The other day I got a call from a person who wanted to know, “Where do all the birds go in the winter?”

     “Can you narrow down the field?” I proposed.

     “Can I what?” she countered.

     “Can you be a bit more specific?  There are a lot of birds and they do different things?

     “Well,” she huffed, “if you don’t know the answer why not just say so and be done with it.  I don’t want this double-talk mumbo jumbo.  I just want to know where all the birds go in the winter.”

     Okay, now.

     “They hibernate under the mud,” I told her.  Except for the ones that fly to the dark side of the moon.”

     “Thanks,” she said.  “I knew they had to be somewhere because they sure aren’t in my yard.”

      Presumably the caller’s yard wasn’t on the moon.  Mars maybe.  But not the moon.  At least, not the dark side.

     Why relate this discussion at all?  Because while the caller evidenced a disappointing dearth of patience (I was prepared to tell her the truth), she did show an elevated element of discernment.  She’d noted that there were fewer birds about than there used to be.  She deduced that this must have something to do with the season.  She was about half right.

     The full truth is that there are lots and lots and lots of birds around.  They just aren’t in her yard where she was used to seeing them during the warmer months.

      If she wants to see birds, in Cape May, in winter, she had two choices. 

     1. Go where the birds are.

      2. Bring something into your yard that will entice birds to visit.

     Let’s start with going to where the birds are.  Right now, in Cape May, you will find more American Robins than you will find in summer.  In fact, millions of robins.  Feasting on holly berries; roosting in white cedar stands and reed.

     You can find ducks, too.  Thousands.  Ducks of every stripe and hue.  There is a whole bird hatchery (called the Arctic) that had the whole of last summer to crank out ducks.  In winter, the Arctic is not a hospitable place for birds that like unfrozen water.  So they fly south to someplace where water remains in its liquid state.

     One of those places is Cape May.  So if you love ducks, you’ll love Cape May in winter.  The trick to finding them is simple.  Just add (open) water.

     Now the other side of the equation.  Getting birds to come to you.  Just south of the tundra there is another big bird hatchery.  It’s called “the boreal forest.”  It is this great big woodlot that stretches from Alaska to New Brunswick.  It too, had a whole summer to crank out a crop of birds and many of these birds think that Cape May is a great place to spend the winter, too.

     What?  Oh sure, they like open water, too.  A bird bath with a heating element in it is a great attractive mechanism.  But more than this, what these winter birds want and need is food.

     Many are seed eaters.  If you put out seed, seed eating birds will respond by showing up in your yard.

     Providing your yard is not on the dark side of the moon. 

     Yep.  Seed.  Sunflower seed.  Millet.  Thistle.  Different seed for different bird species.  The more variety in your offering, the greater the number and diversity of birds you will attract.

     There’s lots of books on the subject of bird feeding.  There is even one book dedicated to bird finding.  But if you want to watch, not read, then I suggest you stop by the Cape May Bird Observatory shop and ask about bird feeding do’s and don’t do’s from one of the experts on staff.

      Or, if you like, you can just watch the birds coming to the CMBO feeder.  Cheep entertainment.

      Just head over to the Cape May Bird Observatory, THE place for all your nature needs – but don’t do it between Friday, December 23 and Tuesday, January 3 because there won’t be anyone there to open the door.  The one time of the year that CMBO isn’t open is the week between Christmas and New Year’s.  But they’ll be open 9:30 am to 4:30 pm Wednesday through Monday (still closed on Tuesdays in the winter) after that.  CMBO is located at 701 East Lake Drive overlooking Lake Lily in Cape May Point (609.884.2736).  Check out the view of the lake from the wide selection of scopes and binoculars, pick up a free map and schedule of daily walks and programs for the season – yes, even though we might be closed there is still info available and there are walks throughout the year – even some in December and January.  If you can’t make it in person, you can also visit us online www.BirdCapeMay.org – where birding Cape May is only a click away!

     Pete Dunne will be leading a 3-day workshop in January on Wintering Hawks, Eagles, and Owls; a weekend of raptor-watching and learning (probably some ducks in there as well). Past years have featured a Golden Eagle hunting Snow Geese in the company of several Bald Eagles, plus point-blank Eastern Screech Owls, Rough- legged Hawks of both color morphs, and hunting Short-eared and Great Horned Owls.  If you are interested, contact Chris at 609.861.0700 for details and to reserve your spot!

    Well it’s December and that means that fall is officially over.

     Okay.  Technically winter doesn’t begin until December 21 but November 30 is the traditional last day of the Hawk Count at Cape May. 

     The counter goes home. 

     Daily tabulation end. 

     Hawks stop migrating.

     One of the above is not true.  Not to keep you guessing, it’s the reference to migrating hawks.  Fact is hawks do not stop migrating on November 30.  They continue to migrate into December, even early January. 

     Why end the count on November 30 then?  Because while migration continues, it becomes more spotty after November.  It takes a good migratory condition to get a good migratory push as the migration draws to a close.

    Like the one occurring now as I write these words.  Clear skies that give migrating hawks the thermal lift they need to get aloft.  Strong northwest winds that push migrants toward the coast and then drive them to the tip of the peninsula.

     If I didn’t have a writing deadline to meet, I’d be down there right now.  Standing under a sky filled with Red-tailed Hawks and Red-shouldered Hawks.  Savoring the odd adult male Northern Harrier and Bald Eagle and hoping for Golden Eagle.

    It’s punishing standing on the Hawk Watch platform when temperatures are in the 30s and winds are topping out at 30 m.p.h.  But the rewards are ample.

    This December seems absolutely perfect to enjoy some great hawk migrations through December.  November was mild.  Winds not conducive to migration.  There are lots of birds still up north who may, even at this late date, decide that it’s time to get out of Dodge before it’s too late.

     One of the big drivers of late season migration is snow.  When the first good snowfall blankets New England and New York State (i.e. the kind that stays) lots of birds bail out.  Head south. 

     It’s not the temperatures, but food availability.  A blanket of snow is hard to hunt over.  Rodents are hidden so many hawks go below the standing snow pack.  This means South Jersey where standing snow is the exception, not the norm.

     Other December migrants include owls; most notably Snowy Owl which seems to be heading south in good numbers this year.  Snowy owls are mostly coastal, both as breeders in the arctic and as wintering species.  It’s been a few years since Cape May has been subjected to a good Snowy Owl year.  This could be it.

     What is the latest raptor migrant I’ve ever seen?  It was actually an adult male Northern Harrier heading out over Delaware Bay on January 1.  The winds were blowing a gale.  The bird was flying pretty nearly sideways.

    But despite the winds, and the risk, the ice-colored bird just headed out.  Next stop?  Delaware (or Bermuda).  Don’t really know where the bird landed.

    Ah, December.  Lots of birding opportunity.  Good chances of encountering some really neat birds.

     The best news is – no crowds.  All those fair weather Hawk Watchers have gone home to their burrows.  They won’t emerge until spring.

    Which comes pretty early in Cape May.  Heck, you can see the first northbound hawks in February.  Not even enough time to lose your raptor identification edge.

     Interested in finding out what hawks are up and about?  Just head over to the Cape May Bird Observatory, THE place for all your nature needs.  CMBO is located at 701 East Lake Drive overlooking Lake Lily in Cape May Point (609.884.2736), and is open 9:30am to 4:30pm every day but Tuesday.  While you’re there check out the view of the lake from the wide selection of scopes and binoculars, pick up a free map and schedule of daily walks and programs for the season – yes, we have walks throughout the year even some in December and January, take a look at the sighting sheets to check what’s being seen, scan the bookshelves or pick up a bargain from the used and vintage books section, look at some of the wonderful Charley Harper merchandise including a terrific lithograph done just for the Cape May Bird Observatory, or just browse around.  Enjoy the birds at the feeders and the view of Lake Lily from inside.  If you can’t make it in person, you can also visit us online www.BirdCapeMay.org – where birding Cape May is only a click away!

            You’ve probably noticed that Laughing Gulls are mostly out of here.

You probably haven’t noticed that Bonaparte’s Gulls have taken their place, have you? . . .        What’s a Bonaparte’s Gull?

            It’s a small, tern-like gull that breeds in the subarctic and winters both coastally and on the interior in open fresh water. 

            How’d it get the name Bonaparte?

            According to Ernest A. Choate, author of The Dictionary of American Bird Names (and one-time Cape May Point resident), the Bonaparte’s Gull, Larus philadelphiensis was named for Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, Prince of Canino and Musignano and nephew of Napoleon.  Unlike his famous uncle, whose ambition was to conquer the known world, young Charles ambitions were more modest.  He just wanted to watch birds.  After the family’s fortunes took a bad turn at a place called Waterloo, Charles came to this side of the pond where he settled first in Bordentown, New Jersey and later in Philadelphia.  Between 1822 and 1828, he studied and wrote about birds in the U.S.

            I’ll bet that’s a lot more than you wanted to know about Bonaparte’s Gull. 

            So here’s more.

            They winter here.  Stay, in fact, until early to mid-May.  Then they migrate to Canada and settle down just about where the forest ends and the tundra begins.  They travel all the way up there to find a tree to nest in.

            It might seem odd that a bird would fly all the way to the northern limits of the American forests just to find a tree to nest in.  In order to get to these tree-challenged regions, they are obliged to fly over hundreds of thousands of perfectly nice deciduous and coniferous forest. 

            I don’t have an explanation except that this strategy seems to work for the birds.  They are common.  Easily seen in Cape May in winter.  If you want to catch sight of one, just head on down to the Second Avenue Jetty at the end of Beach Drive (near The Jetty Motel) or maybe the Concrete Ship (at the end of Sunset Blvd.) and look for the small pale gull with a black spot over it’s ear and white wedges on the leading edge of the wing.

            You’ll probably overlook the birds at first, mistaking them for terns.  Yep.  It’s a gull that is about the size of and acts somewhat like a tern.

            Birder’s love Bonaparte’s Gulls.  They love them because flocks of Bonaparte’s Gulls are the fertile grounds from which Black-headed and Little Gulls spring.

            These two mostly Old World gulls are similar to Bonaparte’s.  Black-headed is a larger, slightly clunkier, and redder billed.  Little Gull is smaller, stockier, blunter winged and the underwings are all dark, charcoal smudged.

