Had Enough Beach? Try Birding!

CAPE MAY POINT — It is the height of beach season, but after a few days in the sand and sun vacationers may be look for something else. New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory has the answer.
“Coming to Cape May and not bird-watching is like going to Arizona and not seeing the Grand Canyon,” said Don Freiday, Cape May Bird Observatory director of birding programs.
“This is the birding capital of North America, and whether you go out on your own or join a CMBO walk, you are missing something special if you don’t spend time enjoying the birds while you’re here.”
Complete information on bird-watching in Cape May, and on CMBO’s walks and programs, can be found at www.birdcapemay.org, or by contacting the observatory at (609) 884-2736.
Cape May Point State Park is one of the best local birding spots, and a walk there along Bunker Pond will reveal many egrets, terns and shorebirds. Don’t miss the active purple martin colonies at the park.
CMBO offers expert-guided walks at the park every Wednesday and Saturday from 7:30-9:30 a.m., and on Thursdays also offers a special “Bird Walk for All People” from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
All walks cost $10 per person, $6 for New Jersey Audubon Society or bird observatory members, and are suitable for anyone interested in birds.
The Thursday walk is geared for people relatively new to the sport of birding, and binoculars are available to borrow. No pre-registration is required for any of these walks.
On the way to or from the state park, near the end of Lighthouse Avenue in Cape May Point here on East Lake Drive (follow the sign on Lighthouse Ave.) will bring visitors up to date on recent sightings and places to go.
The center is open 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wednesday to Monday, and offers a nature bookstore with binoculars and other birding items for sale.
Another birding hotspot is The Nature Conservancy’s Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge, commonly known as the South Cape May Meadows, along Sunset Boulevard.
The Nature Conservancy charges an access fee.
The refuge has a loop trail passing thickets and pools, and hosts an active least tern colony along the beach. CMBO offers walks at this site on Monday mornings from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., and on Friday evenings from 6:30 to dusk.
Walks cost $10 per person, $6 for NJAS or CMBO members, and are suitable for anyone interested in birds. No pre-registration is required.