Cape May - Monday

Our last (half) day in Cape May promised to be a washout but in fact proved the forecasters wrong and stayed dry while we were there. We headed therefore back to the hotspot to see what was around. A small flock of Red-breasted Nuthatches was foraging in the trees:



A Northern Parula was browsing for food:

Very pretty birds even without full breeding plumage:

A Northern Cardinal male chipped at us almost continuously, obviously bored with all the disturbance of his territory:

On the elm tree by the visitor centre, a Magnolia Warbler:

And nearby Cape May Warbler:

and Black-throated Blue Warbler:

Together with the Black-capped Chickadees who kept returning to the feeders maintained by the centre:

From the visitors' centre, we popped over to the Hawk Watch to see the Dickcissel again, capturing this Peregrine Falcon flying over:

and then on to our last stop, The Meadows, which held many fewer birds but one of which was this juvenile Black Skimmer:



Which very obligingly took off to give us our first opportunity to see the species feeding:

We really enjoyed our visit to Cape May. The weather hadn't been ideal either for birds or humans but we still saw a lot and met a lot of really good friendly people. We will definitely be back. An early June visit feels like a good time, that way we should be able to see some of the breeding species we've yet to see, like Prothonotary Warbler, Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak to name but a few...