            Black-headed winter commonly, to the Maritime Provinces of Canada; more sparingly to coastal New England and uncommonly to rarely along the New Jersey shore.  Little Gull breeds, sparingly, in North America and is nowhere common in winter, except fair numbers do occur in the Niagara Gorge in November and December and . . .

            Delaware Bay is, in some years, a pretty fair place to find Little Gulls.  Up to a dozen (or more) birds have been seen in coastal Delaware and New Jersey.  They tend to come late (in March and April).  But it is not unheard of for one or two Little Gulls to winter locally.

            Little Gulls are most easily picked out in flight.  The blackish underwings stand out in a flock of birds whose primary colors are silver-gray and white.  Standing amid flocks of Bonaparte’s the smaller Little Gulls often distinguish themselves by standing slightly apart and usually show a black skull cap to go with the dark ear patch.

            Black-headed Gulls are larger, bulkier, just slightly smaller than Ring-billed Gulls.  When standing among Bonaparte’s Gulls, their greater size is usually apparent.  Also, Black-headed show two smudgy dark stripes or bands stretching across the top of it’s head (in addition to showing the dark ear patch).

            Now the question you might be asking is why would anyone really want to tell the difference between three basically similar gulls.  The answer is because that’s just what birders do.  The larger question, if you in fact you asked this question, is why on earth did you read a column about gulls if you weren’t interested in them?

            Next week we’ll tackle the subject of misleading advertising and other deceptive marketing practices. 

            Or maybe the week after.  It all depends.

       If you’re curious about gulls, head over to the Cape May Bird Observatory, THE place for all your nature needs.  CMBO is located at 701 East Lake Drive overlooking Lake Lily in Cape May Point (609.884.2736), and is open 9:30am to 4:30pm every day but Tuesday.  Ask any of our staff, they are always glad to help.  While you’re there check out the view of the lake from the wide selection of scopes and binoculars, pick up a free map and schedule of daily walks and programs for the season – yes, we have walks throughout the year even some in December and January, take a look at the sighting sheets to check what’s being seen, scan the bookshelves or pick up a bargain from the used and vintage books section, look at some of the wonderful Charley Harper merchandise including a terrific lithograph done just for the Cape May Bird Observatory, or just browse around.  Sit outside on our garden benches and enjoy the birds at the feeders and the view of Lake Lily.  If you can’t make it in person, you can also visit us online www.BirdCapeMay.org – where birding Cape May is only a click away!

 This column is about Snow Geese.  You know, those big white birds that you see in winter that aren’t swans.  They used to be common.  Then they became rare – the snow geese, not the swans.  Then they became common – in fact, abundant.

     Sounds like life, doesn=t?  Lots of ups and downs.

     As the name suggests, the birds are mostly white (only the wing tips are black).  You=ve probably noted that lots of white or whitish birds have black wing tips (including Northern Gannet, assorted gulls and terns).  I=ll tell you why at the end of the article.

     But the easiest way to tell Snow Geese from Canada Geese is by color – mostly white versus mostly gray.  The other way is by voice.  Canada Geese (not Canadian) say Ah-Honk (kind of like a Canadian A-Honk which is probably why many people refer to them as Canadian Geese).  Snow Geese say WA-WA.

     Wait a minute, the logo on WAWA boasts a Canada Goose, not a Snow Goose. 

    Yeah.  It does.  Chances are the marketing people or the advertising agency got it wrong – not that it matters.  Doesn=t diminish the quality of the sandwiches and the coffee is just as good.

     Back to geese.

     Snow Geese used to be very common along the Atlantic Seaboard and then, along with many other fish and fowl, they diminished as a result of unregulated hunting and/or harvesting and habitat alteration.

     In the 1950s, there was only one flock of Snow Geese in New Jersey.  They were located on Egg Island Point near Fortescue.  The New Jersey Audubon Society used to lead an annual field trip (by boat) to see the couple of thousand birds.

    Now there are tens of thousands of Snow Geese that winter in the state.  You can see them in the marshes south of Dennisville.  You can see them pretty nearly everywhere along the Delaware Bayshore.  You can see them on agricultural land in Gloucester County, in the marshes behind Atlantic City, on farmland in Hunterdon County . . .

     The birds are very, very common now.  Relish it.

     My introduction to Snow Geese came when I was a sophomore in high school.  I happened upon a book written by Paul Galico called, not surprisingly, The Snow Goose.  It was about a lonely, physically deformed English painter who met a grimy little Saxon girl who was carrying (it so happens) a wounded snow goose.  The goose lived.  The girl grew up.  They painter and the girl fell in love.  He died before the love came to fruition.

    It=s a short book.

    The first Snow Geese I ever saw were in the marshes near Tuckahoe.  I was (believe it or not) hunting geese…or, more honestly, a buddy and I had a bunch of goose decoys spread out on the open marsh and we were lying amid them with shotguns in our hands with the espoused purpose of shooting one or two just in the event geese were more stupid than we were.

