A Coudy And Windy Afternoon Hike In The South Cape May Meadows

I returned to Cape May New Jersey  last weekend, my third visit to this quaint little shore town.  I was here last October for the first time in 25 years, when I came for the Fall bird migration.   I  was here  on Friday for the Spring  song bird migration. Cape May is located along the Atlantic Flyway a major migratory route for  birds returning from their  Winter homes in the southern United States, the Caribbean Islands, Central America and even as far away as South America. This pair of purple martins I saw on Saturday spent their Winter in South America.  I think this is amazing.

On this visit I decided to stay at the  quaint, old fashioned Jetty Hotel.

It is  located on Beach Avenue  and next to the  South Cape May Meadows. I loved this place. It took me back in time.

The hotel was built  in the late 1950’s  and I imagined the  many families and folks staying  here  the last half century. The happy  memories  of these people haunted the room. I arrived around 2:30 p.m. on Friday  after I drove  the 193 miles from my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania in a heavy rain and wind.  The rain had stopped when I reached Cape May but it remained cloudy with a strong northwesterly wind.

After checking into my room, I was  soon off and walking  past the dunes next to the hotel and onto the deserted  beach. The skies were still cloudy.

The wind was strong and waves crashed on the shore.  The storm clouds gave  the ocean  an ominous look. I enjoyed the hike along the rough seas. I imagined the anxiety the stormy weather would create in the first sailors and their families.

There were a few sea gulls and shore birds flying in the winds but they were hard to photograph. I believe this was a lesser black -backed gull I was able to photograph.  ( I am not an expert on birds, I am getting better at the song birds  but  gulls and shore birds confuse me so please correct me if I misidentify a bird. Thanks.)  This was interesting  sighting  for me since the last one I saw was in Spain, They are native to the  Europe and   only recently became established on the American Atlantic coasts.

I walked along the beach, enjoying the crashing of the waves. The winds got even stronger. They were not many seashells  on the shore,

and no  Cape May “diamonds”. They are quartz crystals found on the beaches of Cape May Point. I still have the ones I gathered on my first visit 25 years ago.

One of the reasons I  decided on the Jetty Hotel was I saw it was next to the  South Cape May Nature Preserve. This 200 acre  nature preserve  includes the undeveloped beach I was on, dunes and freshwater wetlands. I loved hiking it in the Fall.  I thought I could walk right into the preserve from the beach, However, I found access  from the beach was restricted  because of the nesting shorebirds on the beach. I had to walk about a 1/2 mile on the beach until I could  enter the preserve. I didn’t mind walking on the stormy beach.

I came to a path through the dunes

and  entered the South Cape May Meadows Preserve.

 I noticed these leaves  pushing through the sand, I believe they were seaside goldenrod.  ( I am not a plant expert either and rely on my PictureThis plant iPhone App and Google lens for identifications so, again, please correct me is I am wrong. Thanks again.)

I came to the Dune Trail. I was hoping to see migratory song birds heading north. But no birds were moving in the strong winds reaching 35 mph.

It was still nice walking on the trails and observing the new Spring leaves on the plants and tree along the trails. I took the East Trail Spur, a dead end trail where I saw a lot of birds in the fall.

Not a one on Friday but I did see a pair of Canada geese with only two goslings.  The geese usually have a dozen or more offspring so I am guessing there are predators in the preserve, either hawks, eagles, fox, shuns or even feral cats.

The trail took me  through a woodlands of  mostly,    northern bayberry

and wax myrtle shrubswith some eastern red cedar, black cherry and winged  sumac trees.

All  of them sprouting new leaves. Despite the dreary weather Spring had arrived at the Jersey shore.

Along the trail I saw northern dewberry flowers,

and these blackberry flowers ready to bloom.

A few small southern red oaks were also sprouting new leaves.

And there was plenty of poison ivy plants along the trail. And ticks too I pulled over a dozen off me on my hike.

I did see a few birds, but no migratory birds or anything exciting, just a few field sparrows,

and this osprey flying overhead.

