View From The Cape

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 October and caused us to miss a few days; despite this, these proved to be two of our best weeks…...

Read more

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 3 Blue-winged Teal 1 Northern Shoveler 14 Gadwall 75 American Wigeon 48 Mallard 35 Northern Pintail 15 Green-winged Teal 30…...

Read more

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 artist is Dale Watson, an accomplished quilt maker and volunteer with the Project.  The quilt, which measures 64 x 76…...

Read more

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 Goose 150 Mute Swan 2 Tundra Swan 3 Northern Shoveler 60 Gadwall 40 Mallard 50 American Black Duck 150 Mallard…...

Read more

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 full season total! The final 10 days of the count were what one would expect at this stage in the…...

Read more

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 Gulls, but only 400 scoters and 170 Red-throated Loons. The 12th was similarly slow, with only 400 gannets, 400 Laughing…...

Read more

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 was equally matched by an unprecedented flight of northern finches throughout October and November. Species moving south in force this…...

Read more

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 30mph on a few occasions. The wind direction varied greatly making counting this week either very rewarding or very frustrating.…...

Read more

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 birds, which was the 9th largest day in the last 5 years.  Green-winged Teals had their 4th best day in…...

Read more

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 the upper 60s and abundant sunshine. Although the weather was fabulous and made for some very enjoyable days on the…...

Read more