It was a quiet morning at the Cape May Point State Park. Overcast. The threat of rain was evident.....The ever present Purple Martins were about with their acrobatic flights of feeding as we headed off down the Red Trail. We moved quickly around Lighthouse Pond as many birds weren't to be seen. As we reached the brown gate, the explosive bubbling chatter song of a House Wren rung out over heads. Its song continued behind us as we found a variety of woodland species foraging amongst the pines and mulberry trees. American Robins, Downy Woodpeckers were most active. To our delight we had a Pine warbler feeding a couple of young. Their begging posture with beaks open and wings fluttering as the parent came in with more food clued us in. A Blue Grosbeak called behind us while Cedar Waxwings krinkled overhead. As we walked on, an Indigo Bunting flew through and a Yellow-Breasted Chat made it's series of three stooges calls. To round out and top off the woodland birds an Orchard Oriole sang for us as we approached the end of the wooded area of the trail.
Onward to the plover ponds and dune overlook. A pair of Gadwall, Mallards and Mute Swans were milling about the ponds while a lone Killdeer patrolled the edge. The overlook showed what I refer to as our usual friends the Black Skimmers, American Oystercatchers, and Least Terns all doing their usual business of feeding, calling, or just loafing on the beach this time of year. While the rain held off, the wind had picked up significantly as we ended the walk feeling fortunate. While in in the parking lot a dozen Glossy Ibis suddenly appeared overhead. They were coming from the ocean as if they maybe had been in Delaware minutes before. Leaders: Roger Horn, Karl Lukens, and Cindy Bamford.
38 species
Mute Swan 26
Mallard 12
Great Egret 2
Glossy Ibis 12
Osprey 4
American Oystercatcher 6
Killdeer 1
Laughing Gull 36
Herring Gull (American) 5
Great Black-backed Gull 9
Least Tern 30
Forster's Tern 16
Black Skimmer 26
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 1
Mourning Dove 5
Chimney Swift 3
Downy Woodpecker 2
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Purple Martin 40
Tree Swallow 50
Carolina Chickadee 3
House Wren 7
Carolina Wren 1
American Robin 14
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 2
Cedar Waxwing 3
Common Yellowthroat 2
Pine Warbler 3
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 5
Blue Grosbeak 2
Indigo Bunting 2
Red-winged Blackbird 11
Common Grackle 8
Brown-headed Cowbird 9
Orchard Oriole 1
House Sparrow 12
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
