Enjoy our triplist below! For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please visit our TOUR PAGE.
Click on the link at right to see this triplist in printable PDF format with media only on page 1.
The fun thing about a migration tour is that absolutely anything might show up. This year, it was a surprise Northern Wheatear, which apparently took a wrong turn on its flight south! (Photo courtesy of Mike Crewe)
There are few places in the world that rival Cape May for the sheer spectacle of migration -- and this tour hit an ideal week for that spectacle! Not one, but TWO big cold fronts roared through, and though that made for some mighty chilly picnic breakfasts, the fronts brought thousands and thousands of birds spilling south in their wakes. Flocks of sparrows kept the fields at Higbee's in constant motion, while restless groups of Pine Siskins (an irruptive migrant here) and American Goldfinches bounded from sunflower heads to nearby trees and back. Tree Swallows gathered in whirling tornadoes over the marshes -- or descended en masse into the bayberry bushes to strip them clean of berries. One morning, the rips off Cape May Point were alive with hundreds of gulls, terns and a few scattered Northern Gannets, wings flashing as they gobbled up fish disoriented by the meeting of the big currents from the ocean and the bay. We saw growing numbers of winter visitors (like Brant) as the week went by, while writhing lines of Double-crested Cormorants streamed by over the sea.
There were days when we literally couldn't point our binoculars in any direction without seeing multiple raptors (usually Sharp-shinned Hawks!) at once, days when the trees in suburban yards quivered with mixed feeding flocks, and days when Black Skimmers stood 300 strong on the beach right beside the town's convention center. And who will soon forget that magic morning at Higbee's, when nearly 3,000 Yellow-rumped Warblers were counted at the official morning flight station, and scores of Eastern Phoebes pumped their tails on branches in every direction?! Despite the fact that we were nearing the tail end of the warbler migration, we had superb views of more than a dozen species, including an Ovenbird striding around in someone's back yard, a showy Black-throated Green flicking along the branch tips and a very late Prairie Warbler dancing in the sunshine at Higbee's. And a young Northern Wheatear with a very bad gyroscope provided a wonderful "up close and personal" encounter with a true vagrant -- one that scurried around nearly at our feet, chasing baby ghost crabs on the beach.
Thanks to all of you for joining me in my "backyard". It was great fun sharing the joy of migration birding with all of you! I hope to see you again in the field somewhere, some day. -- Megan
KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant
Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl)
SNOW GOOSE (Chen caerulescens) BRANT (Branta bernicla)
CANADA GOOSE (Branta canadensis)
MUTE SWAN (Cygnus olor) [I]
WOOD DUCK (Aix sponsa)
GADWALL (Anas strepera)
AMERICAN WIGEON (Anas americana)
AMERICAN BLACK DUCK (Anas rubripes)
MALLARD (Anas platyrhynchos)
The Cape May lighthouse, first lit in 1859, is a landmark visible from many spots in Cape May. (Photo by participant Tom Cadle)
BLUE-WINGED TEAL (Anas discors) NORTHERN SHOVELER (Anas clypeata)
NORTHERN PINTAIL (Anas acuta)
GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Anas crecca)
RING-NECKED DUCK (Aythya collaris)
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER (Melanitta fusca)
BLACK SCOTER (Melanitta americana)
RUDDY DUCK (Oxyura jamaicensis)
Podicipedidae (Grebes)
PIED-BILLED GREBE (Podilymbus podiceps) Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants and Shags)
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax auritus) Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns)
GREAT BLUE HERON (Ardea herodias) GREAT EGRET (Ardea alba)
SNOWY EGRET (Egretta thula)
LITTLE BLUE HERON (Egretta caerulea)
TRICOLORED HERON (Egretta tricolor)
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Cathartidae (New World Vultures)
BLACK VULTURE (Coragyps atratus) TURKEY VULTURE (Cathartes aura)
Pandionidae (Osprey)
OSPREY (Pandion haliaetus) Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites)
Cape May's "Victorian ladies" are justly famous. (Photo by Tom Cadle)
BALD EAGLE (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) NORTHERN HARRIER (Circus cyaneus)
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (Accipiter striatus)
COOPER'S HAWK (Accipiter cooperii)
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (Buteo platypterus)
RED-TAILED HAWK (Buteo jamaicensis)
Falconidae (Falcons and Caracaras)
AMERICAN KESTREL (Falco sparverius) MERLIN (Falco columbarius)
PEREGRINE FALCON (Falco peregrinus)
Rallidae (Rails, Gallinules, and Coots)
AMERICAN COOT (Fulica americana) Charadriidae (Plovers and Lapwings)
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER (Pluvialis squatarola) SEMIPALMATED PLOVER (Charadrius semipalmatus)
KILLDEER (Charadrius vociferus)
Haematopodidae (Oystercatchers)
AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER (Haematopus palliatus) Scolopacidae (Sandpipers and Allies)
GREATER YELLOWLEGS (Tringa melanoleuca) MARBLED GODWIT (Limosa fedoa)
RUDDY TURNSTONE (Arenaria interpres)
RED KNOT (Calidris canutus)
SANDERLING (Calidris alba)
LEAST SANDPIPER (Calidris minutilla)
DUNLIN (Calidris alpina)
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER (Limnodromus griseus)
Cape May is the nation's fifth biggest fishing port -- which means there's plenty of fresh seafood to enjoy. (Photo by guide Megan Crewe)
