Cape May is a world-renowned birding destination where the peninsula's natural funnel creates spectacular bird congregations during fall migration allowing birders to see over 100 species in a single day - many of which are East Coast specialties! Based in one location, you will explore top New Jersey hotspots, take a ferry across the bay to Delaware refuges, and enjoy abundant photo opportunities of southbound migrants.

With the right winds the skies can be filled with southbound raptors and swallows, hordes of Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers move through scrubby thickets, while looking out to the Atlantic Ocean we’ll see gannets and loons moving in mass, and in back bay saltmarshes flocks of shorebirds and waterfowl abound! 

We'll visit many of southern New Jersey’s top birding hotspots including Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, the Cape May Hawkwatch, Higbee Beach, the Avalon Seawatch, and the Cape May Meadows. One day will be set aside to take the ferry across the mouth of Delaware Bay to visit Cape Henlopen, Prime Hook, and Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuges for some time in Delaware where a few additional species are more likely to be found!

Although the birding can be fast-paced, we can often have the best experiences by staying put in one spot! The funnel-like shape of the Cape May Peninsula congregates birds of all species at the southern tip before they make the jump across the Delaware Bay. From the Cape May Hawkwatch or Higbee Beach, it's possible to see 100+ species in a day! With the surplus of migrating birds also comes great photo opportunities - especially of birds in flight! This is a really great trip to a classic destination at the peak of fall migration. We begin and end in Philadelphia, with all nights at one location in Cape May!

Number of times this tour has been run: 5

Average Bird Species Total: 135

Brief Itinerary:

Day 1 – Arrivals at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) in Philadelphia, PA. Afternoon birding en route to Cape May. Night in Cape May, NJ.

Day 2 through 6 – Southern New Jersey and Delaware Birding Hotspots. Exact daily itinerary will be determined during the tour, as weather and recent sightings dictate the best birding opportunities - see details below. Nights in Cape May, NJ.

Day 7 – Morning birding as time allows, and then 11am drop-offs to the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) in Philadelphia, PA.  

Arrivals at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, PA (PHL) before 1pm. After your guides gather everyone from the airport, we will depart south toward historic Cape May. Specific birding sites will be decided closer to the start of the tour based on recent sightings. Any notable rarities reporting recently will be top targets in addition to checking coastal hotspots for early-arriving sea ducks like Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck, scoters, etc. We will enjoy a nice dinner and peaceful evening in Cape May and get orientated for the week ahead! Night in Cape May, New Jersey.

The benefit of staying at one location in Cape May for the entire week is that we can pick and choose what we do each day based on the weather and recent sightings. We plan to do all of the following, and more! But specific daily itineraries will be decided during the tour. Our guides are extremely familiar with Cape May and have been birding New Jersey for their entire lives, so you can trust we will plan out the best birding opportunities possible! 

During this tour we always pray for Northwest winds! This pushes migrating birds toward the coast and down the Cape May peninsula where they congregate at Cape May Point. When the winds are in our favor, we’ll begin the day early at Higbee Beach and watch for songbird migrants flying in off the bay, and work our way through the field edges looking for mixed flocks. It won’t take long to realize that Cape May is probably the Yellow-rumped Warbler Capitol of the World! We will pick through the Yellow-rumps for other warbler species, sparrows, finches, woodpeckers, and maybe a late Yellow-billed Cuckoo! Overhead, raptors should be shooting around in search of the same birds we are! Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Merlin, Peregrines, and Osprey are especially common!

Speaking of raptors, we are very likely to make multiple visits to the Cape May Hawkwatch! From the hawkwatch platform we can scan for raptors while also keeping an eye on the large freshwater pond at Cape May Point State Park. Watching as hawks, eagles, and falcons suddenly “appear” out of the blue sky to the North of us and then work their way directly over us makes for a very exciting birding experience! It’s also really fun to share this experience with other birders at the hawkwatch - you also never know if a “birding celebrity” will make an appearance there too!

Other notable birds we may encounter around Cape May and nearby include Red-headed Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Winter Wren, Rusty Blackbird, Purple Finch, Blackpoll Warbler, Dickcissel, Brown Creeper, Eurasian Wigeon, Hermit Thrush, White-throated Sparrow, Broad-winged Hawk, Mute Swan, Black Skimmer, American Bittern, Marsh Wren, and perhaps White-rumped Sandpiper! Some years we have also been lucky to see rare Golden Eagle and even American Goshawk! You never know what might show up!

