Cape May 3/30--Western Tanager + 9 Other FOY

We made our first trip to Cape May today. Our goal was two-fold: find the rarity and then bounce around the county finding as many birds as we could.

Western Tanager, female
Photos: Shari Zirlin

The rarity today was at the feeder in a backyard on Sunset Boulevard just before the road to the state park. The homeowner graciously has been allowing birders to stand in his backyard and wait for the female Western Tanager to appear. It was our first stop and we didn't have to wait long--at least I didn't--Shari missed it the first time the bird came to the feeder; the bird would fly from the feeder to the tangles behind the house. Eventually, she reappeared in a tree and Shari managed to get this documentary photo.

After getting the Bird A Day entry, we pinballed around the county. First to the Beanery (Cooper's & Red-tailed Hawk, 3 Great Blue Herons flying overhead), then, in a field opposite the parking lot to Hidden Valley we found a nice flock of Eastern Meadowlarks. Shari thought the fields looked promising and she was correct. Next the canal overlook at Higbees, where we saw our first Laughing Gulls and Black-bellied Plovers of the year along with a huge flock of Dunlins on the jetty.

After lunch we drove back to West Cape May. We wanted to see if could find the Eurasian Collared-Dove that hangs out around Lincoln Avenue. I thought we'd walk around the block, hoping to track it down but Shari found two of them sitting on a phone wire in about 30 seconds. This is an invasive species, so it's interesting now, but soon it won't be. A stop at the St. Mary's Dune Crossing yielded two Common Eiders and a Long-tailed Duck.

At the state park itself we first walked around Lighthouse Pond which from the road looked empty but was actually full of ducks toward the back, including our first Blue-winged Teals.  A huge kettle of Turkey and Black Vultures was overhead as well as a Red-tailed Hawk and an Osprey.

Red-tailed Hawk

Osprey

The pond in front of the Hawkwatch Platform had pretty much the same variety along with one drake Northern Pintail.

Next we head north for a new spot for us--Miami Avenue Beach in Villas. Last week a Little Gull had been reported there which would have been a lifer. However, one report said the bird had an injured leg--this didn't bode well for finding it--little injured birds make good prey. Still, we gave it a try, found more Dunlins and Black-bellied Plovers plus a couple of Forster's Terns in with many gulls. The tide was out, so the birds were far away and even a scope wasn't a lot of help, so who knows, maybe the  bird was there--though I heard from a couple of guys later at Jake's Landing that they'd spent 3 hours searching for the bird with nothing to show for their time. I don't have that kind of patience. Quantity over quality, I always say.

Finally we drove 15 miles up Rt 47 to Jake's Landing which ends in a marsh. Our target bird doesn't come out until dusk; we were pretty early but while we waited we had a Northern Harrier hunting, Shari found a Seaside Sparrow, which I only heard, Clapper Rails were loud and nearby though invisible in the thick reeds ("thin as a rail"). Finally, after sunset, and just before it was too dark to see, Shari spotted a Short-eared Owl flying overhead. They take over the night shift from the harriers.  To end the festivities, a small flock of Black-crowned Night-Herons flew in to the marsh. 

For the  long day we had 67 species, by far our largest tally of the year. For those of you not yet bleary-eyed from reading all this, here's the complete list:

Species                 Location

Brant     Higbees Beach Canal Overlook

Canada Goose     Sunset & Lighthouse, W. Cape May

Mute Swan     Lighthouse Pond

Gadwall     Lighthouse Pond

American Wigeon     Lighthouse Pond

American Black Duck     Hawkwatch Platform

Mallard     Lighthouse Pond

Blue-winged Teal     Lighthouse Pond

Northern Shoveler     Lighthouse Pond

Northern Pintail     Hawkwatch Platform

Green-winged Teal    Lighthouse Pond

Ring-necked Duck     Hawkwatch Platform

Greater Scaup     Lighthouse Pond

Common Eider     St. Mary’s dune crossing

Long-tailed Duck     St. Mary’s dune crossing

Red-breasted Merganser     Higbees Beach Canal Overlook

Ruddy Duck     Hawkwatch Platform

Pied-billed Grebe     Lighthouse Pond

Double-crested Cormorant     Higbees Beach Canal Overlook

Great Blue Heron     The Beanery

Great Egret     Hawkwatch Platform

Black-crowned Night-Heron     Jakes Landing

Black Vulture     Lincoln Ave, Cape May Pt

Turkey Vulture     Sunset & Lighthouse, W. Cape May

Osprey     Lighthouse Pond

Northern Harrier     Jakes Landing

Cooper's Hawk     The Beanery

Bald Eagle     Jakes Landing

Red-tailed Hawk     The Beanery

Clapper Rail     Jakes Landing

American Coot     Lighthouse Pond

Black-bellied Plover     Higbees Beach Canal Overlook

Greater Yellowlegs     Jakes Landing

Sanderling     Villas--Miami Ave. beach

Dunlin     Higbees Beach Canal Overlook

Bonaparte's Gull     Villas--Miami Ave. beach

Laughing Gull     Higbees Beach Canal Overlook

Ring-billed Gull     Higbees Beach Canal Overlook

Herring Gull     Villas--Miami Ave. beach

Great Black-backed Gull     Villas--Miami Ave. beach

Forster's Tern     Villas--Miami Ave. beach

Rock Pigeon     Villas--Miami Ave. beach

Eurasian Collared-Dove     Lincoln Ave, Cape May Pt

Mourning Dove     Sunset & Lighthouse, W. Cape May

Short-eared Owl     Jakes Landing

Red-bellied Woodpecker     Lighthouse Pond

American Crow     The Beanery

Fish Crow     The Beanery

Tree Swallow     St. Mary’s dune crossing

Carolina Chickadee     Sunset & Lighthouse, W. Cape May

Carolina Wren     Sunset & Lighthouse, W. Cape May

American Robin     The Beanery

Northern Mockingbird     Field opp Hidden Valley parking lot

European Starling     Field opp Hidden Valley parking lot

Yellow-rumped Warbler     Lighthouse Pond

Seaside Sparrow     Jakes Landing

Song Sparrow     St. Mary’s dune crossing

White-throated Sparrow     Sunset & Lighthouse, W. Cape May

Dark-eyed Junco     Sunset & Lighthouse, W. Cape May

Western Tanager     Sunset & Lighthouse, W. Cape May

Northern Cardinal     Sunset & Lighthouse, W. Cape May

Red-winged Blackbird     Jakes Landing

Eastern Meadowlark     Field opp Hidden Valley parking lot

Common Grackle     Villas--Miami Ave. beach

House Finch     Sunset & Lighthouse, W. Cape May

American Goldfinch     Sunset & Lighthouse, W. Cape May

House Sparrow     Lincoln Ave, Cape May Pt