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Important Bird and Birding Areas
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Cape May National Wildlife Refuge - Delaware Bay Division
Cape May CountyCoordinates: N 39.08494
W 74.88356
Delaware Bay: New England / Mid-Atlantic CoastArea: 15,392 Acres Habitat: A mix of tidal salt marsh, forested upland and wetland and shrub-scrubSite Description: The Cape May National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), composed of the Delaware Bay Division, the Great Cedar Swamp Division and Two Mile Beach Unit, was established in 1989 with the purchase of 90 acres from The Nature Conservancy. The Delaware Bay Division of the Cape May NWR is located in Middle Township, on the western portion of Cape May Peninsula. The area includes over 7000 acres of salt marsh, forested uplands, forested wetlands, scrub-shrub and grasslands along the Delaware Bay from Norbury's Landing to Bidwell's Creek. The site also includes the headwaters of Bidwell's Creek, Dias Creek, Green Creek and Fishing Creek. The wetlands within the refuge are part of the Delaware Bay Wetlands, an internationally recognized wetland of importance designated under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, a treaty signed in 1971 for the purpose of wetlands conservation. These wetlands are also recognized as a Hemispheric Reserve as part of an intercontinental network of protected sites known formally as the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. This IBA is contained within a Natural Heritage Priority Site, the Cape May Corridor Macrosite. Designated by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Natural Heritage Priority Sites are considered the state’s most significant natural areas.IBA Criteria:
| Criterion | Species |
| Conservation Concern – State-endangered (B) | Northern Harrier |
| Conservation Concern – State-special Concern (W) | Northern Harrier |
| Regional Responsibility Species - BCR 30 Scrub-shrub/Barrens (B) | American Woodcock, Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Field Sparrow, Northern Bobwhite, Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler |
| Regional Responsibility Species - BCR 30 Salt Marsh/Wetland (B) | American Black Duck, Clapper Rail, Mallard, Marsh Wren, Seaside Sparrow, Virginia Rail, Willet |
| Significant Migrant Stopover/Flyover (FM, SM) | Landbirds |
| Significant Migrant Stopover/Flyover (SM) | Shorebirds |
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| Northern Harrier Hunting | Steve Byland |
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Birds: The Delaware Bay Division of Cape May NWR supports breeding and wintering Northern Harriers. The wetlands provide essential salt marsh habitat for American Black Duck, Seaside Sparrow, Clapper Rail, Virginia Rail, Marsh Wren, Mallard and Willet. Many scrub-shrub dependant species also breed here. The Bayshore Division is an extremely important foraging and roosting area for thousands of shorebird species, including Red Knots, Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones, that feed upon protein-rich horseshoe crab eggs before continuing their migration to their summer breeding grounds. The Refuge is also one of the East Coast’s most crucial stopover points for migratory birds on the Atlantic Flyway. A Doppler Radar migration study, “Oases Along the Flyway,” conducted by the Research Department of New Jersey Audubon Society has confirmed this site as critical stopover habitat for migrating songbirds during spring and fall migration.Conservation: The Cape May NWR continues to expand toward its goal of acquiring 21,000 acres, however, many privately-owned lands adjacent to the refuge boundaries remain unprotected. These areas should be prioritized for acquisition or targeted for outreach to landowners to promote incentives for protecting and managing habitat. The Comprehensive Management Plan for the refuge includes wildlife surveys, public use improvements and habitat management plans targeting upland forest, forested wetland, salt marsh, open water, and early successional habitats. Specific management objectives include the restoration of the hydrology of the salt marsh, the restoration of sand-gravel pits to Atlantic white cedar swamps and the development and implementation of an integrated pest management program to control invasive plant species. The Refuge’s first prescribed burn was conducted in 2007 to maintain native warm season grassland habitat through reduction of woody vegetation and cool season grasses. Also in 2007, the Cape May NWR was listed among the top 10 Refuges at Risk by the Defenders of Wildlife. With enough funds to pay only one refuge enforcement officer to patrol 14,000 acres, the US Fish and Wildlife Service is unable to stop illegal off-road vehicles from destroying wildlife habitat and disturbing nesting and feeding birds within the Cape May refuge.Additional Information: Site Report
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| A flooded saltmarsh | Michael Hogan |
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