Northfield - Hadley - Newark - Cape May
With my group arriving early evening at Newark Liberty International Airport I planned a casual, less stressful approach to the drive by taking Interstate 91 south, then west on the Massachusetts Turnpike and south on the New York State Thruway before picking up the Garden State Parkway just before Newark. Before the journey started in earnest I decided to have one last attempt at seeing the long staying Yellow-crowned Night-heron at Lake Warner Dam in Hadley. Much to my chagrin this darn heron had eluded me on three previous visits. I didn't do anything different but this time the beast came to me. I just parked up, started scanning and there it was, roosting out in the open amid beautiful autumnal foliage. Five minutes later I was on my way south focusing on the job in hand but certainly, the appearance of the often aloof night-heron seemed like a solid precursor to a great trip to Cape May.
Yellow-crowned Night-heron. Lake Warner Dam, Hadley Hampshire Co., MA. October 10th, 2018.
Juvenile, present but often aloof from about September 16th, 2018.
Juvenile, present but often aloof from about September 16th, 2018.
As much as I didn't relish the thought of picking up a group from the airport at rush hour it wasn't too long before we were well south of Newark and speeding down the Garden State Parkway towards Cape May. Dave, John and Angela had been genuinely surprised by a wave of warm, humid air that hit them on leaving the air-conditioned terminal building but thankfully October 10th would prove to be the only day of the trip where heat and humidity might have been a problem. Fortunately for us the day was dedicated solely to travel.
Roadside birds were few as we drove south but we did record Great and Snow Egrets, Black-crowned Night-heron, Turkey and Black Vultures, Peregrine, Red-tailed Hawk and Chimney Swift before reaching Cape May in the coastal darkness, the lights of the harbor guiding us in towards our accommodation for the next eight nights. Checking into our clean, quiet, quaint motel couldn't have been more straight forward. And we even had time for an evening meal at the rather busy 'Lucky Bones Back Water Grille' to set us up for an early start the next day. It felt really good to be back in Cape May!
Roadside birds were few as we drove south but we did record Great and Snow Egrets, Black-crowned Night-heron, Turkey and Black Vultures, Peregrine, Red-tailed Hawk and Chimney Swift before reaching Cape May in the coastal darkness, the lights of the harbor guiding us in towards our accommodation for the next eight nights. Checking into our clean, quiet, quaint motel couldn't have been more straight forward. And we even had time for an evening meal at the rather busy 'Lucky Bones Back Water Grille' to set us up for an early start the next day. It felt really good to be back in Cape May!
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