The following events/information come from the Cape May Bird Observatory. The Cape May Bird Observatory has two locations; The Northwood Center, 701 East Lake Drive, Cape May Point and the The Center for Research and Education, 600 Route 47 North, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210. For more information on the events listed below please call 609-884-2736 or 609-861-0700. Also visit www.cmbo.org.

NJ Audubon's hotlines can be read on their website www.njaudubon.org by clicking on "Sightings" (top of any page). This week's message was prepared on Sunday September 9, 2007. Highlights this week include sightings of Roseate Spoonbill, Buff-Breasted Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper, American Golden Plover, American Avocet Lesser-Black Gull, Red-Headed Woodpecker, Lark Sparrow, Yellow-Headed Blackbird, and Say's Phoebe. The long staying Roseate Spoonbill continues at the Brigantine NWR as of 9/4. This bird is still being seen in the gull pond area. Shorebird diversity has been excellent on Bunker pond at the Cape May Point State Park. Yesterday, 9/8, all five peeps were observed in the Bunker pond vicinity. Also noted on Bunker pond was one Long-Billed Dowitcher on 9/7. A Baird's Sandpiper continues to be seen between Bunker pond and the plover ponds as of yesterday, 9/8. Also at the Cape May Point State Park yesterday (9/8) were and amazing, for Cape May, 22 Buff-Breasted Sandpipers. Three American Avocets were observed at Brigantine NWR 9/2-9/4. Also at Brigantine NWR on 9/3 were two American Golden Plovers and a Buff-Breasted Sandpiper. The Yellow-Headed Blackbird continues at Brigantine NWR as of 9/3. The Say's Phoebe found at TNC's CMMBR was last seen on the evening of 9/4. On 9/5, a Lark Sparrow was found in the location along the dunes where the phoebe had been seen the previous day. There has been no further report of this species since. A handful of Red-Headed Woodpeckers have been observed in Cape May this week. The most recent was on 9/8 as a flyover at St. Mary's in Cape May Point. Also on 9/4 as a fly over at the CMBO hawk watch. Lastly, two Lesser Black-Backed Gulls were observed on the dune, mixed in with a group of Great Black-Backed Gulls at TNC's CMMBR on 9/6.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

CMBO is offering a special to new and upgraded membership renewals. Join CMBO for the first time or upgrade from Individual or Family to The Hundred and receive Charley Harper's Migration Mainline- Cape May lithograph poster, valued at $50. Call either CMBO center to ask an associate about joining today!

CMBO Bookstore hours are as follows; Northwood Center on East Lake Drive in Cape May Point has returned to a seven day a week schedule. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Center for Research and Education on Rt. 47 in Goshen is open Tuesday- Sunday 9:30- 4:30.

The Cape May Birding Hotline is a service of the New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory and details sightings from Cape May, Cumberland, and Atlantic Counties. Updates are made weekly. Please report sightings of rare or unusual birds to CMBO at 609-884-2736. Sponsorship for this hotline comes from the support of CMBO members and business members, and should you not be a member, we cordially invite you to join. Individual membership is $39 per year; $49 for families. You can call either center to become a member or visit. Become a member in person and you'll receive a FREE gift (in addition to member discount in the stores). For more birding information click here.

Good Luck and Good Birding!

 

Winter/Spring-2007

Daily Walks / Activities

 For each activity, bring binoculars and field guides, if available, and plan to have fun.  Note: These programs may be cancelled at leaders’ discretion when there is heavy rain, snow, ice, or  or unsafe weather conditions. Dress so you can enjoy the outing: plenty of warm clothing from head to toe!

Cost: $6 members, $10 nonmembers (price includes “Cape May Birding Attack Pack”)

NO PRE-REGISTRATION NECESSARY unless otherwise noted.

