Highlights of Cape May & Delaware Bay

Arrival at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, PA (PHL). Orientation at dinner. Night in Philadelphia, PA. If all our flights arrive early we will have some time to bird local Philadelphia hotspots.

The jetty at Barnegat Light, NJ can be an impressive place to bird in the winter months. We’ll be a tad early for the goodies. But the timing is so close as to merit a stop to check for Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Black Scoter, and Purple Sandpiper. Night near Atlantic City, NJ.

Near Tuckerton, NJ, the birds here include American Oystercatcher, Dunlin, and a chance to get lucky with a few of the more secretive birds on our target list like Seaside Sparrow, Nelson’s Sparrow, and Saltmarsh Sparrow.

Edwin B Forsythe NWR is a premiere birding hotspot in New Jersey. We’ll hope to find Mute Swan, American Black Duck, Brant, and lingering shorebirds including both species of dowitchers. Rarities do show up here. It’s a locale that is fun to bird.

The Avalon Seawatch targets will probably be seen only here and nowhere else. Birds here may include Northern Gannet, any of the 3 scoter species, both scaup, Red-throated Loon, and Great Cormorant.

Stone Harbor Point is another good shorebird location. We may find Brant, American Oystercatcher, Red Knot, Ruddy Turnstone, and even Piping Plover is a possibility.

If daylight still remains we’ll stop at nearby Nummy Island on our way to Cape May, NJ. As of July, 2015 a total of 28 species of shorebirds have been reported here…in October alone. Also possible are Clapper Rail, American Bittern, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, and both species of night-herons.

Hopefully we’ll have good winds out of the Northwest overnight. We’ll start out at Higbee Beach along the dike and watch for late migrants. As the temperatures start to rise we’ll head over to the famous Cape May Hawkwatch. From the platform we’ll bird the nearby lake and bushes, but the real focus will be in the air. Watch hawks “appear” out of the blue to the north of us and then fly over us makes for a very exciting experience. Next we’ll drive over to the Beanery and bird a little different habitat. We’ll finish the day going over to the Meadows in mid to late afternoon. Cape May can produce some of the finest birding in the fall. It should be on every birder’s bucket list.

Birds on Cape Island may include Red-headed Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Winter Wren, Rusty Blackbird, Purple Finch, Blackpoll Warbler, Dickcissel, Brown Creeper, Eurasian Wigeon, Hermit Thrush, White-throated Sparrow, Broad-winged Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Mute Swan, Black Skimmer, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Bittern, Marsh Wren, White-rumped Sandpiper, and long shots like Golden Eagle and Northern Goshawk. Night near Cape May, NJ again.

We’ll take a morning trip on the Cape May Lewes Ferry from Cape May, NJ to Lewes, DE. Some possibilities on the ferry include scoters, gulls, Northern Gannet, and Parasitic Jaeger.

The area near the point where the Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch is located is a great place to bird. Here we may find Red-throated Loon, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Northern Gannet, Parasitic Jaeger, Lesser Black-backed Gull, and possibly Brown-headed Nuthatch.

Our last stop of the day is Bombay Hook NWR north of Dover, DE. Bombay Hook is legendary for its shorebirds. And hopefully we’ll be lucky enough to see a few early returning Tundra Swans. These birds are found in large concentrations around the Chesapeake Bay each winter. Seeing a flock of 800-1000 birds feeding in a field corn stubble is always exciting. In addition to the swans we’ll hope to find shorebirds including Stilt Sandpiper, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Marbled Godwit, and maybe a Hudsonian Godwit, Pectoral Sandpiper, or a vagrant like a Ruff or who knows what.

Tour ends. Departures from Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, PA (PHL).