One morning or afternoon, we will take a leisurely boat cruise through the back bays of Cape May. The vast bays and coastal saltmarshes offer an awesome collection of species including American Oystercatcher and many other possible shorebirds, various herons and egrets including Tricolored Heron, Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Laughing Gull, Forster’s Tern, Clapper Rail, Marsh Wren, and the secretive “Salty Sparrows” - Seaside Sparrow, Nelson’s Sparrow, and Saltmarsh Sparrow!

Edwin B Forsythe NWR is a premiere birding hotspot in New Jersey. By slowly driving around the 8-mile auto tour loop, we hope to find American Black Duck, “Atlantic” Brant, Northern Pintail, and migrating shorebirds including both species of dowitchers. Rare birds show up here often, especially in fall! 

The Avalon Seawatch is run by the Cape May Bird Observatory and offers the chance to see many waterbirds and seabirds making their way south. We should be able to spot Northern Gannets, any of the 3 scoter species, both scaup species, Red-throated Loons, and more! It definitely helps to have a spotting scope for our time at the seawatch - our guides will have at least one scope, but we encourage you to bring your own if you have one.

Stone Harbor Point is another good shorebird location. We may find “Atlantic” Brant, American Oystercatcher, Red Knot, Ruddy Turnstone, and even Piping Plover is a possibility. Various terns and gulls can be found here as well. 

One full day will be dedicated to birding over in coastal Delaware. We’ll take an early-morning trip on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry from Cape May, New Jersey to Lewes, Delaware. Some people refer to this ferry ride as the “poor man’s pelagic” since some seabirds are possible, including scoters, gulls, Northern Gannets, and maybe Parasitic Jaeger!

Once we arrive in Delaware, the Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch and is a great place to kick off the day! Here we may find Red-throated Loon, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Northern Gannets, Parasitic Jaeger, Lesser Black-backed Gull, and our top target - Brown-headed Nuthatch! These tiny nuthatches are much more common in the southeastern states, but their range extends up to Cape Henlopen, and no further! We can usually track some down by their cute, nasal calls!

Another major destination in Delaware is Bombay Hook NWR north of Dover. Bombay Hook is legendary for its shorebirds, which may include Stilt Sandpiper, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Marbled Godwit, and maybe a Hudsonian Godwit! We’ll also hope for a few early returning Tundra Swans - these large waterfowl migrate down from the Arctic to congregate in farm fields and marshlands around the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays for the winter. As time allows we may also visit Prime Hook NWR which is another great spot for shorebirds, waterfowl, and occasional rarities!

In the early evening we will board the ferry back across Delaware Bay to good ol' Cape May!

We will plan some final morning birding as time allows, and then return north to the Philly airport. We plan to do all airport drop-offs at 11:00am, so please plan for flights no earlier than 1:30pm. Thanks for joining us for the week in Cape May!

Cape May & Delaware Bay 2025 eBird Trip Report

Cape May & Delaware Bay 2024 eBird TRIP REPORT

Cape May, Delaware Bay, & Hawk Mountain 2023 eBird TRIP REPORT

Cape May, Delaware Bay, & Hawk Mountain 2021 eBird TRIP REPORT

*note that pre-2024 versions included a Hawk Mountain, PA portion that is no longer part of this itinerary

• Eurasian Wigeon

• Clapper Rail

• American Woodcock

• Purple Sandpiper

• Lesser Black-backed Gull

• Great Cormorant

• Carolina Chickadee

• Seaside Sparrow

• Nelson’s Sparrow

• Saltmarsh Sparrow

• Connecticut Warbler

• Eurasian Wigeon

• Eared Grebe

• Anhinga

• Golden Eagle

• American Goshawk

• Say’s Phoebe

• Sage Thrasher

• Clay-colored Sparrow

• Connecticut Warbler

• Trails & Walking: We will walk a few miles per day on mostly flat, well-maintained paths, wide dirt tracks, boardwalks, and other reasonable paths with minimal tripping hazards.

• Pace: Leisurely, but with frequent stops. Daily field time 6+ hours. Easy access right to the birding spots. Plenty of time to stop and enjoy the birds, with helpful tips from our expert guides!

• Elevation: Sea level destination with minimal elevation gain.

• Weather: Mild and predictable. No risk of extreme heat, cold, or heavy precipitation.

• Logistics: Often some portions of each day are optional, but please review the itinerary carefully.

• Vehicle Seating: We typically use 12-passenger Ford Transit rental vans for this tour, but we try to limit the number of guides + birders to 9 total people per van. Other times we use minivans or larger SUVs. There are no drives longer than 1.5 hours during the course of this tour.