                                   FRIDAYS


SUNSET BIRDING AT THE MEADOWS
Every Friday, June 1 to September 28
5:30 p.m. to dusk (August 17 to September 28)
Join us when creatures of the day and night meet on common ground, and watch the sun set behind the Cape May Point Lighthouse. Meet Karl and Judy Lukens and Chuck and Mary Jane Slugg at The Nature Conservancy’s parking area on Sunset Boulevard. If there are closures at this site, this walk will instead meet at Cape May Point State Park on the Wildlife Viewing Platform (also known as the Hawkwatch).

HIGBEE BEACH BIRD WALK
Every Friday,
August 17 to September 28
7:00 to 9:00 a.m.
Meet Dick Turner and George Myers at world-famous Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area’s parking lot at the west end of New England Road, just outside of Cape May. Additional parking is available out the unpaved road leading right from the entrance to the parking lot.

                                      Saturdays

FALL MIGRANTS AT THE REA FARM
Every Saturday
August 18 to September 29
7:00 to 9:00 a.m.
Some of the fall’s best birding occurs on this working farm (also known as “The Beanery”). N.J. Audubon has leased the birding privileges. Meet Tom Parsons, Karl Lukens, and Judy Lukens in The Beanery parking lot on Bayshore Road.
 

                                  SUNDAYS


VILLAS WMA BIRD WALK
Every Sunday
August 19 to September 30
7:00 to 9:00 a.m.
Join George Myers, Villas resident and CMBO associate naturalist, to explore this recently preserved 253-acre state wildlife management area, formerly a golf course. Trails include easy-walking asphalt golf cart paths that traverse extensive greens – now grown up as meadow habitat – numerous ponds, and wet woods along Cox Hall Creek. Meet the leaders at the Villas WMA parking area at the end of Shawmount Road (off Route 603 / Bayshore Road, south of Route 654 / Fulling Mill Road, and 0.2 miles south of the Lower Township municipal buildings and library).
                                            

                                  MONDAYS
 

BIRDING AT THE MEADOWS
Every Monday
July 2 to September 24
7:30 to 9:30 a.m.
This Monday morning bird walk at The Nature Conservancy’s Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge is led by “the Gang” (many of CMBO’s associate naturalists and field trip assistants), often accompanied by Don Freiday, CMBO director of birding programs. There’s always a great variety of birds at this dynamic site. Meet at the refuge parking lot on Sunset Boulevard. If there are closures at this site, this walk will instead meet at Cape May Point State Park on the Wildlife Viewing Platform (also known as the Hawkwatch).

.                                                            

                                WEDNESDAYS

BIRDING CAPE MAY POINT
Every Wednesday
June 6 to September 26
7:30 to 9:30 a.m.
Great year-round birding occurs right in the heart of Cape May Point. Meet Tom Parsons, Karl Lukens, and Judy Lukens at Cape May Point State Park on the Wildlife Viewing Platform (also known as the Hawkwatch).

                               THURSDAYS


THE BIRDS OF CAPE MAY:
A BIRD WALK FOR ALL PEOPLE
Every Thursday,
July 12 to September 27
8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Not watching birds when you’re in Cape May is like not visiting the Grand Canyon when you’re in Arizona. Whether you are a seasoned birder or have never really thought about watching birds on purpose before, meet Don Friday (or, occasionally, another Cape May expert) on the Wildlife Viewing Platform (also known as the Hawkwatch) at Cape May Point State Park for a relaxed morning of birding. No binoculars? No problem – Don will have a crate full of good ones (including some really good ones) and will show you how to use them if necessary. You’ll see at least twenty species of birds or the walk is free!

HIDDEN VALLEY BIRD WALK
Every Thursday,
August 16 to September 27
7:00 to 9:00 a.m.
The fields and wet forests of Hidden Valley are dynamic migration hotspots. Meet Dick Turner and Chuck and Mary Jane Slugg in the small clamshell parking lot on the south side of New England Road 0.3 miles past the intersection with Bayshore Road.