V21 N43
November 30, 2023 V21, N43
November 30, 2023
V21, N43
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Bird Droppings<br />
Dispatches from the nation’s birdwatching capital… by Seymore Thanu<br />
This holiday season, forget about the<br />
sweater and electronics. This year,<br />
give someone a hobby they will enjoy<br />
for the rest of their lives. I’m talking<br />
about bird watching, a hobby enjoyed<br />
by 50 million North American residents.<br />
It’s a treasure hunt and the playing field<br />
is everywhere. From your own back yard to<br />
Papua New Guinea.<br />
There are 10,000 bird species on the<br />
planet. Collect them all and you win a lifetime<br />
of travel. But if you never get farther than Cape<br />
May, your days will be filled with treasure.<br />
Over 400 species have been recorded in the<br />
county, making Cape May one of the most<br />
bird-rich places on earth.<br />
All you need are binoculars and a field<br />
guide to the birds. Both can be had for less<br />
than $70. That’s less than a round of golf or<br />
dinner for two in Cape May. Most local birding<br />
locations are free. Every national wildlife<br />
refuge in North America can be accessed with<br />
the purchase of a single Federal duck stamp.<br />
Your unofficial lifetime goal should you<br />
choose to bird only in North America is 700<br />
species. So what’s it going to be? A lifelong<br />
treasure hunt or a life spent watching reruns<br />
of Gilligan’s Island or inane game shows?<br />
Let’s say you chose a life of adventure.<br />
Step one: Head down to Cape May Bird<br />
Observatory and get fitted with birder worthy<br />
binoculars — not all binoculars work in<br />
the bird watching arena. If you tried birding<br />
before but were frustrated, it was because the<br />
binoculars you were using were inadequate.<br />
Birding-worthy binoculars start at $49 and<br />
they focus fast, focus close and offer a bright,<br />
sharp image.<br />
Step two: Buy a well-conceived, userfriendly<br />
field guide to birds. I recommend the<br />
Kaufman guide, but the Sibley excels, too. If<br />
you own an Audubon Field Guide with the<br />
green plastic cover, throw it away. Buy a guide<br />
that works.<br />
Step three, pick up a free Cape May bird<br />
checklist.<br />
Step four: go outside, start scooping<br />
up treasure, each new species you identify<br />
counts as one.<br />
Try Bunker Pond, Lake Lily or South Cape<br />
May, ducks abound at these locations in winter<br />
and ducks play fair, swimming in the<br />
open where they are easily viewed. Different<br />
habitats host a different array of species.<br />
A trip to Second Avenue jetty will garner<br />
Purple Sandpipers, Red-throated Loon and<br />
Bonaparte’s Gull. And those sandpipers on<br />
the beach are Sanderlings. So much to see.<br />
Will the Magic of Cape May<br />
be enough to heal a fractured family<br />
in time for Christmas?<br />
A Celebration of Family & Love<br />
In America’s First Seaside Resort.<br />
Available October 10, 2023<br />
From the USA Today bestselling author of<br />
The Sound of Wings<br />
suzannesimonetti.com<br />
November 30, 2023 EXIT ZERO Page 31