The Peregrine Observer 2023: Journal of NJ Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory
ed. by Brett M. Ewald. 2023. 236p. flexbound.
WARNING. This is not available except to C.M.B.O. members (fide Brett Ewald) and has already been distributed. BUT there is so much in it that it is worthwhile to review it anyway. It is not my intension to solicit membership, but by joining now you’ll get the 2024 edition. CMBO, P. O. Box 3, Cape May Point, NJ 08212. $39.00. I have 6 previous issues and have spent many pleasant hours looking through each.
As usual this edition has detailed reports of recurring efforts such as the fall hawkwatch, the Avalon Seawatch, the Winter Raptor Survey, fall owl banding, fall raptor banding, the Ipswich Sparrow survey, the spring watch, fall morning flight at Higbee’s Beach, and fall landbird banding.
There are also 4 butterfly reports, the long-standing monarch studies, the Cape May butterfly count, and the Belleplain butterfly count plus a general overview of butterflies in the C.M. area, including the decline of many.
Of great interest is the “Annual Bird Report” that details the 345 species seen in Cape May County in 2022, accompanied by photographs, dates of occurrence, maxima, status as breeder or non-breeder, number seen on the CBC, etc., with observers exhaustively attributed, pp. 50-138. A lot of the commentary, which is excellent, has application far beyond the Cape May area. But the maxima is not recorded for all species.
There are 179 illustrations, most color photographs of birds, but also including various graphs, shots of people in action, and 2 splendid maps showing the location of the most prominent birding areas in Cape May County.
Some of the most astounding bird counts are 8,464 American Redstarts Sept. 14, 76,640 Black Scoters Oct.29, 10,303 Red-throated Loons Nov. 29, 156 Merlin Oct. 6, and many more. The hawk banding effort here over the years - 2022 was its 55th year - has banded 157,715 raptors, with 1,562 in 2022. But this fine publication pays just as much attention to less abundant or dramatic species.
It is interesting that as superior as Cape May numbers are to those almost anywhere else, higher numbers of a few are often achieved at Kiptopeke-Cape Charles, Virginia, including Eastern Kingbird, Baltimore Oriole, Blue Jay, and, occasionally, Bobolink. Kiptopeke is also a great place for Merlins, and banders there have sometimes captured 50 or more in one day.
It’s lucky if I get to Cape May just once a year. But one year on October 18, in the North Blind with Brian Sullivan, Brian had captured a Rough-legged Hawk, and we saw at close range a juvenile Golden Eagle and a really late Mississippi Kite!
There is an outstanding colony of resident naturalists at Cape May, that I like to compare, in its own way, to Philadelphia in 1776, the age of Pericles in classical Greece, and the Bloomsbury Group in London. Located not so far from big urban area such as New York City and Philadelphia, Cape May draws thousands of birders from those localities.
Many of the outstanding photographs are by Ewald, Erik Bruhnke, Michael O’Brien, and the late Tom Johnson.
There is a tribute to Tom on p. 23. And also in BWD (formerly Bird Watcher’s Digest), Sept./Oct. 2023 p. 8 as well as Jan./Feb. 2024 p.8-13. From a tribute from Cornell “… Johnson generously contributed more than 10,000 photos, audio, and video recordings to the Cornell Lab … His warmth, thoughtfulness, humility, and generosity of spirit made him an exemplary ambassador for birds and the natural world and a dear friend to many…”
The Peregrine Observer is such a rich resource, describing so great an amount of field work and research, including pioneering night bird photography, that I think it is worth reviewing here, even though its availability is limited.
- Harry Armistead.