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DVOC Field Trip Report
by Steve Kacir

July 25, 2009
Photography Field Trip to Stone Harbor and Cape May

Participants:
Dennis Bert
Anna Bert
Diane Louie
Mike Lyman
Paul Rothenberg
Ron Sinclair
Bob Eshbach

Click Here for Ron Sinclair's photos
Click Here for Steve Kacir's photos

On July 25, 2009 Mike Lyman and I headed out from PA to Stone Harbor. We arrived at the Stone Harbor Point parking lot and were soon joined by Ron Sinclair. The three of us started photographing the general area while we waited for Dennis and Anna Bert. Bob Eshbach drove up while we were shooting around the lot, and we made plans to meet up later at Nummy Island (though those plans never materialized, I did meet up with Bob much later at Port Mahon right after missing a Curlew Sandpiper, but that, as they say, is another story). Bob drove off and soon Dennis and Anna arrived. Some strategic application of sunscreen and insect repellent, a quick grab of equipment and we were in birding and photography modes. Mike had heard a Willow Flycatcher while we were waiting, and we pointed out the bird to Dennis and Anna before heading down the path. At the path, we enjoyed such mainstays as Common Yellowthroats, Red-winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrows and Eastern Cottontail. The Willow Flycatcher put in a brief appearance at the path before disappearing for the rest of our time at the point.

At the observation tower and the dredge pool, we stopped to admire the lush vegetation and scan for shorebirds. The few birds we found there were fairly distant, so we didn’t linger too long. In contrast, the beach was the place to be whether you wanted to photograph the birds or just admire them with crippling views through scope or binoculars. The Piping Plovers immediately stole the show, and I counted a total of thirteen Piping Plovers before I set the shutter firing and limited my gaze to the magnification of my 70-300mm Sigma lens. Also in attendance were Semipalmated Plovers, Sanderlings with a variety of transitional plumages evident, Semipalmated Sandpiper and a Western Willet. Mike would take the lead on identifying Western Willet versus Eastern Willet. I think before most of us were thinking about identifying the Willets, Mike had already identified the individuals we were observing. I tore myself away from the Piping Plover show long enough to appreciate that this Western Willet had just picked up a gigantic Mole Crab and walked off to eat it. I fired a few shots, but the bird and prey were a little out of reach.

The next predator/prey interaction came when a Piping Plover we had been photographing suddenly dropped to the beach and sat very very still. Ron Sinclair called it, and looking up we found the suspected Peregrine Falcon that had scared the plover into immobility. Presently, the falcon disappeared from sight and the plover returned to foraging as if nothing had ever happened. Those of us with cameras literally crawled along the beach stalking Piping Plovers for portraiture. We captured some behaviors such as the foot shuffling that these shorebirds use while looking for prey, the falcon aversion behavior, an agonistic display where one plover chased off a rival, and a very private toilet behavior. All this was accomplished on our stomachs or knees. Who knew broken shells could be so painful. Nevertheless, the photos and intimate perspective on the lives of these charismatic beach nesters were worth the sand-worn knees and moments of brushing salty sand from equipment.

Some very cooperative Forster’s Terns and Least Terns diverted my attention while Mike and Ron continued to pursue Piping Plovers. Anna and Dennis were the only participants bipedal at this point. The two of them surrounded by crawling photographers doubtless would’ve made an odd photo in itself, but no one could tear themselves from the birds to compose it. Just off the beach, we watched and photographed Bottlenose Dolphins leaping high out of the surf and wrestling with each other. Common Terns, Royal Terns and Forster’s Terns flew past. Some carried fish and some were chased by gulls hoping for a free lunch. An American Oystercatcher worked the surf line before flying off, and the Black Skimmer show began to work its magic.
Hundreds of Black Skimmers flew over us, and circled around the point a few times before heading out to Nummy Island. The many sorties they flew before leaving allowed us ample opportunities for photographing the skimmers and enjoying their elegant flight style. The flock was so large and spread out we could not capture the entire group on camera. I did manage to photograph fifty-five Skimmer in a small subflock, though. We were now at the end of Stone Harbor Point, with no land left that wasn’t roped off.

We watched and photographed some Oystercatchers, and I pointed out a Brown Pelican on a distant sandbar. The evidence of the relentless storm tides that dominated the beaches this summer was all around. Very little land was available for nesting on the point compared to previous years. The tides had wrapped debris over the highest ropes that bounded the nesting area. The trudge back to the parking lot was dominated by heat, humidity and a growing presence of beach-goers. Ron or Mike found a live Moon Snail on the way back to the parking lot, which was another good indicator of how rough the waters had been lately. I pointed out an interesting tide-strewn “variety pack” of algae, which Ron and I also photographed. For subject matter, I turned to landscapes, gulls and my fellow participants. The light was still quite good, but the heat was a bit much.
Somehow we got back to the dredge impoundment where we found two Western Sandpipers with Semipalmated Plovers and Least Sandpipers. The Western Sandpipers were almost close enough to photograph, so we tried to get some good captures. On the walk back up the path we found some fairly cooperative Eastern Towhees, but the morning’s bird activity was fading even as the sun burned off the clouds.

