Today’s photos come from ecologist Susan Harrison, documenting a bird-y visit to Cape May, New Jersey. Susan’s captions and ID’s are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them,
Cape May
Using one’s work travel to see more birds is a ruse that’s been described in earlier posts, including by John Avise several times and even once or twice by me. Recently I had a seminar trip to New Jersey, which while it’s not as fabulous as, say, Panama, does contain a world-class birdwatching destination at Cape May. This narrow peninsula north of the Delaware Bay is on the migration pathway for songbirds, raptors, shorebirds, and seabirds in spring and fall. \
The photos below from an October 2023 weekend are mostly of species common in the Eastern U.S. but absent from the West Coast. To entertain Easterners, I added the last bird, which you’ll have to travel West to see.
Black-and-White Warbler (Mniotilta varia):
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus):
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana):
Blue-Headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius):
Golden-Crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa); this fast-flitting forest bird is also found in the West, but one has never let me just walk right up and photograph it before, as this hungry migrant did:
Fish Crows (Corvus ossifragus), a species I didn’t know existed until someone pointed out its squeaky “uh-uh”, very different from the American Crow’s caw:
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo):
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) with Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) and a Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa):
Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus):
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus), described by AllAboutBirds as “king of the Atlantic waterfront… the largest gull in the world, with a powerful build and a domineering attitude. They harry other birds to steal their food and even hunt adult birds such as grebes and puffins:”
Forster’s Terns (Sterna forsteri) at a pier with erudite graffiti:
Returning to California, I was delighted to see this lovely and not-very-common Westerner in my back yard for only the second time.
Varied Thrush (Ixorius naevius):
Those black-bellied plovers are clearly into 1984 Newspeak.
– War is peace
– Slavery is Freedom
– Ignorance is strength
And black is white, apparently
I couldn’t quite make out the No Galavanting line. 😊
Love the signs at Sun Nova Beach.
No Traipsing, No Shenanigans, No Gallivanting, No Sashaying, No Nudes is Good Nudes.
Great photos!
I’ve been anxiously awaiting your Cape May bird photos ever since you announced you were headed to that birding hotspot. And your photos don’t disappoint–they are beautiful! And yes, I guess we both use seminar invitations as great excuses to visit new parts of the world and to see and photograph new birds. Indeed, I’m not ashamed to admit that I often decide whether to accept or decline a particular seminar or conference invitation based on the birding prospects that destination offers.
Your last sentence made me laugh. Indeed, no need to be ashamed.
Absolutely! And you have to choose the timing carefully, too – fall migration is a great time for giving seminars on the east coast, for example.
Very nice pictures. The clarity is amazing. I love the Varied Thrush, which also lives all the way out in the far northwest on Orcas Island. It has a huge range. Similar to the American Robin, they are less common and rather more wary and skitterish. They also seem to spend less time on the ground, whereas the American Robin is mostly a ground dweller. But the resemblance to the American Robin is unmistakable.
I always think of the Varied Thrush as a Robin with an upgraded trim package 🙂
Wonderful photos, thanks! I’ve never heard of a Great Black-backed gull; looks to be a bruiser. “No nudes is good nudes” oh man, that’s funny.
I hear Varied Thrush frequently this time of year (NW WA state), but I don’t see them very often; just yesterday, however, my wife took a decent photo of a female.
The Varied Thrush and the Black and White Warbler are especially beautiful.
But I confess that I was hoping to see a photo of a Cape May Warbler, not a Cape May warbler jejeje.
Ha ha! I confess I really, really wanted to see a Cape May Warbler (and a Black-Throated Blue Warbler), but did not. 😿
Are you sure those are Black-bellied Plovers? I cant see any distinguishing marks in this photo.
They are indeed plain in nonbreeding plumage, but between the size/shape, beak length and the commonness of BBPs at this location (I also see lots of them in CA), yes I’m pretty positive. Thanks!
I love your work, Susan. The Swamp Sparrow photo is my favourite. Doubleclicking on it reveals the most wonderful detail.