Birding Cape May Point

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Dark-eyed Junco

Ruddy Turnstone

Monarch Butterfly (left) along the dunes in the Point

Today's adventure was to look for Purple Sandpipers on the Second Street jetty and Crossbills anywhere along the dunes of the Point.  No success on either of those birds but did have a large flock of Red-breasted Nuthatches feeding along the dunes by St Mary's along with a single Monarch. Also saw some Dark-eyed Junco's feeding along the dunes plus kettles of vultures overhead.  On the Alexandria Street beach were
some Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones.

Wordless Wednesday - Dunlin - Avalon 8th Street Beach

 

Wordless Wednesday - American Wigeon - Cape May Point State Park

Fall Postcards

 Fall themed postcards I've made to swap.

Damage from Hurricane Sandy

Took a ride around Cape May County today stopping in Cape May again where sand removal is pretty far along except at the North end by Poverty Beach where there is still a lot of sand to be moved back onto the beach but they are making progress.  It was nice to see another fellow gardener property was windblown but not flooded.

 

Next, I went up to Reed's Beach where I heard the damage was some of the worst along the bay.  This is certainly true with houses on the South end in pretty bad shape and one totally gone.  Friends from work lived on Reed's Beach for a year but moved about 16 months ago into Courthouse.  The house they rented in was broken into apts and they rented on the second floor.  Also renting in the same house every year are the scientists who moniter the progress of the Red Knots and Horseshoe crabs.  This house substained major damage with the second floor collasping down onto the first and the first floor missing structure. All of the houses that had peirs are missing them.  Also the bulkheads have been destroyed.  It really is very sad to see.

 

 

Then I drove over to the Marina area of North Wildwood to check on a friends house who winters 2000 miles away.  She had water in a storage area but according to neighbors it didn't breech the garage and doesn't smell at all.  That is great for her. 

Lastly, I made a stop in Stone Harbor at the South end by the Point.   It has sustained much beach erosion and loss of sand from the dunes but the dunes did protect from flooding in the area.  This area is an important nesting area for Piping Plovers, American Oystercatchers and some species of terns.  I beleive that the Black Skimmer has also nested here in the past.

Around Cape May County

Yellow-rumped Warbler Cape May Point State Park(above)

 

Pine Siskin (above)

 

 

Sanderling Stone Harbor Beach

Backyard Birds - My Yard

The past 2 days the bird activity has been very high in my backyard.  The birds arriving are eating all the food as fast as I can put out the food.  I filled the platforms and feeders several times during the day.  I have been seeing Tufted Titmouse, Pine Siskins, American Goldfinch, House Finches, Purple Finches, Cardinals at the thistle and black oil sunflower seed feeders.  I was excited to have a female Black-headed Grosbeak stop at the platform feeders giving me great looks (as my chair inside is about 3 ft away from the feeder).  That's a new lifer plus a new yard bird.  I had White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, my first of the season Dark-eyed Junco plus new yard bird of male/female Red-winged Blackbird, Mourning Doves feeding on the ground. Then a Black Vulture came through and put up all of the birds. This was another new yard bird.

All birds and squirrels (too) take advantage of the multi-level waterfall feature to have a drink and the bird bath where they like to bathe.

Cape May -post Hurricane Sandy

Today, I got over into Cape May and got to see the some of the damage from the storm.  Though the damage includes mostly sand from Poverty Beach being redeposited onto Beach Drive the side streets also had sand deposited on them  The estimates are 6 foot of packed wet sand is in the streets.  There was also flooding in the houses at that end of the city.  Down at the South end of town the Cove Resturant survived with some damage to the porch eating area and loss of the dune.