Conference Birding day 8 - Monday

As the weather was still wet and windy we were a little slow to get up, packed and out. From the balcony we could see a stream of Scoters and Royal Tens passing close to the beach. We drove out to see if there was any sign of the Wild Turkeys with no luck but there were some Eastern Meadowlarks to look at. The rain had created a small pond in the field with a Mallard duck flock also holding a Black Duck. 

There were still lots of American Robins and Yellow-rumped Warblers moving through as we returned to the coast and looked out from the end of the beach road. The wind was quite fierce blowing sand about but a timely call from Gerard Phillips had us sheltering among the bushes. Hundreds of Scoter passed by with a few Red-throated Divers, an Arctic Skua (or Parasitic Jaeger for locals), 4 Gadwall, Bonaparte’s Gulls and some Royal Terns.

Around 9.45 we moved on to Avalon Seawatching station.  We followed the directions but there were no obvious places to stand, looking along the coast there appeared to be a hut further along so we tried the next road and this was the right place. We stood with Carolyn and David, who are the seasonal Naturalist and Seawatch counter for CMBO, for a while before moving onto the stone jetty to get closer to the many Scoter moving. As we climbed up, there were 3 Purple Sandpipers foraging on the seaward side, giving great views. Even from the jetty the ducks were quite distant as the wind wasn’t right to bring them close but the spectacle of lines and lines of birds moving rapidly south was quite something. In the flocks we had 3 white-winged Scoter and 2 lots of Buffleheads and an Arctic Skua flew by. There were several flocks of Double-crested Cormorants moving through, some over our heads. The wind and blown sand were a nuisance but it was warm and fairly sheltered by the hut.

At midday we had to leave to head back to JFK airport for our homeward flight so we said our goodbyes, did a quick re pack of our cases and set off. We stopped for lunch at a service area, checked out a stop on the bay before arriving at JFK with time to catch the Skytrain, check in and catch our flight.

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Conference Birding day 7 - Sunday 29th

We got up early, made our way down for a cup of tea and then headed out to a field where we had been told it was possible to see wild Turkeys. We met up with Paul who had given us the tip and spent the next hour scanning around the field. Unfortunately no turkeys came out but there were plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Red-winged Blackbirds moving through. Just before we left for breakfast and the conference a couple of Meadowlarks flew in giving reasonable views. Most of the rest of the day was wet and rainy and the bits of free time were spent making contacts and links. 

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Conference Birding day 6 - Saturday

This morning we decided to explore Coral Avenue. There was a wooden platform  built over the dunes and the views were over the sea as well as inland over the trees. There was a constant movement of Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting through the trees. Out to sea some long lines of Scoter flew south and flocks of American Robin and Red-winged Blackbirds with some Grackles pulsed across the sky over the bushes. 3 Eastern meadowlarks flew round the watch point and a couple of Flickers and several Sharp-shinned hawks flew through giving good views. As we left we noticed a couple of ladies photographing Monarchs. As we looked there was a tree which had hundreds of Monarchs roosting and warming up in the sunshine. Every now and then one launched itself into the sky and fluttered off along the line of trees. 

We returned in time for breakfast and then ate it as the conference got going. Lunch was a choice of sandwiches and fruit all in a box. 

We decided to go to the Meadows where there were supposed to be a couple of rails. we parked up, took our lunch and walked along to the bridge area. There were a pair of Mute Swans  and some ducks but no sign of the rails. We ate lunch and suddenly a Sora Rail came out of the reeds feeding as it went. It was difficult to see but then another one appeared a little further right which was much easier to see, though difficult to photograph as it was in the shade. While we were watching the rail a Muskrat swam along the river edge on the other side of the bridge but wasn't very close.

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Conference Birding day 4 - Thursday - Day around Cape May

We made an early start and headed to Higbee for the migration watch. We parked the car and as we got out we could see small birds flying through in amazing numbers. The watch point is on top of a mud wall up a steep bank. There is also a wooden tower on the other side of the road. We struggled up and stood on the top watching small passerines, mainly Yellow-rumped Warblers, whizzing through by the hundreds. 

It was a bit windy on top of the wall so we carefully made our way down again and had a look round. We walked to the end of the track where there was a Brown Creeper in the bushes and more Yellow-rumped Warblers. 

As the numbers slowed down a bit we drove to Reas Farm, which was followed by a visit to the Hawk watch. This is an amazing site near the old lighthouse where there is a large wooden boardwalk/viewing platform, staffed by counters from Cape May Bird Observatory. We spent some time looking out for migrants and saw among the Blackbirds and Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Bobwhite that lives in the bushes and an Osprey, which seemed to be buzzed by a gull. We also had a Northern Marsh Harrier in the distance.

We decided to visit Stone harbour in the afternoon. We followed the directions but found the road closed towards the end so we parked in a bay and walked along the coast towards the tip. There were lots of waders, including Oystercatchers, Purple Sandpipers, Gulls, Terns and some interesting bits of flotsom on the sand.

 We drove back a different way and found ourselves on a narrow, toll bridge but we managed to sort out some dollars and got back to the hotel in time for the welcome drinks and nibbles. 

