Iconic bird of New Jersey Usa Cape May

Common Birds of New Jersey Usa Cape May

Cape May, New Jersey is North America's premier migration watchpoint β€” thousands of raptors, shorebirds, and songbirds funnel along the Delaware Bay peninsula each spring and fall.

480+
Total species
0
Endemics
15
Threatened
May, Sep–Nov
Best months
1. Red Knot β†—Near Threatened
Calidris canutus

One of the world's great migration spectacles β€” tens of thousands fuel up on horseshoe crab eggs along Delaware Bay beaches in May before the final sprint to Arctic breeding grounds.

Falco peregrinus

Cape May Point is the USA's best inland Peregrine watchpoint β€” dozens fly south in October, resting on dune fences and stooping at migrating shorebirds on the beach.

Passerina ciris

Rare but regular in autumn at Cape May β€” the male's red, blue, and green plumage causes excited crowds to converge whenever one appears at the feeders at Cape May Bird Observatory.

Haematopus palliatus

Nests on barrier island beaches along the Cape May shore β€” the bold black-and-white plumage and vivid orange-red bill make it unmistakable on the intertidal flats.

Buteo platypterus

The most spectacular Cape May hawk migration β€” on optimal Sept days, thousands of Broad-wings kettle in towering columns visible from the hawk-watch platform.

Charadrius melodus

Nests on open sandy beaches along New Jersey's coast β€” small numbers are protected at managed sites throughout the Cape May peninsula during breeding season.

Scolopax minor

Performs spectacular spiral sky-dance displays at dawn and dusk in March β€” Higbee Beach woodlands host dozens of displaying males audible from the parking lot at dusk.

Rynchops niger

Skims the water surface with the elongated lower mandible slicing through to catch fish β€” large colonies nest on New Jersey barrier island beaches and feed in tidal channels.

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