Cape May Bird Observatory

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Cape May Bird Observatory Founded in 1976 by New Jersey Audubon, CMBO is a leader in research, environmental education, bird conservation, and recreational birding activities.

New Jersey Audubon is a privately supported, not-for profit, statewide membership organization. Founded in 1897, and one of the oldest independent Audubon societies, NJ Audubon has no affiliation with National Audubon.

Only two more days to register for our 2026 Fall Festival!Festival registrants not only get access to all the birding to...
10/08/2026

Only two more days to register for our 2026 Fall Festival!

Festival registrants not only get access to all the birding tours, boat trips, indoor programs, and trolley tours, but they can also take advantage of the Thursday evening Kick-Off Party and Friday night VIP Reception at Convention Hall.

Can't register this year but still want to get in on the fun? Come visit us and our vendors at the Convention Hall Nature Place all weekend long!

Learn more about all the FREE Festival events here: https://cvent.me/gw1M0G

10/07/2026

For this Week’s Wednesday from the Watch, we present footage from the Cape May Hawkwatch on two of the season's biggest flight days so far: Monday the 5th and Tuesday the 6th.

After an 80℉ day last Friday, the winds have shifted, and it finally feels like Fall down here in Cape May. With two consistent days of Northwest winds, thousands of migrants funneled into our peninsula, and we had a RECORD-BREAKING Merlin Flight on Monday, October 5th!

Historically, our highest Merlin single-day counts include:
-September 30th, 1999 with 867 Merlins
-September 29th, 1994 with 558 Merlins
-October 12th, 2018 with 471 Merlins

This previous Monday, October 5th, our hawkwatch counter, David Benvent, counted 1,053 individual Merlins flying past the Cape May Hawkwatch Platform between 6:45 AM and 7:00 PM. In the 50 years of counting migrating raptors from Cape May Point, this is the single highest day of Merlin flight in history! Congratulations to David Benvent on a fantastic migration count & here’s to more record-breaking counts during our 50th season!

As always, thank you to ZEISS Birding for sponsoring our Cape May Hawkatch this season! We can’t wait to share the migration season with you next weekend at the Cape May Fall Festival!

Yesterday was the first day of the 2026 Avalon Seawatch Season!We are excited to welcome this year's Seawatch Counter, R...
10/02/2026

Yesterday was the first day of the 2026 Avalon Seawatch Season!

We are excited to welcome this year's Seawatch Counter, Ryan Zucker, to Cape May for his first season with the Cape May Bird Observatory. After asking Ryan for his highlights from the first day of the season, he mentioned the 100 Brown Pelicans seen flying north over the course of the day, as well as the impressive flight of 675 Forster's Terns he recorded. The first Great Cormorant of the season was also seen, along with four Parasitic Jaegers!

The Seawatch will take place every day from sunrise until sunset through December 22, so there are plenty of opportunities to visit Ryan in person! Our CMBO Interpretive Naturalists will also be with Ryan every Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm during the month of October to point out birds and deliver a 2 PM Seabird ID Workshop. This FREE program reviews the top five species counted from the watch, as well as how the migration count is conducted.

A special thanks goes out to the Borough of Avalon for their continued support of the Avalon Seawatch!

Forster's Tern photo by Josh Davidson
Brown Pelican photo by Martina Nordstrand

How seasons change! For this week’s Wednesday from the Watch, we are sharing the totals from the first month of the 2026...
09/30/2026

How seasons change! For this week’s Wednesday from the Watch, we are sharing the totals from the first month of the 2026 Hawkwatch season. September was full of unexpected weather, interesting flights, and lots of visitors. Here’s hoping October will bring fewer nor’easters and more cold fronts!

Swipe for the totals from the Cape May and Montclair Hawkwatches so far.

To catch the action yourself, visit either of our watch sites or head to our website's Migration Watch pages to check out Trektellen for live count updates. As always, thank you to ZEISS Birding for your continued support and sponsorship of the Cape May Hawkwatch.

Sharp-shinned Hawk photo by Martina Nordstrand

09/23/2026

Whether you just got into birding or have been birding your entire life, we’ve all struggle with identifying American Kestrel vs Merlins. And that’s okay!

Tune into this week’s Wednesday on the Watch to hear from our naturalists on their go-to field marks for identifying these two small falcon species.

Disclaimer: Every one experiences and sees birds differently and every occasion is different. Most times, birders use a collection of all these field marks in order to figure out the species.

The Cape May Hawkwatch, sponsored by ZEISS, is still the best place to practice identifying these birds! Stop on by this fall and thank you to ZEISS Birding for the support.

