Birds of the Atlantic Coast
Any time you go to the beach, there are opportunities to see birds. We went to Cape Henlopen State Park, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware, Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland and Cape May Point State Park in New Jersey -- all were great places to see wildlife. Unfortunately for us, the first couple of days at Cape Henlopen, Prime Hook were cloudy and raining, and the next day (May 25) on Assateague Island had very high wind (they even cancelled the ferry service between Lewes and Cape May on that day, something they rarely do). Finally the last day at Cape May gave us an excellen chance to see some nesting birds, including some endangered species such as the Least Tern and Piping Plover. (Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)
Even at Sandy Point State Park in Maryland on our way to our destinations, we managed to see some shorebirds, such as these Sanderlings.
At Slaughter Beach in Delaware, the eggs of the horseshoe crabs provided high protein food source for the migrating sea birds, such as these Semipalmated Sandpipers.
A Purple Martin at Prime Hook NWR.
A Black-bellied Plover on Assateague Island.
What appears to be an immature Greater Black-backed Gull trailing the ferry from Lewes to Cape May.
Cape May did not disappoint with its reputation of being a "birding hotspot".
Sanderling
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Flock of Semipalmated Sandpipers
Purple Martin
Black-bellied Plover
Black-bellied Plover
Black-bellied Plover
Greater Black-backed Gull
Forster's Tern
Forster's Tern
Least Tern
Least Tern
Black Skimmer
American Oystercatcher
Piping Plover
Short-billed Dowitcher
Short-billed Dowitcher
Mute Swan
Click the image below to return to the index page of Spring 2013 Atlantic Coast Trip: