Birding By Boat on the Osprey

Very knowledgeable naturalist and captain on board the osprey. The name of the boat was fitting since we saw plenty of these magnificent birds. The wetlands were where the most birds for your buck. I added 10 species of birds to my life list. I highly recommend the osprey birding tour to be added to the list of things to do while in Cape May.

This was the highlight of our trip in Cape May. Our guides were fantastic and spotted so many birds! We saw more birds than we expected! Some of the birds that we saw were ospreys, egrets, herons, gulls, laughing gull babies, willets, and terns. There were several more birds that we saw but I must admit that we are not birding experts. I highly recommend this trip!

We went on the Cape May Bird Observatory/​New Jersey Audubon-​sponsored «Back Bay Birding by Boat from Cape May,» a three-​hour tour. The Osprey was well-​equipped with loaner binoculars, a birding scope, checklists, maps, bird photo postcards, a restroom, cushioned benches, and cold drinks ($ 1). Windows open and close to protect you from the elements, but Sunday was beautiful and crisp, so I spent a lot of the tour outside on the front deck. The ride was mostly smooth and quiet, which made it easy to take photos, and birds tended not to get too spooked.
Our naturalist (Dave Lord) and the boat captain (Bob?) were ridiculously good spotters, I was amazed at the birds they could see (and identify) from great distances. Dave spotted an American bittern hiding among the reeds, though it was so well-​camouflaged it took me (a non-​birder) a good five minutes to find it even after it was pointed out to me. Same thing with plovers, which to me just blended into the rocks, but Dave spotted them right away. When we found a particularly interesting bird, the boat would maneuver closely for photo ops and sometimes even set up a scope. Dave would make sure everyone got a chance to see the bird before we took off again.
Other highlights of our trip included several beautiful tri-​colored herons, a ton of adorable oyster catchers, a belted kingfisher, several types of terns, a trio (maybe a family?) of bald eagles (one with fish in its claws), and an American golden plover.
Our particular tour, on a holiday weekend, was rather crowded. The boat’s outside front deck is by far the best place to take photos, but only six people are allowed to stand out there at once. So sometimes you might not be at the prime spot when you want to be. Other than that, this was a perfect tour.

This trip was wonderful! I actually would do it again! the captain and the guides are so so knowledgeable. I will never understand how they spot birds that are so far away with their naked eye! Amazing. You can truly tell the staff loves what they do! We also had a guide from the Cape May bird observatory along. I really learned so much from everyone and saw so much! Such a cool experience! Everyone was so nice and accommodating! Would highly recommend this to anyone.

This was a great trip! Never saw so many Ospreys and so many other birds as well! Captain and Naturalist really made the trip, beautiful area and a side of Cape May we’ve never seen! Thanks!