09/22/2026

Looking for a different kind of winter getaway with some feathered friends? NJ Audubon Eco-Travel has a few spaces remaining on our Minnesota in Winter tour led by Scott Barnes and Sean McLaughlin in late January 2027. Experience the north woods and massive Lake Superior as we search for Great Gray and Northern Hawk-Owl, Ruffed and Sharp-tailed Grouse, Black-billed Magpie, and winter finches like Redpoll, Red Crossbill, and Pine and Evening Grosbeaks. This rare Boreal Owl was seen well the 2025 tour (video by Scott Barnes).

https://njaudubon.org/eco-travel/

And just like that, our Fall Festival is less than four weeks away!Gather up a group of your friends and reserve your sp...
09/19/2026

And just like that, our Fall Festival is less than four weeks away!

Gather up a group of your friends and reserve your spots before registration closes on October 10th.

Click here to learn more: https://cvent.me/ZD2o50

Photo by Caroline Behnke

Last Thursday, the Cape May Bird Observatory hosted a celebration at the Rea Farm in celebration of 50 years as a conser...
09/17/2026

Last Thursday, the Cape May Bird Observatory hosted a celebration at the Rea Farm in celebration of 50 years as a conservation organization, welcoming past and current staff and supporters. This milestone marks an amazing half a century of commitment to nature and our community through research, conservation, environmental education, and recreational birding.

2026 also marks the reopening of our newly renovated Northwood Center. These renovations, which aim to improve accessibility, comfort, and resources for visitors, honor the legacy of those who helped shape CMBO and help ensure that we can continue welcoming nature enthusiasts for years to come.

None of these improvements would be possible without our members and donors, whose support made this major undertaking possible, and our dedicated volunteers, who are the heart of CMBO. We are grateful to everyone who has helped make the past 50 years possible and look forward to all that’s still to come!

Caught red-handed?🚩 No worries, there’s still plenty of time to enjoy all that the Cape May Bird Observatory has to offe...
09/17/2026

Caught red-handed?🚩

No worries, there’s still plenty of time to enjoy all that the Cape May Bird Observatory has to offer! From trails filled with butterflies and wildflowers to exhilarating views from the Hawkwatch, there’s truly something for everyone.

Not sure where to start? Our naturalists are always happy to help you explore, answer your questions, and share what makes Cape May such a special place. Check out our program calendar to see all of our upcoming programs...but here are a few we really think you shouldn't miss!

☀Fall Migration Cruise on The Osprey: September 26th 1 PM - 4 PM
☀Monarch Fest: September 27th 10 AM - 4 PM NJ Audubon's Nature Center of Cape May
☀The Little Sit w/The Nature Conservancy: October 3rd 8 AM - 12 PM
☀Raptor Migration at its Best: October 9th 8 AM - 4 PM

Are you ready for the third Wednesday from the Watch of the season? This week we hear from our Cape May Hawkwatch Counte...
09/16/2026

Are you ready for the third Wednesday from the Watch of the season? This week we hear from our Cape May Hawkwatch Counter, David Benvent, as he recaps the first two weeks of the season.

Even though the Northwest winds are still evading us, we have still managed to observe over 1,300 Ospreys moving south, with the peak day on September 4th with 251 individuals counted. Another early-season highlight was the Mississippi Kite spotted from the Hawkwatch on September 8th! This species was missing from last year’s total, so David was very excited to secure the Kite sighting during his second season counting for us. David also had two days, September 5th and 14th, when he counted over 400 American Kestrels, which brings our total-to-date to 1,100 individuals.

If you’re looking for ways to improve your falcon identification this fall, spending time on the Cape May Hawkwatch Platform in the late afternoon in the coming weeks may allow you to catch the spectacle of Merlin and Kestrel migration and feeding, continuing until sunset. Can’t make it to Cape May this month? Tune in to next week’s Wednesday from the Watch to learn some tips and tricks for telling the American Kestrel and Merlin falcons apart!

Don’t forget, our Interpretive Staff will be on the Hawkwatch Platform from 8:00am to 5:00pm through October 31st to answer any migration and identification questions you may have. Don’t have binoculars? Not a problem! This year’s Hawkwatch sponsor, ZEISS Birding, has provided scopes and binoculars for public use.

And don’t miss out on our FREE weekly Hawkwatch programs at the Cape May Point State Park:
Migration 101 every Thursday & Friday at 11 AM until October 9th
Hawk ID Mini-Workshop every Saturday & Sunday at 9:30 AM until October 25th

Address

701 E Lake Drive
Cape May Point, NJ
08204

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Saturday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Sunday 9:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+16098842736

Website

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