This past Saturday was the Cape May See Life Paulagics trip, and our boat-full of eager birders were in for a great day on the ocean. We sailed out of the Cape May canal while the first hint of light rose above the horizon, passing 2 Harlequin Ducks, 7 Great Cormorants, 30 American Oystercatchers, and a nice spattering of the usual seaducks around … Read More
Weekend Digiscoping Spotlight 25
The Weekend Digiscoping Spotlight will highlight some of the fun shots we’ve gotten recently with a camera paired with a spotting scope or binoculars. We welcome submissions of your favorite digiscoped shots to be featured in future spotlights, just use the contact form in the menu above. Yesterday, I spent the day birding southern New Jersey with Matt Boone, Abby … Read More
Fork-tailed Flycatcher! – Cape May Autumn Birding Festival
Cape May has been having an incredible run of rarities this fall, and with Whiskered Tern capping off September and a Vermilion Flycatcher earlier this month, this past weekend’s Cape May Autumn Birding Festival was bound to turn up something crazy! An American White Pelican kicked off the rarity excitement when Bill Boyle spotted one soaring and flying around fairly low … Read More
Vermilion Flycatcher! – Cape May, NJ
Cape May is having a great run of rarities this fall, and yesterday morning Richard Crossley (of the Crossley ID guides) added to the madness by discovering a beautiful young male Vermilion Flycatcher hawking insects at the Rea Farm (aka The Beanery) in West Cape May! The flycatcher spent the rest of the day showing off for birders by perching at … Read More
Whiskered Tern – Cape May, NJ
The ABA area’s 3rd record of a Whiskered Tern was found early this afternoon by Louise Zemaitis and Alec Humann, flying around Cape May Point. Cape May has actually hosted the first two records as well; in 1993 and 1998. One of the former records eventually flew over the Delaware Bay and went to a collection of impoundments in Delaware for … Read More
Chase-able Common Murre – Cape May, NJ
Any murre species, and most alcids in general are difficult to see from land along the east coast. Most winters, small numbers of Razorbills can usually be seen migrating from shore but most birders must venture out on a boat to find the others. A report from Tom Baxter of a murre species found floating on Sunset Lake near Wildwood … Read More
Snowstorm in Cape May
When we went to bed on the evening of January 2nd in Cape May, the temperature was dropping quick and it was beginning to snow. When we woke up to the next morning, there was a half-foot of snow on the ground and the wind was howling. We had camped in my truck overnight, and it managed to stay pretty … Read More
Cape May Pt SP Snowbirds
After wandering around the streets of Cape May Point for awhile but not being able to turn up the White-winged Dove, we decided to head over to the state park to see what was around. It was incredible to see the park covered in snow. Equally amazing was how active the birds were in the snow-covered, freezing landscape. Along the … Read More
Snow Day Rarities at Cape May Pt
After a successful walk around Cape May Pt SP, where we saw a Northern Goshawk and Orange-crowned Warbler among many other cool (literally) birds, we took another pass by Lily Lake hoping to find one of the Eurasian Wigeon that roam the point. A large flock of geese and other ducks had gathered at the west end so we parked … Read More
Jaeger Weekend
I think it is pretty safe to say that most birders understand the thrill of seeing a jaeger, either from a firsthand experience or from hearing about these bird’s uncanny ability to steal the show in any situation. Multiple times this past weekend I was reminded not only of how impressive jaegers are, but also how amusingly difficult it can … Read More