Migration Haven: Cape May, New Jersey

When I last visited The Meadows in mid-September, I had an unexpected treat. A flock of young black skimmers – “teenagers,” for the lack of a better word – flew in off the coast and circled the meadow ponds, dropping down to open their bills and skim the waters for small treats. Like a gang of unruly kids out on a spree, they raised Cain among the young gulls collected there and flew off.

Bay-side, one of my favorite places is Stipson’s Island. Stipson’s Island is in Dennis Township, about 45 minutes to the north of Cape May Point off Route 47 North. This is a small preserve maintained by the state in cooperation with the GPU utilities company. It’s the definitive tidal marsh, holding such birder’s hidden treasures as elusive clapper rails and swamp sparrows. If you have a small outboard, rowboat, or kayak, you can put in at the ramp for an up-close glimpse of these birds. A nature trail located at the parking lot down from the ramp takes you on a walk through wetlands, and gives you a good look at bald eagles that often come to rest in the nearby snags. I’ve seen black skimmers here, too, but none as rowdy as their young peers in The Meadows!

Should you visit Cape May in the early part of fall, also be on the lookout for ruby-throated hummingbirds. One of the best places to watch for them is at New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory Education and Research Center on Route 47 in Goshen. If you sit quietly on the center’s back deck, you’ll see dozens of the tiny, chattering birds vie for feeding rights at the feeders. This is also the time to watch for migrating monarch butterflies, and the center’s butterfly gardens are often filled with the orange-and-black butterflies fluttering and landing on their preferred plants.

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