WILSON'S SNIPE (Gallinago delicata) Laridae (Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers)
LAUGHING GULL (Leucophaeus atricilla) RING-BILLED GULL (Larus delawarensis)
HERRING GULL (AMERICAN) (Larus argentatus smithsonianus)
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (Larus fuscus)
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL (Larus marinus)
CASPIAN TERN (Hydroprogne caspia)
COMMON TERN (Sterna hirundo)
FORSTER'S TERN (Sterna forsteri)
ROYAL TERN (Thalasseus maximus)
BLACK SKIMMER (Rynchops niger)
Columbidae (Pigeons and Doves)
ROCK PIGEON (Columba livia) [I] EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE (Streptopelia decaocto)
MOURNING DOVE (Zenaida macroura)
Apodidae (Swifts)
CHIMNEY SWIFT (Chaetura pelagica) Trochilidae (Hummingbirds)
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (Archilochus colubris) Alcedinidae (Kingfishers)
BELTED KINGFISHER (Megaceryle alcyon) Picidae (Woodpeckers)
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER (Melanerpes carolinus) YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (Sphyrapicus varius)
DOWNY WOODPECKER (Picoides pubescens)
HAIRY WOODPECKER (Picoides villosus)
NORTHERN FLICKER (Colaptes auratus)
Tyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers)
Though sad to see, a road-killed Tree Swallow gave us a great opportunity to talk about wing feathers and molt -- and to demystify such terms as "primary projection". (Photo by participant Phyllis Palmer)
EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE (Contopus virens) EASTERN PHOEBE (Sayornis phoebe)
Vireonidae (Vireos)
RED-EYED VIREO (Vireo olivaceus) Corvidae (Crows, Jays, and Magpies)
BLUE JAY (Cyanocitta cristata) AMERICAN CROW (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
FISH CROW (Corvus ossifragus)
Hirundinidae (Swallows)
TREE SWALLOW (Tachycineta bicolor) BARN SWALLOW (Hirundo rustica)
Paridae (Chickadees and Tits)
CAROLINA CHICKADEE (Poecile carolinensis) TUFTED TITMOUSE (Baeolophus bicolor)
Sittidae (Nuthatches)
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH (Sitta canadensis) WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH (Sitta carolinensis)
Certhiidae (Treecreepers)
BROWN CREEPER (Certhia americana) Troglodytidae (Wrens)
CAROLINA WREN (Thryothorus ludovicianus) HOUSE WREN (Troglodytes aedon)
Regulidae (Kinglets)
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET (Regulus satrapa) RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (Regulus calendula)
Muscicapidae (Old World Flycatchers)
Nothing like an out-of-range Northern Wheatear to draw a crowd... (Photo by Megan Crewe)
NORTHERN WHEATEAR (Oenanthe oenanthe) Turdidae (Thrushes and Allies)
EASTERN BLUEBIRD (Sialia sialis) AMERICAN ROBIN (Turdus migratorius)
Mimidae (Mockingbirds and Thrashers)
GRAY CATBIRD (Dumetella carolinensis) NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD (Mimus polyglottos)
BROWN THRASHER (Toxostoma rufum)
Sturnidae (Starlings)
EUROPEAN STARLING (Sturnus vulgaris) [I] Motacillidae (Wagtails and Pipits)
AMERICAN PIPIT (Anthus rubescens) Bombycillidae (Waxwings)
CEDAR WAXWING (Bombycilla cedrorum) Parulidae (New World Warblers)
OVENBIRD (Seiurus aurocapilla) BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER (Mniotilta varia)
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER (Oreothlypis celata)
COMMON YELLOWTHROAT (Geothlypis trichas)
AMERICAN REDSTART (Setophaga ruticilla)
NORTHERN PARULA (Setophaga americana)
MAGNOLIA WARBLER (Setophaga magnolia)
CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER (Setophaga pensylvanica)
BLACKPOLL WARBLER (Setophaga striata)
BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER (Setophaga caerulescens)
PALM WARBLER (Setophaga palmarum)
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (Setophaga coronata)
Despite the gloomy-looking weather, the dunes were alive with Palm Warblers and Savanna Sparrows -- and overflown by plenty of hunting falcons. (Photo by Megan Crewe)
PRAIRIE WARBLER (Setophaga discolor) BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER (Setophaga virens)
Emberizidae (Buntings, Sparrows and Allies)
EASTERN TOWHEE (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) CHIPPING SPARROW (Spizella passerina)
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW (Spizella pallida)
FIELD SPARROW (Spizella pusilla)
SAVANNAH SPARROW (Passerculus sandwichensis)
SONG SPARROW (Melospiza melodia)
LINCOLN'S SPARROW (Melospiza lincolnii)
SWAMP SPARROW (Melospiza georgiana)
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW (Zonotrichia albicollis)
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
DARK-EYED JUNCO (Junco hyemalis)
Cardinalidae (Cardinals and Allies)
SCARLET TANAGER (Piranga olivacea) NORTHERN CARDINAL (Cardinalis cardinalis)
BLUE GROSBEAK (Passerina caerulea)
INDIGO BUNTING (Passerina cyanea)
Icteridae (Troupials and Allies)
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (Agelaius phoeniceus) EASTERN MEADOWLARK (Sturnella magna)
BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE (Quiscalus major)
BALTIMORE ORIOLE (Icterus galbula)
Fringillidae (Siskins, Crossbills, and Allies)
Pine Siskins were abundant this year, with many seen gobbling sunflower seeds at Higbee's. (Photo courtesy of Mike Crewe)
PURPLE FINCH (Carpodacus purpureus) HOUSE FINCH (Carpodacus mexicanus) [I]
PINE SISKIN (Spinus pinus)
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH (Spinus tristis)
Passeridae (Old World Sparrows)
HOUSE SPARROW (Passer domesticus) [I]
EASTERN GRAY SQUIRREL (Sciurus carolinensis)
MUSKRAT (Ondatra zibethica)
BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN (Tursiops truncatus)
WHITE-TAILED DEER (Odocoileus virginianus)
Totals for the tour: 136 bird taxa and 4 mammal taxa