The walk on this side trail was worth it when I saw this bright green frog sitting on the trail. Google lens tells me it is a green tree frog.

I walked to the pond on the trail and

and the back to the Dune Trail. The Dune Trail was wider and well maintained.  There were a few folks walking on the trail despite the wind and cold temperatures in the 50’s.

It took me past a series of Plover Ponds, On the first  Plover Pond along the trail I saw this beautiful but invasive mute swan

and an American coot.

The Dune Trail continued and became the State Park Connection Trail and then  the Plover Trail on the maps of the nature preserve.  The trail would lead to the famous Cape  May Lighthouse which could now be seen in the distance.  I wasn’t going to hike there on this stormy afternoon.

Instead I hiked to the Monarch and Plover trails which first took me into a woodland of pitch pine, oak and cedar trees.

There were some Philadelphia fleabane,

and bull thistle flowers blooming along the trail.

Here I finally saw a migratory bird, this white eyed vireo singing in the woodland.

I also saw this red winged blackbird perched on a tree top.

The trail now took me on a boardwalk through a wetland. Reeds and wax myrtle bushes  grew along the boardwalk with some occasional pine, oak ,and cedar trees.

It took me back to the Dune trail which I followed to the Main Trail,

and to a bird blind. Here I found a lot of birds, shore and water birds, and not the migratory song birds I  hoped to see. They didn’t mind the wind and stormy conditions.

There were a pair of  snowy egrets,

 a few mallard ducks,  

and gadwalls,

a  large flock of short billed Dowitchers

 a lesser yellowlegs,

and a solitary sandpiper all foraging for food in the shallow waters of the pond.

I walked to a second bird observation   tower before  starting my hike back to the hotel. I only saw a few Canada geese here and the same birds I saw at the bird blind.

I walked back along the stormy beach,

finding more seashells that washed up  on the shore.

I saw a few laughing gulls along the shore and others flying over  the waves.

Many least terns and Forster’s terns flew overhead,

and I saw this common grackle looking for a meal on the shore.

As I was finishing my 4 1/2 mile hike I saw one more bird,  another osprey , diving for fish near a jetty.  Here is a link to a  photo gallery on my blog webpage with some more photos  of the birds I saw on  my hike in the preserve. South  Cape May Meadows hike birds May 9 2025.

I returned to my hotel around 5 p.m.  I was glad to see the shore birds  and water fowl on my hike but  I had hoped to see more migratory song birds. However I wasn’t too disappointed. I enjoyed the  hike in woodlands and the peace and quiet of the trails.  I even enjoyed the ocean more despite  the strong winds and overcast skies.Here is a link to a  photo gallery on my blog webpage with some more photos from my hike in the preserve. South  Cape May Meadows hike May 9 2025.

I was hungry when I returned . I like to hike a lot which allows me   to eat. a lot.  .A friend recommend a some  restaurants in Cape May.   I called a few of them  and they were all booked. I was finally able to get a table at the Back Street Simply Delicious restaurant at   5:30 p.m. It  was only  about a mile from my hotel so I quickly changed and showered.   I found it was a quaint little byob.  I was greeted by a friendly gentleman who I think was the owner and served by a pleasant and helpful waitress. I started with a bowl of delicious lobster and shrimp bisque,

and had their famous crab cakes served with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. Also delicious.

I was hungry so I had room for a warm blueberry cobbler for dessert. It was a wonderful meal.

I returned to my hotel and edited some photos for about an hour. It  was now close to sunset. I  walked to Cove Beach  just across  the street from my hotel and joined a small crowd who gathered to watch the sunset.

The skies had begun to clear making for a  magnificent sunset.

I watched the sun slowly sink below the western horizon,behind the Cape May Lighthouse.

It was a colorful and beautiful unset. They all are.

 I walked to my room with the waxing gibbous Flower moon in the eastern sky. It was a great ending to the beginning of my weekend in Cape May.  It was a long day and I was  tired I soon fell asleep  with my window open listening to the waves crashing on the beach.

“Foam is white and waves are grey; Beyond the sunset leads my way.” J.R.R Tolkien