    We weren=t having much success (owing largely to the fact that the marsh was wrapped in a blind fog).  Then, around 9 AM, we heard geese honking except it was more a bark than a honk -more WAWA than Ah-Honk.  The flock passed right over us.  I couldn=t see anything but flickering black triangles – the wing tips.  The rest of the birds melted into the fog.

     It was neat.

    Incidently, for some inexplicable reason we just left all those decoys on the marsh.  I=ve often wondered what waterfowler benefited from our casual generosity.

    The next time I saw Snow Geese was in North Carolina.  Cape Hatteras National Seashore to be exact.  It was December.  I was camping.  It was cold.  There was a guy and two kids in a nearby tent (who were also very cold) and at dawn thousands of Snow Geese started flying overhead all going WA-WA.

     Said the guy to the two kids.  AHey.  Look at all the big white ducks.@

     I=ll remember this till the day I die.

     Okay, you=ve earned your reward.  Why are the wing tips of so many white birds black?  To save on wear and tear.  White feathers abrade faster than dark ones and wing tips take a beating on birds in flight.  The pigment in dark tipped wings makes them stronger so more resistant to flight induced friction.

    WA?

    Yes.  Precisely.

Still don’t know the difference between Snow and Canada Geese and can’t hear the WA-WA or the Ah-Honk?  Then just head over to the Cape May Bird Observatory, THE place for all your nature needs.  CMBO is located at 701 East Lake Drive overlooking Lake Lily in Cape May Point (609.884.2736), and is open 9:30am to 4:30pm every day but Tuesday.  While you’re there check out the view of the lake from the wide selection of scopes and binoculars, pick up a free map and schedule of daily walks and programs for the season – yes, we have walks throughout the year even some in December and January, take a look at the sighting sheets to check what’s being seen, scan the bookshelves or pick up a bargain from the used and vintage books section, look at some of the wonderful Charley Harper merchandise including a terrific lithograph done just for the Cape May Bird Observatory, or just browse around.  Sit outside on our garden benches and enjoy the birds at the feeders and the view of Lake Lily.  If you can’t make it in person, you can also visit us online www.BirdCapeMay.org – where birding Cape May is only a click away!

     I almost got suckered by an owl this morning.

     My fault.  Serves me right.  You engage the natural world and you do so at your own risk.

     What did I do?

      I squeaked like a mouse that was protesting the inopportune grip of raptor talons.  The result was that a passing raptor offered to make those talons his.

     Or hers.  Both male and female barn owls have talons.  And the sexes are pretty nearly indistinguishable in the field.

     Or marsh.  I was actually standing beside an open marsh.  Heard this Barn Owl.  Decided to squeak it in.  Owl came in from behind.  Flew over my left shoulder. 

     It was so close I heard the bird brake with its wings.

     This means it was very, very close because the wings of owls are nearly silent. 

     How do you squeak in an owl?  Same way you’d squeak in a mink or a weasel or a fox or bobcat or coyote.

     I’ve done that, too.  In fact, I’ve had some amazing encounters with wildlife over the years.

     Like the time I started squeaking on the far side of a frozen creek and had two bobcat come barreling out of a thicket on the far side of the creek.  The cats saw me just when their feet hit the ice and I had the pleasure of watching them trying to run backwards while their forward momentum carried them to within ten feet of me.

     The expression on their faces was priceless.

     Another time up near the marsh at Tuckahoe, I saw movement in the marsh and started squeaking.  A weasel came bounding toward me and stopped with his nose pressed against my shoe.

     I stopped and the animal turned and ambled away.

     I started squeaking and the animal turned and ran up my right pant’s leg, stopping right about where the inseam stopped.

     Fortunately, the animal ran up the outside of my pant leg.

     Cooper’s Hawks are suckers for a squeal call.  I’ll bet half the Cooper’s Hawks I find on Christmas Bird Counts are drawn assuming there is a meal in the offing.

     Short-eared Owls will turn on a dime and head right in.  But only once.  I’ve never gotten a Short-eared Owl to turn twice.  Once they smell a rat (or a birder), they’re outtahere.

     Fox seem particularly gullible.  I’ve squeaked in at least twenty fox that I can recall.  Northern Harriers seem squeak-proof. 

     I don’t believe I’ve ever gotten a harrier to turn, much less approach.

     Now, I suppose you think after all this promotion that I’m now going to tell you how to make a squeak call. 

     Not just – no.  Hell no!  Do you think I’m crazy?  If I do that, somebody is going to go out,   squeak in a Great Horned Owl (or something with just as menacing talons) and get their face rearranged.

     Like I said, you go out and engage the natural world, you do it at your own risk.

     So I am not going to tell you how you can entice hawks, owls, and lots of other things to get up close and personal.  If I had a close relative who was a plastic surgeon, maybe, but everyone in my family is an attorney.

     If you want to learn how to sound like a dying Microtus, you’ll just have to figure out how to do it yourself because I am not about to…

      Alright, okay…there is this certain book.  They sell it over at the Cape May Bird Observatory.  It explains how to make the squeal call and other calls that attract birds and other animals.  It even comes with a DVD.  And if you really get into it, you can even by the shirt!

     I’m not going to mention the name of the book, or the author.  But if you describe it to them, they’ll know what you mean.

