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Important Bird and Birding Areas
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Fishing Creek Marsh
Cape May CountyCoordinates: N 39.03432
W 74.91094
Delaware Bay: New England / Mid-Atlantic CoastArea: 3,165 Acres Habitat: Primarily nontidal wetland with areas of shrub-scrub and tidal marshSite Description: The Fishing Creek Marsh IBA is composed of forested wetland, tidal salt marsh and scrub-shrub habitats. Although bound by Fulling Mill Road to the south and residential development along Route 47 in Green Creek to the north, this site contributes to a relatively contiguous central corridor of upland and wetland forest in the lower portion of Cape May Peninsula. A majority of the IBA is owned and managed by the Cape May County Park System. Some lands, including part of the Fishing Creek headwaters, are owned by the water supply authority in Middle Township. This IBA is contained within the Cape May Corridor Natural Heritage Priority Macrosite. Designated by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Natural Heritage Priority Sites are considered the state’s most significant natural areas.
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| Pine Warbler | Kevin Watson |
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Birds: During spring and fall migration, over one million migrating landbirds move through Cape May Peninsula habitats. Migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, American Woodcocks and Neotropical migrants depend on the resources provided by this critical stopover to rest and refuel before continuing their migration through the Atlantic flyway. Fishing Creek Marsh provides valuable scrub-shrub and forested habitats for many of these migrants. This site also supports breeding Red-shouldered Hawks, Barred Owls and several other species of birds that depend on scrub-shrub habitats.Conservation: Portions of the Fishing Creek Marsh are protected from residential development as part of Cape May County Park. As part of the critically important Cape May Peninsula stopover, the County should be encouraged to manage the site for the region’s breeding and migratory birds. The adjacent privately-owned habitats are increasingly being lost and degraded by expanding residential development. Impacts include declines in water quality, pressure on groundwater resources, increased disturbance to nesting, foraging and migrating birds and expansion of invasive plants. For example, measures to control the invasive common reed (Phragmites australis) and restore beneficial marsh vegetation should be implemented. Early successional habitats, including scrub-shrub, are also threatened by intensive land uses and natural succession to forested habitats. Additionally, unregulated off-road vehicle use and illegal dumping are impacting the site’s rare plant communities and habitats. Protection and restoration of Fishing Creek Marsh and the adjacent privately-owned lands should include the promotion of state and federal habitat incentive programs, land acquisition and increased law enforcement.Additional Information: Site Report
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| A typical saltmarsh | Mark S. Garland |
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