Michael O'Brien provided this description of the Monarchists' efforts in the 2017 World Series of Birding. The efforts of the Monarchists provides well over half the annual funding for the Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project; we are most grateful for all support!
Monarchists and supporters, May 6, 2017. |
On May 6, 2017, the CMBO Monarchists participated in their
eighth consecutive World Series of Birding, our annual fundraiser for the
Monarch Monitoring Project. Once again, we competed in the no “Carbon
Footprint” category, which means no motorized vehicles were used. So, for
twenty-four hours (well, actually more like twenty hours) we bicycled and
walked around Cape Island, trying to find as many species as possible to
maximize our “dollars per bird” raised for the MMP. Due to some scheduling
conflicts, the Monarchists fielded a slightly smaller team in 2017 than in past
years, including team captain Louise Zemaitis along with Meg Walker Hedeen and
Michael O’Brien.
Listening for birds in the wee hours before dawn. |
Our day began promptly at midnight with a search for owls in
West Cape May. It was a pleasantly balmy night with overcast skies, but a stiff
breeze out of the Southeast meant less than ideal listening conditions for owls.
That wind direction also meant very little chance for nocturnal migrants, which
would more likely drift our way on westerly or southwesterly winds. But we got
lucky right away with a begging juvenile Great Horned Owl – lucky for us, baby
birds are always hungry now matter how windy it is! Shortly thereafter, we accidentally
flushed a roosting Wild Turkey, which was a mutually startling experience, and
turned out to be our only turkey of the day. Excited by a good start, we
trudged along searching for nocturnal birds. With much persistence, we
eventually conjured up an Eastern Screech-Owl, heard an American Woodcock
“peenting”, heard squawks from Virginia Rail, and, as dawn approached, heard a
Chuck-will’s-widow proclaiming it’s name. All in all it was a relatively
successful night, considering less than ideal conditions.
Cape May Warbler at Cape May Point, seen before the WSB but not on the big day. |
As dawn broke, we stood on a bluff above Pond Creek Marsh,
taking in many new species, with key additions including Clapper Rail, Common
Nighthawk, Northern Flicker, and Seaside Sparrow. We quickly moved on to Cape
May Point, where we scoured our favorite migrants spots. As predicted, the
southeast winds overnight brought us very few new migrants but were perfect for
ushering yesterday’s lingering migrants on their way northward. Our warbler
list was lean. But our spirits rose abruptly when we got to our morning sea watching
spot and were met by our awesome support staff, Lu Ann Daniels and Ron Rollet. Protein
bars, ginger-cream scones, and café au lait awaited us on the Coral Avenue dune
crossing, and we were re-energized! With sharpened eyes, the new birds came
quickly: Brant, Black and Surf scoters, Common and Red-throated loons, Northern
Gannet, Purple Sandpiper, Parasitic Jaeger, Royal Tern, and Black Skimmer. Sea watching
was very good to us! Nearby Cape May Point State Park also yielded the
long-staying Iceland Gull, as well as a noisy Northern Bobwhite.
More digging for migrants around Cape May Point and Beach
Plum Farm yielded only a handful of new birds. By noon, our tired legs were
ready for more fuel, so we stopped at Louise and Michael’s house for lunch and sky
watching. Once again, Ron and Lu took care of us with an amazing spread
including turkey wraps, drinks, and other yummy snacks to keep us going for the
rest of the day. With Northern Harrier, Cooper’s Hawk, and Downy Woodpecker
added to our list, we headed back out, but this time with our good luck charm,
Kashi Davis, running along with us to keep our spirits high! [Kashi would
remain with us for a couple of hours, and Lu also joined us at a few locations
during the afternoon.] A quick jaunt out to the Sunset Beach to look for a
reported Great Cormorant turned out to be a poor use of time, but our first
visit to the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge (aka, “The Meadows”) more than made
up for it! In short order, we found Green-winged Teal, and a long list of
shorebirds including Stilt and White-rumped sandpipers, and Red-necked
Phalarope! We also ran into a number of other teams, and paused for some brief
socializing.
With our list starting to fill out nicely, we headed back
into the woods to continue searching for songbird migrants. The Beanery
produced its resident Prothonotary Warbler, and also a surprise Barred Owl
hooting in the middle of the afternoon (after being silent during our nighttime
visits). Migrants, however, were not in evidence. Ditto at other little
woodlots we checked in West Cape May and along Bayshore Road. As we sat at the
intersection of Bayshore and New England roads, poised to make a late afternoon
check of Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area, the utter lack of songbird
migrants vs. good activity near the water made it an easy decision: we would skip
Higbee and head back to the Meadows for a less rushed and hopefully more
productive finish to the day. We’ll never know what we missed at Higbee, but
the Meadows had more bounty to share with us. As we walked into the meadows, a Black-billed
Cuckoo shot across the path in front of us. Then a Merlin zipped by. Then a
Bank Swallow magically appeared among the local swallows hunting over the main
pool (perhaps brought in by a late afternoon switch to westerly winds). Then a
gull flock yielded Ring-billed and Lesser Black-backed. And then we finally
found that Wilson’s Snipe that other teams had been seeing along the East Path.
It was a strong finish to a day when migrants were very tough to come by.
Although we didn’t win any awards, we were all pleased with our result of 127
species, and even more pleased with how much money we raised from all our
generous supporters. Thank you all!
For those who also pledged for the butterfly species that we tallied, that number was 9, with these species seen: Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Spring Azure, Pearl Crescent, Common Buckeye, American Lady, and Silver-spotted Skipper.
For those who also pledged for the butterfly species that we tallied, that number was 9, with these species seen: Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Spring Azure, Pearl Crescent, Common Buckeye, American Lady, and Silver-spotted Skipper.
It's not too late to make your contribution! Visit the Monarchists' page on the World Series of Birding, http://worldseriesofbirding.org/teampage.asp?fundid=1091#.WTC8V8bMyCc, if you'd like to chip in. All contributions go to support the Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project, which conducts research and educational outreach programs relating to the migration of monarchs through Cape May.