy over at the Seawatch the past few weeks; thanks to…...

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Final Cape May Hawkwatch Update: November 19th – 30th

After ninety-one consecutive days of counting migrating birds of prey, the 2021 autumn season has officially ended. Keep reading to find out the grand total of raptors counted this season! First, I need to cover the final leg of the season.  After a slow start to the beginning of November,…...

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Montclair Hawk Lookout Update: Nov 3rd – 30th, 2021

As is typical at Montclair, November was the slowest month this season, with the bulk of migrants composed of Turkey Vultures and Red-shouldered Hawks. The latter did not seem to accompany the former as they frequently did in October, but instead, often appeared to materialize suddenly out of thin air,…...

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Birding Cape May Point – December 4, 2021

Leaders: Kathy Horn, Roger Horn, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: 50° F Winds:  NE 5 mph Weather Conditions: mostly cloudy The State Park ponds are currently hosting a large variety and number of ducks and they all looked beautiful in this morning’s warm sunlight. The male Eurasian Wigeon is still on Lighthouse Pond. Two…...

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Cape May Hawkwatch Update: November 5th – 18th

Just like every hawkwatch in the northeastern US, the daily totals follow a bell curve throughout the fall season. They start out low in September and slowly increase until they peak in October and then slowly decrease throughout November. Unfortunately, the totals seem to be dropping rapidly during the first…...

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Morning Flight Season Recap

Sunrise over the back of the Dike. Photo by Jerald Reb November 15th was the final day of the 2021 Morning Flight season, so it’s time to take a look back at the highlights of this fall! We ended the count with over 335,000 individual birds counted and over 220…...

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Sunset Beach: A Place for all Seasons – November 14, 2021

Leaders: Mary Watkins, Ruth Bergstrom, Bernie Hodgdon Temp: Winds:  WNW 15 mph Weather Conditions: 27 species Species Count Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 5 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Laughing Gull 1 Herring Gull 12 Great Black-backed Gull 25 Northern Gannet 3 Double-crested Cormorant 14 Black Vulture 1 Turkey Vulture 6 Cooper’s Hawk…...

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