See if you can spot the American Bittern.

The parasitic Mistletoe, fruiting with white berries, growing on a branch.

Today was a day not like any other. Today was the day I found one of the rarest birds I've ever seen. It all began at Coral Ave in Cape May Point. I had come looking for a few interesting spring migrants that had been making their way North. Mississippi Kites were my main goal, with a local Lark Sparrow being an early addition to my spring list.

The Lark Sparrow wasn't too tough to find. It had been hanging around Lake Lily and was still feeding is the same area it had been seen at previously. The kites were a little harder to find. Most of the Kite activity had been very high migrants lazily circling north. The pointed wings and long tails give these slender raptors away in flight. Tom Reed got me on one as it flew in large arcing circles in the sky heading north from Coral Ave.

"Anything interesting I should be looking for this morning?" I asked Tom.
"One of the counters is pretty sure they had a an interesting Vireo yesterday, possibly Black-whiskered Vireo." he responded. "Last time a rare vireo showed up, it spent most of it's time on the dead end path at the Meadows. Not Many people bird that section of the trail it can hold some surprises" Tom remarked.
"Great, I'll go check it out. Thanks for the info." I called back as I headed towards my car.

Many of you may know the birding locations of Cape May pretty well. I was heading to the South Cape May Meadows, mostly just called "the Meadows" by the locals. its a very short drive over from Coral Ave. I made my way to the gravel Parking lot and pulled in to a spot. The sand and stone trail crunching beneath my feet, I made my way to the large bird blind that had been erected on the Eastern Pool. "Nothing much going on at that pool" I thought to myself.

I made my way towards the dead end trail. Right at the base of the dunes there were two Blackpool Warblers jumping around. The sky was overcast and the ceiling low. There were lots of tree swallows, Purple Martins and a few Chimney Swifts flying over the rear pool as I approached. I was just going through the paces. "There's 5 Tree Swallows, 4 more, 15 Purple Martin's, 7 Chimney Swifts. There's another Purple Martin... wait that's not a martin. My jaw dropped as a swift species I had never seen flew about twenty feet over my head. This Dark swift was a bit larger then the local Chimney Swifts, and it had a whitish chin and a long Forked Tail.

I got some photos quick and opened my Merlin App to compare it to anything. My mind was racing, Black Swift, no, White-throated Swift, no, Pacific Swift, no... Common Swift? That's a pretty good match. Could it be a Common Swift. I sent a Message to Tom Reed, but I knew he was busy and didn't expect an answer right away. I also sent a photo to Tom Baxter and said is there anything else this could be?

"Whatever that is, it's a first state record." was his response. "post it out to the group chats quick." I posted an image with the message: Possible Common Swift, Cape May Meadows, Dead End Trail Pond, then I waited. This was all going down during the Cape May spring festival so it took people a little time to respond. It took what seemed like hours, but was probably about 25 minutes, for the first tentative search party to show up. A few birders I had met before. "Follow me." I said "I'll take you to where I saw it." Once again there it was in all its uncommon glory. Such an amazing bird!

After the first group came and went a small crowd began to gather, and it got bigger and bigger. By mid day the cloud cover was still keeping the birds low and about 60 people were searching the sky over the meadows. A few guided walks from the festival came by and it seemed some of the walk leaders may have diverted their walks to swing by and see this amazing sight. I met so many great birders that day, getting thanked and congratulated by those who knew me and hearing whispered conversations around me of, "Oh, that's the guy who found it? wow what a find!"

Now came the interesting part. as the day wore on the clouds lifted, as did the birds. The swifts and others now high in the sky just dots against the sea of blue and white above. People who arrived later now had to work much harder to find the swift among the swarming birds. There was one voice that stood out against the positive vibes being thrust my way at this point. "You really shouldn't call an Apus Swift without really great views or photos comparing it to the other very similar species." said a very knowledgeable birder. I don't know if they knew how close this bird was to me earlier. I had amazing views and some good photos to work with. "What other species should I compare it with?" I asked, hesitant about the answer. "While Common Swift would be the most likely candidate, Pallid Swift is on the watch list for the US. That's about it, but those two are very hard to tell apart even by a trained birder."

I had my task. Prove to myself and the birding community at at large it was, in fact, a Common Swift. I spent five hours combing through websites and Field Guides looking for definitive field marks. Finally, I was satisfied with my ID. I have added the checklist here if you want to check out what else was seen during my trip around the meadows.