     Pisshhhttt (hint).  Tell them Seymore sent you.

    Head over to the Cape May Bird Observatory, THE place for all your nature needs.  CMBO is located at 701 East Lake Drive overlooking Lake Lily in Cape May Point (609.884.2736), and is open every day 9:30am to 4:30pm through November (except for Thanksgiving Day); but once the calendar flips to December, the center is closed on Tuesdays.  While you’re there check out the view of the lake from the wide selection of scopes and binoculars, pick up a free map and schedule of daily walks and programs for the season – yes, we have walks throughout the year even in November and December, take a look at the sighting sheets to check what’s being seen, scan the bookshelves or pick up a bargain from the used and vintage books section, look at some of the wonderful Charley Harper merchandise including a terrific lithograph done just for the Cape May Bird Observatory, or just browse around.  Sit outside on our garden benches and enjoy the birds at the feeders and the view of Lake Lily.  If you can’t make it in person, you can also visit us online www.BirdCapeMay.org – where birding Cape May is only a click away!

     White-throated Sparrows are back.

     So what’s the big deal about more sparrows?

     Well, I’ll tell you what.  In about a Cape May Minute (about a month or two) it’s going to be dark and cold and maybe even snowing.  The Northern Hemisphere is going to be an ugly place to be.  Despair will reign.  Holiday credit card bills will be due.

     But the White-throated Sparrow will be enlivening the landscape and chirping away.

     In an ugly world, be thankful for the cheerful, little White-throated Sparrow.

     The birds breed in the northern forests.  They winter, for the most part, south of Canada but across much of the United States.

     Yes.  This includes Cape May.

     They are a bird of woodland edge.  They are favorites at bird feeders.  They come in flocks.  They are big and burley (for sparrows) and mostly brown.

     So what sparrow isn’t brown?

     Well the junco for one.  They’re gray and white.  And cardinal for another.  They’re red…

     Except for the females which are brown.

     White-throated Sparrows have white throats and some of them have bright white throats….

     Wait a minute, did he say that cardinal’s are sparrows?

     Yes, I did.  And, yes, they are.  Found in the same family.  The Fringillidae.  Just like Eastern Towhee.

      Eastern Towhees are sparrows, too?

      Yep.  Towhee’s too.  But unlike White-throated Sparrows, Northern Cardinal’s and Eastern Towhee’s breed in Cape May.  They are found here all year.

      White-throated Sparrows are winter residents.  They leave in May.  Start returning in October.  They return in great numbers in November.

     They are here in numbers, now.  They’re back.

     So what?

     You asked that already. 

      The reason that this is a big deal is that White-throated Sparrows offer two gifts to human-kind.  They don’t mind living near the likes of us.  And they are vocal.

     Even in winter when most birds are quiet.

     Every evening White-throated Sparrows retire to hedges and woodland edges and they start chipping to each other.  High pitched, full-throttle chips.

     What are they saying?

     “Goodnight.”

     In the morning, they all start chipping again. 

     What are they saying?

     What do you think?

     And, here’s the best part.  On sunny days, the birds even sing. They throw back their heads and belt out a song which has been phonetically rendered “Oh Sweet Canada, Canada, Canada (or if you are aren’t a fan of anyone wearing a Maple Leaf, they can also sound like “Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody”). 

     It is loud, mellow, somewhat plaintive.

     And easy to recognize.  For many people it is about the only bird song they recognize.

     Which is certainly something to be thankful for. 

     So here’s to the White-throated Sparrow.  Winter’s little touch of cheer.  They’ll be gone by April.  But so will Winter.

    If you are not fortunate to have a bird feeder in your back yard and even less fortunate and don’t have a back yard, and want to see (and hear) White-throated Sparrows for yourself, just visit the Cape May Bird Observatory, THE place for all your nature needs.  CMBO is located at 701 East Lake Drive overlooking Lake Lily in Cape May Point (609.884.2736), and is open every day 9:30am to 4:30pm through November; once the calendar flips to December, the center is closed on Tuesdays.  While you’re there check out the view of the lake from the wide selection of scopes and binoculars, pick up a free map and schedule of daily walks and programs for the season – yes, we have walks throughout the year even in November and December, take a look at the sighting sheets to check what’s being seen, scan the bookshelves or pick up a bargain from the used and vintage books section, look at some of the wonderful Charley Harper merchandise including a terrific lithograph done just for the Cape May Bird Observatory, or just browse around.  Sit outside on our garden benches and enjoy the birds at the feeders and the view of Lake Lily.  If you can’t make it in person, you can also visit us online www.BirdCapeMay.org – where birding Cape May is only a click away – but you see or hear White-throated Sparrows!

     It’s November and that means the end of birding in Cape May.

     You heard me.  When the calendar moves into November it’s time for all good little visiting birders to call it a season.  Go home.  Clean out the gutters.  Caulk the windows.  Hang up your binoculars up until March.

     And leave Cape May in the hands of local birders too poor to travel to Central America.

     Don’t worry.  You won’t miss a thing.  Or much.  Those rumors you may have heard about November being THE hot month for vagrants, well, that’s just a rumor.  Cave Swallows, Western Kingbirds, Swainson’s Hawks…heck, you can find these routine western vagrants in October.  Most commonly late October.  Between the 25^th and 31^st.

     Why stick around enjoying the great fall weather for a few birds whose only claim to fame is that, according to conventional wisdom, they shouldn’t be here.  You just leave it to us locals to sip the dregs.  Scrounge around for the odd oddball hummingbird or wayward seabird.

     Like Ivory Gull.

     Okay.  I lied.  Maybe November does have an earned reputation for oddities.  And the other neat thing about November is the challenge.  I mean anyone can find a Yellow Warbler in May or August or September.  The trick is finding one in November.  Same goes for Bank Swallow or Northern Rough-winged Swallow.  You want a challenge, try finding warm weather species when it’s anything but warm.

     “Ah,” you are thinking, “but it can be warm in November.”

    Yes.  Precisely.  Why do you think that finding warm weather birds in November, in Cape May, is possible at all?  It is precisely the temperate nature of Cape May that gives insect eating or nectar feeding birds half a fighting chance late in the season.

     It’s like this.  In every generation, there are individuals who are genetically hot-wired not to do what all the other members of their species are doing.  They are anomalies.  They are the shock troops for evolution. 

     Take Yellow Warbler.  Most birds of this species head south in August and September.  But a certain percentage get their wires crossed.  They decide to just stay in the Northland.  See what winter is all about.

     Take Rufous Hummingbirds.  These western hummingbirds breed all the way to southern Alaska.  Starting in July the birds leave their breeding areas and head…

     Well, most head south.  But some (presumably a small percentage go north, or west, or east), some take the path less traveled.  They go where opportunity may possibly lie.

     And most of them get creamed.  Fly out over the Pacific and auger in.  Fly north and smack into winter.  Fly east and find…

     Well thirty years ago, they would have found a corner of the world heading into autumn.  They would have survived for as long as nectar bearing blossoms could be found but by November most flowers are history.

     No longer is that the case and especially not in Cape May.  Surrounded by warm water, untouched by frost, when pioneering waifs get squeezed out by the cold, some find their way to the last little pocket of warm air in the Northeast.  Cape May.  In the case of hummingbirds, the proliferation of hummingbird feeders hasn’t hurt their pioneering efforts, either. 

    So today, when a wayward western hummingbird turns up in Cape May, in November, they discover that the gamble payed off.  There is food.  There is relative warmth.

     And there are a whole lot of local birders who are here, eager to admire them.

      November in Cape May.  Fewer birders.  Fewer birds.  But the quality. 

     Worth extending the birding tourist season into December at least.   

     After all, isn’t Cape May a town for all seasons?

     If you are considering taking a stab at enjoying Cape May in November (or even December), then consider visiting the Cape May Bird Observatory, THE place for all your nature needs.  CMBO is located at 701 East Lake Drive overlooking Lake Lily in Cape May Point (609.884.2736), and is open every day 9:30am to 4:30pm through November; once the calendar flips to December, the center is closed on Tuesdays.  While you’re there check out the view of the lake from the wide selection of scopes and binoculars, pick up a free map and schedule of daily walks and programs for the season – yes, we have walks throughout the year even in November and December, take a look at the sighting sheets to check what’s being seen, scan the bookshelves or pick up a bargain from the used and vintage books section, look at some of the wonderful Charley Harper merchandise including a terrific lithograph done just for the Cape May Bird Observatory, or just browse around.  Sit outside on our garden benches and enjoy the birds at the feeders and the view of Lake Lily.  If you can’t make it in person, you can also visit us online www.BirdCapeMay.org – where birding Cape May is only a click away – but you can’t test drive binoculars or field guides!

    You are a new birder and you are confused.

     Well, get in line. 

     You are confused because you decided to try bird watching.  You thought it would be fun and stress relieving.  And you knew that you needed to buy binoculars and a field guide.

     And now you are totally stressed and in a total funk because you had no idea there were so many binoculars and so many field guides and so many promises and so little assistance.

      The problem is simple.  You went online for your answers.  All you got was conflicting promises.

    Try this.  Go talk to a person.  Someone who has your interest in mind and knows the answers to your questions.

     Try going to the Cape May Bird Observatory and talking to someone in the store.  They have the answers.  They have the product.  In fact, the only product they have is stuff they would use themselves.

     They’ve already assessed the merit and promises of all the binoculars and field guides out there.  Chosen the best.  Put them in a collection for easy comparison. 

     They guide you to a good selection based upon your level of interest, experience, physical needs, and (of course) your budget.

     Heck.  Anyone can sell someone a $2,000 binocular.  The trick is fitting someone with a $250 glass that really works – for them and for birding.

     Don’t all binoculars work for everyone?  Nuh, uh.  Some people are easy to fit; can use almost anything.  Most people have one or two concerns that must be addressed.  Concerns like eye glasses, arthritis in their fingers, close (or wide) set eyes, close focus (or not), neck problems, back problems, small (or large) hands.  All these considerations make one glass better than another.  Just like automobiles – each one performs differently. 

      For you!  The only person that counts when it comes to buying an instrument for you.

     As for field guides, there are dozens of the things out there.  All have their good points, none is perfect. 

