We are based in Cape May, the southernmost point in New Jersey and a spot with a well-deserved reputation as a migratory hotspot. When I'm not traveling, I've got the good fortune to have interesting natural history to explore right outside my door. Since 2006 I've been leading Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) birding programs here, and I always have a few field trips for the Audubon Naturalist Society that I lead here. I also help with NJ Audubon events in Cape May and work with monarch butterfly studies. Here are a few photo highlights from Cape May and nearby locales in 2019.
CAPE MAY, 2019
Northern Cardinal
Waterfowl and a winter sky.
Wintering Canada Geese
Iceland Gull
Winter Sunset, South Cape May Meadows
Snow on the beach
This female Painted Bunting came to our bird feeders in January.
Golden-crowned Kinglet in the snow.
Successful Osprey
Looks like a Striped Bass
White-eyed Vireo
Tufted Titmouse
Snowy Egret in high breeding condition (red lores)
Prothonotary Warbler
Horseshoe crabs mating on Delaware Bay beach
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, unusual for Cape May
Little Wood Satyr
American Oystercatcher
Brandt's Cormorants
Glossy Ibis
Common Tern
Common Buckeye
Rose Mallow
Maryland Meadow-beauty
Eastern Painted Turtle
Red-winged Blackbird
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Halloween Pennant
American Oystercatcher
Trumpet Creeper
Prairie Warbler
Common Wood Nymph
Marsh Mallow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
A few butterflies of early autumn, left to right: Red-spotted Purple, Cloudless Sulphur, Long-tailed Skipper.
White-eyed Vireo
Eurasian Wigeon
Numbers of migrating monarch butterflies in Cape May were below average in 2019, but even in a low year there are plenty to see and enjoy. Our team tagged more than 2500 in 2019.
Blue-headed Vireo
Great Blue Heron
Tree Swallows gather in migration
Two of the regionally rare birds found in Cape May during November 2019: Pacific-slope Flycatcher (l) and Mountain Bluebird.
Grasshopper Sparrow
Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler