Cape May, NJ

June 01, 2007

Cook's Beach,

Today we have chosen to start at Cook's Beach to scan for the flagged shorebirds. We had a total of 51 birds, 3 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 40 Ruddy Turnstones, 7 Red Knots and 1 Sanderling.

Although there are no shorebirds in this image you can see the frenzy that is created with this group of gulls trying to eat the Horseshoe crab eggs that do not get buried.

Is this comfortable birding or what? Actually it was a bit uncomfortable, high 80's but no bugs on the beach!!!!

Later in the afternoon we moved to Reed's Beach. The birds seemed to be concentrating in bigger numbers there as the tides changed.

There is a platform viewing area with benches and signage telling the story of the Horseshoe Crab/shorebird link in the Delaware Bay. This view is looking north from the viewing platform. If you look closely you can see the concentration of gulls at the waters edge.

This is the view looking south towards Cook's Beach. Beyond the "keep off the dunes" sign is a antennae set up by a group from Georgia (never saw them to ask questions) who had transmitters attached to Ruddy Turnstones. Presumably they were trying to determine where they were roosting. We were not able to observe any flagged birds because of the angle of the sun and as it was coming up on high tide the birds were flushing very easily and heading off to that roosting place.

So it off chasing bugs and critters. Lori photographed this male Seaside Dragonlet from the truck window while I was off chasing something.

When we got back to the campground we had a few really neat visitors. First was a male Fowlers Toad that I nearly stepped on, and after I got a photograph of him he hopped over to the tree nearby and I lost him.

Never expecting he would be a Tree Toad.

The next visitor was another Fowler's Toad. Female?

There was a hole in the trunk of this tree and I thought I saw it go in there. Sure enough about 10 minutes later it was peering out!!!

This Luna Moth was the last visitor for the night. It got into the screen tent when we were cooking dinner, obviously attracted to the lantern lights. A couple of close-ups and we put it out.


Hopefully we can get to the beaches around sunrise, 5:17AM!