This 27-acre site is jointly managed by the New Jersey Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy. The area consists of unusual freshwater inland bogs. Often this area is flooded winter through spring. Enjoy views of butterflies and plants and the many species of orchids growing wild in the bog area. Walking may be on wet and muddy terrain. Appropriate footwear suggested.
Migrants use the shrubbery in Cape May Point extensively, both in the spring and in the autumn. Lake Lily, a freshwater lake, lies in the center of the Point and attracts migrant waterfowl and hunting Osprey. Warblers, vireos, and other songbirds can be observed feeding in the native vegetation around the lake. Raptors, swallows, jays, and other species pass overhead. This walk is a leisurely stroll along paved streets.
This 200 acre State Park is known for its diversity of habitat: ocean and beach, large freshwater ponds and marsh, and woodlands. Terns, gulls, cormorants, and shorebirds are frequently observed flying offshore. The heavily vegetated Park trails can be excellent for songbirds. Herons and egrets, Least Bitterns, Pied–billed Grebes and other water birds use the ponds extensively. There are nature trails, most of which are covered with boardwalks. Beach walking is on soft sand.
This 800 acre site is owned by the NJ Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife. A series of five fields are managed for migratory birds and other wildlife. The largest stand of old growth forest south of the Cape May Canal is found here. Higbee Beach is also famous for its dune forest, the last natural dune forest along the Delaware Bayshore. Yellow–breasted Chats, Indigo Buntings, Blue Grosbeaks, Prairie Warblers, and White–eyed Vireos nest here. This walk travels along field and forest edges.
Owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), this 200 acre refuge has extensive freshwater marsh and ponds (right next to the ocean) and is an excellent place to view gulls, terns, herons, egrets, shorebirds, bitterns, rails, and ducks. Piping Plovers and Least Terns, both endangered, nest on this beach through the summer. This is a 1 mile loop trail over a combination of hard dirt paths and sand.
The Rea Farm is one of the last working farms on the bay side of the lower Cape May Peninsula. This is private property leased by New Jersey Audubon Society and may be accessed by permit only, included as a benefit of current New Jersey Audubon Society, Cape May Bird Observatory membership. A mix of wet woods, farm fields, weedy edges, and farm ponds. Crucial habitat for millions of warblers, passerines, finches, and sparrows. Walking is along field edges and dirt paths. Do not walk on planted or plowed fields, keep to paths.
Salt hay farming was once an important industry along the Jersey coast. Local historian, storyteller, and retired teacher, Jack Sayre, has been harvesting salt hay and sea lavender since 1950. Join him on a tour of his historic, 50-acre salt hay farm passed down to him from his grandparents. Recently Jack joined with the Landowner Incentive Program and planted native warm season grasses to help with habitat restoration. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the project and the property’s history while birding this unique farm. Walking will be on dirt paths.
A preserved 239-acre former golf course with paths winding through former fairways, now maintained as grasslands and savannahs, wooded copses, and a beautiful swamp forest along Cox Hall Creek. Great habitat for Barred and Great Horned Owls, Red-shouldered Hawks, Bald Eagles, woodpeckers, numerous waterfowl, and has seen considerable songbird fallouts over the years. Walking is on asphalt and wooded paths.
Stone Harbor Point is a sand spit where Black skimmers, American oystercatchers, shorebirds, Seaside sparrows, gulls, terns, and possibly some of the first returning Brown Pelicans of the spring can be seen. Walking is on sandy terrain.
Red Knot, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Semipalmated Sandpiper and Laughing Gulls are attracted to the horseshoe crab eggs being laid at the tideline along the Delaware Bay shoreline. Crab egg laying peaks mid-to-late May and so do the shorebird numbers. Viewing will be from one or two good vantage points with a minimum of walking.
By early May, many breeding birds have come into the woodlands along the Delaware Bayshore. You might enjoy nesting Phoebes, Yellow–throated, Hooded, Prothonotary, Pine, Blue–winged, and Worm–eating Warblers, Blue–gray Gnatcatchers, Yellow–billed Cuckoos, Ovenbirds, Rufous–sided Towhee, Acadian and Great Crested Flycatchers, Summer and Scarlet Tanagers, Orchard and Baltimore Orioles, and much more! Viewing will be from roadsides looking into White Cedar swamps, oak woodlands, and pine forests.
This field trip will involve waiting patiently on the edge of a tidal salt marsh creek at low tide. Viewing will be from the roadside looking into the creek for secretive Clapper Rails as they scoot down into the creek bed after Fiddler Crabs and other prey. Expect to also enjoy Marsh Wrens, Seaside Sparrows, Northern Harriers, and raptors, while flocks of herons and egrets fly overhead.
This is an 8-mile drive through a series of fresh, brackish, and saltwater wetlands make this refuge attractive to a great many bird species using the Atlantic Flyway. Ducks, geese, herons, bitterns, rails, shorebirds, and other waterbirds use refuge ponds and marshes for feeding and resting. Northern Harrier and Peregrine Falcon both breed here.
Scenic views of salt water impoundments, the Maurice River, and large mudflats hat provide varied habitat for wading birds, shore birds, and waterfowl. An 8-mile auto trail around the dike and a 1-mile paved bike trail.
This is a walk on trip only - no vehicles permitted. Look for pelagic birds like gannets, loons, jaegers, interesting gulls and terns, and marine life. Wind and weather can make the water rough. Dress warmly and bring rain gear. Spotting scopes on tripods are welcome. The Ferry is fully equipped with indoor seating, bathrooms, and snack bar. Cost is in addition to weekend and advance registration is required.
The Osprey is an enclosed catamaran with comfortable bench seating. Cruise the back bays, harbors, and sounds of Cape May allowing for close looks at egrets, oystercatchers, herons, rails, and of course – osprey. Dress for weather; spotting scopes on tripods are welcome. Cost is in addition to weekend and advance registration is required.