152 Species on this Custom List
To upload the attached Custom list and Quiz yourself on birds that may be seen on this VENT Tour, right-click HERE and select "Save Target As.." (You may want to rename the file Cape_May.xml)
Sep. 28-Oct. 5, 2008
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.
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.
To Get (upload) a Custom List from this Forum and add it to your computer:
1. Open the Posting of the Custom List you want to upload to your computer.
2. Right-click on the word "Attachment" at the bottom of the post -- it will be a hyperlink and underlined.
3. Select "Save Target As..." and save to your desktop. (You may want to rename the file - but do not change the .xml file extension)
4. Open your Thayer Birding Software birding program version 3.5 or 3.9.
5. Click the Custom List icon
6. In the upper left corner of the Custom List screen, click on the word File.
7. Click Import. Select the file you just uploaded to your desktop. Click Open.
8. The Custom List will now appear on your computer with your other Custom Lists. (You may rename the Custom List if you like.)
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