New Jersey 2013 -- Day 3

Wed, March 20, 2013, 6:45 am
Cape May County

Trip Report

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 ï¿½ We left the Camelot at 6:45 this morning. It was already light. Our first destination was St. Peterï¿½s Dune Crossing. En route we listed:

Mallard
American Robins
Mute Swans
Gadwalls
Common Grackles
European Starlings
Canada Geese
House Finches

At the crossing we spotted:

Sharp-shinned Hawk
Northern Gannets (7)
Laughing Gull (1)
Ring-billed Gulls
Herring Gulls
Great Black-backed Gulls
Red-throated Loon (2)
Carolina Wren (1)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (1ï¿½RVH only)
Black Scoters
Surf Scoters
Sanderlings (4)

Our next stop was at Whilldin Dune Crossing where we found:

Northern Gannets (2)
Ruddy Turnstone (1)
American Crow (1)
Fish Crows (2)
Northern Cardinal (1)
Great Blue Heron (6)
American Oystercatcher (2)
Carolina Chickadee (1)

On the way to McDonaldï¿½s for breakfast we listed:

Canada Geese
Wilsonï¿½s Snipe (1)
Merlin (2)ï¿½one chasing the other until it drove it away
Red-tailed Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-winged Blackbirds
Blue Jay
Northern Mockingbirds (3)
Black Vultures (5)

After breakfast we stopped at Rotary Park where we found few birds:

Laughing Gulls
Ring-billed Gulls
Herring Gulls
Great Black-backed Gulls
Northern Mockingbirds
Sanderling (1)
European Starlings
Fish Crows
Black Scoters (5)

A brief stop at the ferry terminal to pick up a schedule yielded:

Killdeer
Rock Pigeons

We drove to Miami Beach and found it to be at low tide. Hundreds of shorebirds covered the sandflats. Most were Dunlin with a smattering of Sanderlings and Black-bellied Plovers and a handful of Willets. The only gulls here were Laughing, Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed.

We drove toward Nummyï¿½s Island listing:

American Black Ducks
Buffleheads
Red-breasted Mergansers
Herring Gulls
Horned Grebes

Flying over the road was one Tree Swallow. Nummyï¿½s Island yielded:

Savannah Sparrow
Great Egrets
Song Sparrows
Red-breasted Mergansers
Greater Yellowlegs
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Oystercatchers

Our next stop was at Avalon Sea Watch where we found:

Long-tailed Ducks (25)
Dunlin (~300)
Red-throated Loon (1)
Sanderlings (5)
Great Black-backed Gulls
Herring Gulls

We headed back toward Cape May, stopping at Burger King in Rio Grande for lunch. En route to CMBO we noted:

Great Egrets (2)
Hooded Merganser (2)

Unfortunately, CMBO was closed! They are open only Friday through Monday in March. At CMBO we saw:

Common Grackles
Northern Cardinals
Brown-headed Cowbirds
Carolina Chickadees

We cruised Whilldin again, searching for the Eurasian Collared-Dove. Once again we had no luck, but we all were able to observe the Red-breasted Nuthatch that Roger had heard this morning. In addition, a Carolina Wren was singing.

We continued to Cape May State Park where we stopped at the hawk watch platform then walked the Red Trail. In the park we listed:

American Robins (18)
Lesser Scaup (1)
Mallard (10)
Great Blue Heron (1)
Carolina Wren (1) ï¿½ photographed
Canada Geese (2)
Gadwall (7)
Northern Shoveler (4)
Northern Pintail (3)
Green-winged Teal (4)
Ruddy Duck (2)
American Black Duck (2)
American Kestrel (1)
Ring-necked Duck (1)
Double-crested Cormorant (3)
American Coot (9)
Pied-billed Grebe (2)
Pine Warbler (1)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (4)
European Starling (4)
Northern Mockingbird (1)
Turkey Vulture (8)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)
American Wigeon (2)
Osprey (1)
Northern Flicker (1)
American Crow (2)
Northern Gannet (26)
Dark-eyed Junco (4)
Song Sparrow (2)

It was 3:35, so we decided to return to Miami Beach to search once again for the Black-headed Gulls. It was high tide, of course, but we had no luck. Additional species here included:

Bald Eagles (2 adults)
Forsterï¿½s Terns (7)
Bonaparteï¿½s Gulls

We could see another flock of gulls camped on another spit farther north, so we drove to Norburyï¿½s Landing. Unfortunately, the Black-headed Gull was not among the gulls here. We decided to stop at Higbee Beach on the way back toward Cape May. In a field on the way in we noted a Wild Turkey. We drove down the bumpy road to the canal across from the ferry terminal. Here were:

Dunlin (perched on the jetty)
Bonaparteï¿½s Gulls
Ring-billed Gulls
Herring Gulls
Great Black-backed Gulls
Red-breasted Mergansers
Black Scoters
Red-throated Loon
Song Sparrow
Northern Gannets (35)

We returned to the Higbee Beach parking lot and walked several of the trails which yielded:

Downy Woodpecker
Mourning Dove
Sharp-shinned Hawk

It was getting late in the day, and there was not much activity. Derek spotted a fence lizard.

We decided to quit for the day and go to Rio Grande for dinner. When we got to the field that had produced the one turkey, we found a flock of eight. Two of the males were displaying. The guys had spotted the Joy Buffet earlier when weï¿½d driven through the town. We stopped there for dinner. Special thanks to Tom. We had a very enjoyable evening with many stories and good conversation.

We ended the day with 101 species.