     But there is going to be one guide that is better for you than all the rest.  Better because it is simple.  Better because it is well organized.  Better because it’s designed to be carried in the field.  And better because it’s the easiest for you to use.

     And your continued use of your guide makes the book better and better.  Like your binoculars, you and your field guide become a team.  The more familiar you become with it, the easier and easier it is to use. 

     But to be a great team, you need to start with binoculars and a field guide that fit you.

     What about a spotting scope?  Don’t all serious birders have spotting scopes and tripods.

     Nah.  Save your money.  Worry about the spotting scope and tripod later.  Binoculars are the primary tool of birding.  You’ll need a spotting scope about the time you start buying specialty bird guides (like Hawks at a Distance, or The Shorebird Guide). 

     Of course CMBO has a great selection of spotting scopes, tripods and specialty field guides (not to mention just about anything else you might want or need to enjoy the natural world).  But you are a new birder and loading up new birders with stuff they don’t need is just going to frustrate them (CMBO staff and the new birders!).

      This is how new birders stop being new birders.  They become ex-birders.  And that’s not going to help anyone.

     So take my advice.  Go to CMBO.  Ask the people who understand your needs to fill your needs. 

     It’s not their job.  It’s their mission. 

     And besides, they know you are going to be so happy with your binoculars and field guide you’ll just come back in a year and buy the spotting scope.

     But by that time you won’t be a beginning birder anymore.

     The Cape May Bird Observatory, THE place for all your nature needs, is located at 701 East Lake Drive overlooking Lake Lily in Cape May Point (609.884.2736), and is open every day 9:30am to 4:30pm through November.  While you’re there check out the view of the lake from the wide selection of scopes and binoculars, pick up a free map and schedule of daily walks and programs for the season – which you’ll need since you are a beginning birder, take a look at the sighting sheets to check what’s being seen, scan the bookshelves or pick up a bargain from the used and vintage books section, look at some of the wonderful Charley Harper merchandise including a terrific lithograph done just for the Cape May Bird Observatory, or just browse around.  Sit outside on our garden benches and enjoy the birds at the feeders and the view of Lake Lily.  If you can’t make it in person, you can also visit us online www.BirdCapeMay.org – where birding Cape May is only a click away – but you can’t test drive binoculars or field guides!

     OK.  This is it.  Your big chance.  You can become a birder this week or forget it.

     Yes, this is New Jersey Audubon’s big weekend in Cape May.  It’s been part of the social landscape since 1946.  It’s part happening; part treasure hunt and a great way to find out why bird watching has become North America’s second largest outdoor activity.

     It’s also the nation’s longest running “birding festival.”  Today there are thousands of such gatherings across North America.  Back in 1946, the idea was novel.

     But there was no more likely place to host a gathering of the bird watching clan than Cape May.  Heck, bird watchers have been coming to Cape May since the early 1800s.  Of course they didn’t come for a festival.  They didn’t even call themselves bird watchers.  But Cape May’s fame as a migratory hotspot is as enduring as it is justified.

     You are invited to put it to the test.

     “But,” you are thinking, “I don’t know anything about watching birds.”

     All I have to say is: “How lucky can you get?  The only thing better than being an experienced birder is being an inexperienced one.  Every bird you see is new; exciting and new.  You’ll be able to see scores of new birds in a single weekend.  Birds of every stripe and hue.

     Sea ducks, hawks, eagles, warblers, kinglets, sparrows, thrushes, owls….

     Did he say “Owls.”

     Yep.  Owls.  And “see” may over state the fact.  There are lots of owls in Cape May.  Some breed here; some winter here.  Late October if prime time for migrating owls.

     But most owls are heard, not seen.  And you do have to know a few tricks; know where to go and what to listen for.

     “But,” you’re thinking again, “I don’t know anything about bird watching and don’t want to look foolish.”

     Relax.  Bird watching is a low stakes game.  Nations don’t fall.  Currencies don’t collapse.  The worst thing that can happen is that you misidentify a bird.  No big deal.  The difference between a beginning birder and an experienced one is that thus far inexperienced birders have misidentified very few birds.  Expert birders have misidentified thousands.

     And all those experts are going to be in the field, leading field trips, so you don’t even have to misidentify birds.  All you need to do is show up.

     It helps to have binoculars.  They are the tools that bring supernatural intimacy with birds.  In point of fact they are the tool that defined birding.

     It’s a good idea to have a book to help you identify birds, too.  No.  Not when you are in the field being led by experts.  So you can study the birds you saw in the field and sanctify them with a CHECK next to their name.

     See the bird.  Check it off.  You have another species on your Life List. 

     Collect all 10,000 species on the planet and you win.

     Win what?  A lifetime of excitement, discovery, pleasure, new friends, great travel destinations…and a great deal of understanding about the world you live in.

      Birds are nature’s most obvious envoys.  Understand birds and you have a window into the workings of the entire natural world. 

     Step one.  Come on the Cape May Autumn Weekend.

     Step two.  Buy binoculars and a field guide at the CMBO member discount.

     But, you say, you are not a member.

     You will be.