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Conference Birding day 3- Wednesday - drive to Cape May

We got up around sunrise and went for a short walk before breakfast. There was a small wooded area  at the end of the road close to the railway line. A Carolina Wren was singing away and eventually we managed to see it sitting on a branch in the undergrowth. A woodpecker flicked around a tall tree which turned out to be a Downy Woodpecker and David had a Eastern Wood Pewee which I missed.  Several sparrows were hopping around the dumpsters, mostly House sparrows but a few White-throated sparrows joined in and our first Fish Crow flew over, calling, making the identification easier.

Breakfast was self-service with a choice of bread rolls or bagels and jam with tea or coffee. We packed up, said goodbye and set off.

 We planned to drive down the barrier islands as far as Barnegat before turning back and heading to Cape May.  We went to look for the Lake of the Lilies but found Twilight Lake where we had a Song Sparrow really singing his heart out. A Kingfisher flew across the lake and a Mockingbird sat up on a tree giving great views.

a dog walker came across to chat and told us about some whale sightings in recent days just off the coast so we thought we would give it a go and drove to the nearest parking area by the beach. There were some surfers off shore and a photographer who specialised in surfing pictures who chatted to us and confirmed whale sightings, although there were none today but we did see some dolphins.

Conference Birding day 2 - Tuesday - Sandy Hook and drive to Point Pleasant

Because of the long day yesterday, the stress of multiple turn rounds and driving in a new country I was asleep by 9.30 and didn’t wake up until 7.00 surfacing briefly at around 3.00. Looking out of the window there were Blue Jays and Grackles in the tree tops but the light wasn’t very good and breakfast called. Choosing eggs, bacon and fried potatoes with tea, we were soon packed and heading out. 

We packed the car and then started to look round the parking lot. The next couple of hours were really great with birds feeding along the tree line and flocks of American Robins, Grackles and Brown-headed Cowbirds chattering in the trees. We spent a little time checking the flocks which turned out to be Blue Jays and Grackles with some Brown-headed Cowbirds mixed in. There were also flocks of Starlings dropping in. A bright red Cardinal was the first to catch our eye in the bushes and as we checked this out several Tufted Titmouses and Black-capped Chickadees were feeding in the leaves. American Robins gave brilliant views as they dropped into the berry bushes to feed. On the ground we saw a couple of Grey squirrels feeding.

Moving along the parking area a small bird caught my eye which turned out to be a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Joining the Kinglet were lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers which seemed to be moving through. A huge flock of Cedar waxwings flew over as we were photographing the Kinglet. A sudden movement among the leaf litter revealed a chipmunk burrowing through the debris, looking up regularly but almost impossible to photograph. 

The activity slowed down so we decided to head off back to Sandy Hook for a few hours before working our way south. We entered the park and decided to drive to the top end and then work our way back. Fort Hancock is an amazing place that was built between 1857 & 1895 to defend the Atlantic coast and the entrance to New York harbour. The construction was simplified and then cannibalised to build the Sandy Hook proving grounds and a new system of gun batteries and forts were started in 1890. Named after Major General Winfield Scott Hancock this was one of the first forts to be built. Following WW1 things changed and by 1946 it was deemed to be obsolete so the guns were scrapped and the fort de-activated in 1950. It was re-activated as a Nike missile base in 1956 until 1974 when it was abandoned for good. There is a museum which has one of the largest collections of Endicott batteries anywhere. There are masses of concrete remains, gun emplacements and houses slowly deteriorating, although there is a preservation society who are trying to get the houses etc. restored and used.

Sandy Hook also has a lighthouse that was closed because of renovations.

We explored some of the sandy beaches including the only nude beach in New Jersey where there were several people enjoying themselves and flying a kite. There were a few gulls and waders and more scoter flew past.

Most of the 'parking lots' were huge and had a variety of visitor centres with fresh water, toilets, drinks cabinets and observation platforms with closed storage areas underneath. We found a skulking Catbird in the bushes and a Sharp-shinned Hawk in a dead tree.

We explored the proving grounds finding several Yellow-rumped Warblers moving through with one or two White-throated Sparrows and a Common buckeye butterfly.

The weather was showery and the rain definitely brought down groups of birds. As we returned to the car we found a very obliging Mockingbird. There was also quite a passage of Monarch butterflies with something like 150 counted through the day.

We stopped off in various car parks on the way south and revisted the Horseshoe Cove where the Brent goose flock were still pottering on the sand and bobbing about in the waves.

We then drove out of the Sandy Hook reserve and made our way further south stopping for lunch at Seaside Heights for a dish of clams and pasta. We thought we had ordered one each but ended up with one between us, which was fine as we really only wanted a snack. We continued with a few stops along the way. At one pond we found a pair of Northern Water-thrushes which flicked about on the further shore, some Black Duck and Mallard, some Song Sparrows and a couple of Mourning Doves which were feeding on the grassy edge by the car.

The weather hadn't been very good all day and it started to really bucket down. Driving through Point Pleasant we found Point Pleasant Manor which had rooms so we stopped there, booked in and then went off to find somewhere to eat. After a bit of a run round the town we managed to find the Ocean Bay Diner which was friendly and welcoming. 

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