April 2021

     April is always a time of transition and change.  Deciduous trees that are leafless at the month's beginning are green and leafy by month's end.  Most resident birds are busy with courtship and nesting duties, while migrants from the south are beginning to drift into and through Cape May.  As more and more of us were fully vaccinated, gatherings became more frequent, and near the end of the month we took our first trip away from home to visit friends and family, but photos from those travels are not included here, these are all shots from around Cape May during April of 2021.

Cape May Point State Park

Resident birds engaged in courtship singing and nest building behaviors.  Above, left to right: Eastern Towhee, Northern Cardinal, Carolina Wren.

Below, left to right: Tufted Titmouse, Brown Thrasher, Carolina Chickadee.

More activity from the breeding season.  Above, left to right: Three Northern Flickers engaged in a serious discussion, Great Horned Owl parent and chick, Canada Goose nest.  Below left: Tree Swallow standing guard near the nest.  Below center and right: Killdeer parent with precocious chick.

Common Yellowthroat

White-eyed Vireo

Chipping Sparrow

Osprey feeding on a menhaden at Cape May Point.

Bald Eagle; in April their young are nearly old enough to fledge.

Blue-gray Gnatcatchers return in April

Comings and goings: Above, left to right: Red-breasted Nuthatch, Rusty Blackbird, and Hermit Thrush depart for points north in April or early May.  

Below, left to right: Many Palm Warblers, Greater Yellowlegs, and Double-crested Cormorants pass through Cape May in April.

Spring explodes in April, as illustrated by the Spring Azure butterfly on a Sassafras flower, below.  It's the perfect season for watching the full moon rise over the ocean (left).