I spent a very nice morning at John Heinz NWR. I was picking Sydney up from the airport at around 2pm and had the morning to bird. John Heinz NWR is 11 minutes from Philly international Airport for those of you who may not know. The refuge comprises the largest remaining freshwater tidal Marsh in all of PA! The whole refuge is about 1000 acres in size situated just outside of Philadelphia.

I rolled in later than usual for me, about 11:00, and birded for almost 4 hours. The birds were singing the whole time: Lots of Yellow Warblers, Palm Warblers (all yellow subspecies), and so many Yellow-rumped Warblers. I have only visited once before but it is an amazing place. I was greeted by a very nice refuge volunteer who told me some species seen earlier that day including an American Bittern, my favorite; and so my trek began.

The loop I walked was 4.5 miles. I was joined by throngs of birders and city dwellers alike just getting out for a nice walk. Four Caspian Terns showed of their impressive orange bills and snappy wing beats over the Big Boardwalk. They were very vocal as the flew high over the water. A few osprey had joined them up high, while low just over the water what seemed like uncountable Tree and Barn Swallows darted around the massive pool. I estimated the number of Tree Swallows to be about 110 but I'm sure that number could be higher.

It took me a while to get an ear for Rusty Blackbird songs and call notes but with practice and running into them regularly now I see and hear them all over! There were a few calling and flying around at different points on the trail. There short metallic song usually ending in an rising slur is similar to other blackbird species locally but definitely distinguishable in the field. Compare it to common grackles short all metallic single or two part song with a very short rising slur at the end, if any.

Once I found some calmer areas of water hidden around corners or tucked away just enough to provide some cover I saw another common swallow species: Northern-rough Winged Swallow. These large dusty brown swallows are another aerial acrobat swooping and diving over the water to catch insects. I stopped at the James Carroll Observation Tower and enjoyed seeing the whole wetland before me. It was still early in the day; I took it all in and kept moving.

My next interesting find was on the Tinicum Marsh Boardwalk. There were rafts of floating reeds and other sundry items. That can be great habitat for shorebirds, so I never pass up a glance. I am glad I looked; there were two Greater Yellowlegs standing amid the reeds and plastic bottles and pieces of styrofoam, but blending in to the background was a shorebird with yellow legs. Smaller than the Yellowlegs but not as small as a Least Sandpiper. The bird had a heavy breast with dense streaks of light and dark mottled brown, and a two toned, slightly decurved bill. Anyone figure it out yet? It was a Pectoral Sandpiper! An early migrant still seemingly still in nonbreeding plumage based on how light the bird was.

Honestly, the rest of my walk was nice but I didn't have any other amazing finds. I ended my trip with 58 species. I had some misses like the American Bittern, Green Heron, and Belted Kingfisher. Sixty or Sixty-five species is easily a reachable number. Now time for a little rant.

I passed by so many birders and photographers on my walk. Many of the people I passed had their phones held out in front of them. I would walk up to them and ask "What is Merlin hearing?" and they would say "oh it was a Yellow-rumped Warbler" or "It keeps telling me there is a Yellow Warbler here, but I cant find it!" Learn your bird songs people, and get some binoculars for god's sake! I'm kidding, of course. If I had a tool like Merlin when I was new to birding I'm positive I would have used it the same way. Do seriously get some binoculars though, hunting for little warblers with a camera must be tough!

I picked Sydney up from the airport after a little misunderstanding over the baggage claim area (I don't fly very much) and we went on our way home. Sydney and I ate at a Cracker Barrel on the way. She is obsessed with salt and pepper shakers and Cracker Barrel has no shortage of options for her to look through. I was taken with a collared button-up flamingo shirt, but they didn't have my size. I've been looking for a nice button up with birds on it that I can wear out, real birds not that fake off colored and fantastical species stuff. The staff was nice but the food was mediocre at best. when did they stop bringing a corn bread and biscuit basket to the table right away?

Thus ended my birding day. Have you ever visited John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge? it really is a wonderful place, and a great place for people from the city to get outside and enjoy some nature for a change. Next time you find yourself over by the PHL why don't you stop on by for some birding! I would definitely give John Heinz National wildlife refuge a big old five stars.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

and remember the birds wait for no one so Bird On!