The 21st Century Matriarch

Continuing the posts about Cape May Point State Park…

There were Forster’s Terns on lined up on a railing of an observation platform that was roped off to human traffic.

I zoomed in to get a bird portrait

And then back to get the whole platform as the birds flew around – a little ‘musical chairs’ on the platform railing.

There was a Great Egret and a gull (maybe a ring-billed) mixed in with the terns. The other birds give some size comparison for the Forster’s. There was a breeze that ruffled the feathers of some of the birds…giving them a scruffy look even though they were preening almost constantly.

Overall – the short walk through part of the wetlands filled the time before we headed back to the hotel and the kickoff for the festival….primed to get underway early the next morning with field trips.

After arriving in Cape May and picking up our packets from the Cape May Spring (birding) Festival, we headed over to the Cape May Point State Park to walk around the wetlands. It was a good intro to the area. It was a sunny afternoon and still cool enough to be comfortable walking around.There was a Great Egret surveying the water.

Nearby there was a Mute Swan nesting.

The mate was out on the water. They aren’t native birds…and too big to ignore. I heard later from several guides that nesting swans can be vicious. Good thing this nest was on an island – not where anyone would be walking.

A non-bird find: a painted turtle just to the side of the trail. I zoomed in for a closer look. He emerged a little from his shell. The shell looks like it has algae on it…hopefully it is not actually growing on the shell and going to cause a problem.