Our next stop was Nummy’s Island, where we found good numbers of Yellow-crowned Night-herons, Glossy Ibis, calling Clapper Rails, both Eastern and Western Willets and a smattering of the expected shorebird species. The water levels seemed quite high at Nummy’s, and the birds were not very close. Consequently, we did not stay very long, and moved over to the Wetland Institute.

At the Wetlands Institute, I photographed a Greenhead Fly at the parking lot while everyone geared up. Then we were on the path heading towards the boat dock area of the Institute. We stopped for some brief obligatory photos of the Purple Martin house, and I took a photo of the lush poison ivy on the side of the path. A close Song Sparrow in poor light was too close for me to pass by without a few shots. A Tricolored Heron out on the marsh was distant, but not too distant for scope views and some photography – thank goodness for large birds. The Tricolored Heron was in fairly good light at least, and it had a nice green marsh for a background. Next up were a Willet and a Dowitcher, which were joined by a small group of Short-billed Dowitchers. These were close to the path and we spent some time with the dowitchers and their attendant Willet. Then we worked the grasses and found some peeps as well, though they were not cooperative enough for photography. Next up was a group of Laughing Gulls including several recently fledged birds, and the young birds made for some nice photo opportunities. Swallows swirled around us, and at one point a whole flock of Bank Swallows landed on the path.
Once we reached the dock, one of the first things we noticed was a group of Ruddy Turnstones roosting on the dock. These were a little distant, but not too far to pass by without photographing them. On the railing of the dock, a Common Tern allowed us a close approach for nearly frame-filling shots. Back on the dock, a Herring Gull was picking up and dropping a hatchling Diamondback Terrapin. I had read of gulls eating baby terrapins, and even met someone in Maryland who had briefly kept a male terrapin as a pet after it fell out of the sky and landed at his feet on the beach. Appropriately, he named that terrapin Lucky. This was the first time I had observed a gull predating a turtle, and I found I was still siding with the turtle. The gull picked up the little turtle and dropped it on the dock, then began to manipulate the turtle with its beak. Doubtlessly, the bird was trying to figure out how best to swallow the turtle or break into the shell. After a few moments, I had to intervene on the turtle’s behalf, and, after apologizing for the fact that this would scare away the Ruddy Turnstones, I headed toward that end of the dock. Unfortunately, the gull had no intentions of abandoning its lunch. The Herring Gull flew off with the terrapin in its beak, and Ron Sinclair saw it swallow the terrapin in flight. Afterwards we turned our lenses back to the remaining birds in the dock area: terns and gulls, blackbirds and swallows.

We broke for lunch, with half of the group heading their separate ways after the Wetlands Institute. After lunch, the rest of us met up at The Nature Conservancy Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge. There, I couldn’t help but take some shots of the cooperative Mute Swans, and various groups of ducklings and hen Mallards were also subjects that could not be passed up. Mike and I took some photos of the various swallows. These high speed aerial acrobats are not easily photographed in flight. That combined with the fact that they are fairly small birds that do not allow a very close approach meant that these flight photography experiments met with somewhat mixed results. The few success stories on my Flickr account are heavily cropped.

On the refuge beach, we found Paul some Oystercatchers to photograph, and I took some shots of Paul photographing the birds. Inshore Bottlenose Dolphins splashed and seemed to be wrestling with each other in the surf, and another Western Willet made a brief appearance. We counted eight Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosting on the beach, and found all the other expected gull species. A couple Piping Plovers were distant, but we set up a scope and enjoyed watching them. On the beach, Mike went on-line and we learned about the Black-bellied Whistling-duck seen earlier at the state park. Mike also provided some up-to-date information about the Roseate Spoonbill at Brigantine. At this point, Paul and Diane left us (I believe they headed up to Brig for the Spoonbill if I am remembering correctly) and the field trip was down to Mike and me.

We photographed a Little Blue Heron and some young Gadwalls on the way back to the parking lot. I took a couple shots of a robberfly as well. Mike wanted to search for the Whistling-duck, so we wound up at Cape May Point State Park. We were heading to the back area where a Whistling-duck had spent the better part of the day earlier that year, but I said something to the effect of “We should probably check the Lighthouse Pool even though it won’t be there. When we got to the bird blind we were shocked to find the Black-bellied Whistling-duck roosting on the floating platform right by the bird blind. Once we had taken way too many photographs of this bird, we moved on to the St Peter’s Jetty to look for seabirds and roosting terns. The best birds we had there were two very distant Black Terns working the rips, but a little sea watching is always a nice ending to a Cape May trip.