     If you want to find out what the Cape May Autumn Weekend is all about, or if you want to forgo the weekend and just find out what’s happening in nature, stop over to the Cape May Bird Observatory – THE place for all your nature needs.  CMBO is located at 701 East Lake Drive overlooking Lake Lily in Cape May Point (609.884.2736), and is open every day 9:30am to 4:30pm (9am-4pm during Autumn Weekend, Oct 28-30).  While you’re there check out the view of the lake from the wide selection of scopes and binoculars, pick up a free map and schedule of daily walks and programs for the season, take a look at the sighting sheets to check what’s being seen, scan the bookshelves or pick up a bargain from the used and vintage books section, look at some of the wonderful Charley Harper merchandise including a terrific lithograph done just for the Cape May Bird Observatory, or just browse around.  Sit outside on our garden benches and enjoy the birds at the feeders and the view of Lake Lily.  If you can’t make it in person, visit us online www.BirdCapeMay.org – where birding Cape May is only a click away!

     Some people hate the Cape May Bird Observatory.  I can see that.

     They hate it because it absolutely ruined October for locals.  Thirty…even twenty years ago, nobody but nobody came to Cape May in October.  We locals had it to ourselves.

     Heck, even September was dead.  Oh, sure, you encountered the odd birder or two but every traffic light in town could be set on blinker after Labor Day.  Dogs slept on side streets. 

     Not anymore.  October has become the absolute peak of the birding season and more than half the people you meet in Cape May are talking about “fallouts” and “hawk watch” and sporting CMBO t-shirts.

     It’s not entirely the Bird Observatory’s fault.  You see, back when CMBO got started, bird watchers were hardly more numerous than saints.  It was a nice, quaint, hobby that didn’t get much attention and didn’t draw many proponents.

    Then, WHAM, the popularity exploded.  Birders increased like fruit flies.  And somebody, somebody, started promoting Cape May as the place to go in October.

     There was good reason for this.  With the population of warblers falling, the great big migratory fallouts everybody wanted to see when they came to Cape May happened later, when the middle distance migrants took over the skies.

     Sparrows, robins, finches, kinglets, blackbirds, blue jays…

     Lots of species.  Lots of numbers.  Lots more chances of seeing a great, big, fat migratory deluge.

     The kind of spectacle birders who come to Cape May dream of seeing.  The kind of deluge that gives them bragging rights when they get home and tell all the members of the local bird club how absolutely amazing Cape May is.  And how they have to see it, too.

     So you see, it wasn’t just the Bird Observatory’s fault that you couldn’t find a parking space last weekend.  It’s all that word of mouth.

     And all the birds, of course.

     A few years ago the Bird Observatory got an idea.  They thought that the way to ease congestion was to spread out the birding season even more.  They decided that it was time to tell birders that the first half of November can be just as good as October when it comes to big fallouts.

    And that the end of November and early December is the best time to find rare vagrants and even to catch some great late season hawk flights. 

     Well, thank heavens they came to their senses.  Rather than promote late autumn, the folks at CMBO decided to suppress information relating to November birds.  They’ve started a disinformation campaign.  The “All Birds Gone By November” campaign.

     So if anyone asks you this November, where the birds are, your answer is: “All gone.”

     If word ever gets out that the migration doesn’t end on October 31, there’s no telling when birders might leave.  They might be here till Christmas…maybe even Valentines Day (when the tourist season begins anew). 

     Imagine.  Motels wouldn’t be able to close.  Restaurants would have to keep staff on.  The tourist season would go on and on….

     And then the town would leave the parking meters and the traffic lights on.

      Clearly we can’t let that happen. 

      Remember – “All gone.”   Let’s all work together to keep November safe for local birders…I mean, residents.

     In the meantime, when visitors (who might just happen to be novice or non-bird watchers yet) want to know what’s going on with all the people around, point them in our direction.  Or suggest they (or you) go on a Cape May Bird Observatory bird walk – there’s a few to choose from every week – and one every Monday morning at 7:30 am with Pete Dunne that meets in the parking lot at The Nature Conservancy on Sunset Blvd.  Or head over to the Cape May Hawk Watch at the Cape May Point State Park where you can sit down and relish in the hawk flight while you enjoy the company of other birders.  There are trained interpretive naturalists available every day to let you know what you are looking at.  They even have some binoculars so you can really see what you’re looking at.  Or stop by the Cape May Bird Observatory and ask any of the staff or volunteers what is happening throughout the week.  They’ll be glad to help you and you’ll see why the Cape May Bird Observatory is THE place to come for all your nature needs – and not to be missed.  CMBO located at 701 East Lake Drive overlooking Lake Lily in Cape May Point (609.884.2736), is open every day 9:30am to 4:30pm.  While you’re there check out the view of the lake from the wide selection of scopes and binoculars, pick up a free map and schedule of daily walks and programs for the season, take a look at the sighting sheets to check what’s being seen, scan the bookshelves or pick up a bargain from the used and vintage books section, look at some of the wonderful Charley Harper merchandise including a terrific lithograph done just for the Cape May Bird Observatory, or just browse around.  Sit outside on our garden benches and enjoy the birds at the feeders and the view of Lake Lily.  If you can’t make it in person, visit us online www.BirdCapeMay.org – where birding Cape May is only a click away!