Cape May, Hawk Mountain & Bombay Hook: Sep 27—Oct 04, 2009

Cape May Warbler— Photo: Michael O'Brien

Visit two of the country's most famous venues for witnessing bird migration, where abundant raptors and landbirds provide great learning opportunities during the peak of the season. Migration is weather dependent, but always interesting and potentially amazing.

Autumn on the East Coast features great weather and terrific birding. This trip visits some of North America's most famous birding hot spots during the peak of fall migration.

At Cape May, southbound hawks find themselves in a quandary. They have been moving along the coastline, but here the land ends, and they are surrounded by water on three sides. This causes an avian traffic jam, and birders are its greatest beneficiaries. Songbirds, also heading south, are forced to stop in Cape May. The morning sky is often filled with warblers, kinglets, flickers, buntings, and other species as they seek a place to rest and refuel after their nocturnal flight. As the day heats up, Sharp-shinned, Cooper's, Red-shouldered, and Red-tailed hawks, along with Northern Harriers, Ospreys, American Kestrels, and Merlins are on the move. Even Peregrine Falcons may number in the dozens.

It is also the best time of year to witness insect migration, particularly the often-spectacular movements of Monarchs. The gentle ridges at Hawk Mountain also host a flood tide of raptors, but with a somewhat different mix of species. Bombay Hook, with its expansive salt marshes, will allow us to nicely round out our trip with everything from a near blizzard of waterfowl to the highly localized Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow.

Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow— Photo: Michael O'Brien

There is no better classroom in the United States to learn about raptors and migration, and this tour will focus on witnessing and understanding the spectacle of bird migration.

Good to very good accommodations and food; multiple-day stays at two locations; easy to moderate terrain; warm to cool climate, potentially rainy.