In mid October, my friends and I took a weekend trip to Cape May. We ended up going a month later than usual to see what warblers we could find. One species completely blew out the rest in numbers, the Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Myrtle sub-species
Our first stop was Forsythe – we were greeted with hundreds of Yellow-rumps right near the main parking lot.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler on cedar
They were all over the dunes of every beach we visited, hopping on the fences or foraging around the sand.
Yellow-rumped Warbler on a fence
Yellow-rumped Warbler on a fence
One of the trees that they preferred were the cedars that are abundant throughout the coast.
Yellow-rumped Warbler in cedar
Yellow-rumped Warbler off of the hawk watch
We also saw a ton of fly-byes, especially during the Higbee morning flight. In total, I am confident that we saw well over one hundred, if not two hundred thousand individual Yellow-rumped Warblers during the weekend. They were everywhere!
Yellow-rumped Warbler at Cape May Point State PArk
A couple of years ago I started a tradition of sharing photos of my favorite bird species from my fall trip to Cape May – the Black Skimmer. The photo opportunities seem to keep getting better and better each year. This year brought more flight action along with other unique shots.
Black Skimmer in flight
Black Skimmer flapping
This year, we stayed at a hotel near the beach. We could see the skimmer flock flying around the beach right from our window! It was nice to be able to walk over to them without even having to get into a car.
Black Skimmer flock
The Skimmers would often take flight and skim the ocean.
Black Skimmer skimming
Black Skimmer skimming
Black Skimmer skimming into a wave
Black Skimmer skimming the surf
While others were a bit lazy about getting their food.
Lazy Black Skimmer
After skimming, they would land in the shallow water and bathe when the waves hit.
Black Skimmer bathing
Synchronized bathing
Two Skimmers after they are done bathing
Young Skimmers found interest in objects along the beach; they would poke and prod at shells, sticks and rocks.
Black Skimmer flipping an oyster shell
Black Skimmer attempting to pick up a larger shell
Black Skimmer claiming its found object
Black Skimmer toying with a stick
Many of them were a bit more lazy in-between Skimming and took a snooze on the sand.
Adult Skimmer laying in the sand
Black Skimmer head-on
Young Skimmer resting on the sand
As with past years, the Skimmers would preen between snoozes.
Black Skimmer preening
Black Skimmer stretching
Black Skimmer rousing
Black Skimmer after a stretch
This was another great year with my favorite Skimmer flock.
I’ve mentioned this before – Black Skimmers are one of my favorite birds. I look forward to seeing a beach full of them when I go to Cape May in the fall. This year, we visited twice. On the first morning we went to Higbee dike, ate breakfast and headed to the beach. There was not a huge flock of birds but we still had some photo ops.
The next morning, we went to the beach earlier and found hundreds of birds.
The perfect light
The tide was high and the waves were rough. The birds were a tad bit skittish of the aggressive ocean and would take flight easily.
The waves kept the Skimmers at bay
My friend, Jon, and I ended up getting soaked because we forgot to pay attention to the water behind us. Thankfully, I just got up from kneeling in the sand when the wave hit so my camera was safe.
The photo I took right before getting soaked by a wave
We ended up going to breakfast since it was across the road and returned afterwards when the tide was a bit lower. It ended up paying off! Here are some more photos that I took that morning.
I ended up getting a photo that I just missed last year – a head-on shot of a Skimmer showing the beak from the front.
I’ve been wanting a head-on photo for a long time!
Another photographic success!
Young Skimmer in flight
In addition to the photos, I took a few videos with my phone of the flock in flight.
American Oystercatchers are birds who I’ve been wanting to photograph for a while. I got very close to them before – but at the time I was not even a birder. Oystercatchers are very unique though, so at the time I actually did know what I was looking at.
American Oystercatcher from March 2010 in Sandy Hook, New Jersey
One of tow pair of American Oystercatcher that I enjoyed before I was a birder
Now that I am a birder, I wanted to get close again because they are a very cool looking bird! We had a nice surprise on the beach at Cape May Meadows – a pair was hanging out at the beach right near sunset, so the lighting was perfect!
American Oystercatcher at sunset
I didn’t get great photos of them together because I went closer to the side of them (my friends got great shots of the couple from a different angle), but I was still very happy with what I did get!
One of my most memorable moments from last Fall’s trip to Cape May was a beach full of Black Skimmers that we happened to stumble upon on our last morning after breakfast.
Black Skimmer flock from 2012
I was looking forward to the possibility of seeing them once again this year – and I was not disappointed! We learned that these birds like to gather near the 2nd Avenue jetty during the Fall months before they move on. Once again, after breakfast, we headed to the beach. First, we ran into Royal, Common and Forster’s Terns gathered near the shoreline.
I have been extremely busy lately with buying a new house, getting it ready, packing and moving. In between all of this madness I went to Cape May with my friends for our annual Fall migration trip. I still do not have the time to write about it, so I will leave you with some photos for a preview of what to expect. And I will say this – as far as the ratio of good-to-bad photos, this was my most successful trip yet even though the main point of it was birding rather than photography.
One of a pair of American Oystercatchers
Forster’s Tern flying by
A Sanderling running away from the waves
A beach full of Black Skimmers
Snowy Egrets at Forsythe NWR
Young Herring Gull flying by
Ruddy Turnstone on the rocks
Like what you see? Check back for more later this month!
