Oct 5, 2017
Cape May Point State Park, New Jersey
6:52am: I am standing on the famous Cape May Bird Observation Deck (also known as the Hawkwatch Platform) waiting for the sun to rise over the tree line on the far side of Bunker Pond. Aside from Eric Bruhnke, the Cape May Bird Observatory staff naturalist and ornithologist in charge of the daily count for the annual fall migratory Hawkwatch, I am the only other person on the deck in the quiet, summer-like warmness of this autumn morning. I’m facing east-northeast with the pond stretching out directly in front of me and the sand dunes of Cape May Point Beach to my right. The dunes stretch ahead of me alongside the east side of the pond and continue behind me, wrapping around Cape May Point to the south and onward to Sunset Beach on the west side of the point. I can hear the peaceful rush of ocean waves just beyond them. The bite of the salty sea air mingles with the soft fragrance from Bunker Pond and it’s surrounding flora. Directly behind me stands the iconic Cape May Lighthouse, its whitewashed cylinder taking on an amber glow from the coming sunrise. Built in 1859, it is the third lighthouse of record to sit at this southernmost tip of New Jersey and is still an active maritime navigation light.
6:59am: The first sliver of the golden orb appears just above the distant tree line beyond the pond. A flock of Canada Geese glide in for a landing on the far side of the pond and begin to paddle towards the first shaft of sunlight on the gray colored water. With camera and wide angle lens mounted on tripod, I take photos of the spectacular view before me. At this moment, I feel it is a true privilege and blessing to be able to witness and enjoy nature in all its sereneness and glory.
7:05 am: The sun moves up fast and Eric spots another thing moving fast across the pale blue morning sky. It is the first Peregrine Falcon of the day and it is traveling south along the coastline at a good clip of about 35 mph. And that’s just its cruising speed. When in pursuit of prey, this raptor can increase its speed to 69 mph. And when stooping, or dropping on prey with their wings closed from high elevation, it’s been calculated that Peregrine Falcons can achieve speeds of up to 240 mph, making them the fastest animals on the planet! It turns out, things are not as slow and quiet as they seem this morning. The Peregrine Falcon reminds us of that as he goes about his business of living.
7:10am: The sun is now a full, bright yellow ball above the tree line and I decide it is time to switch from my wide angle camera lens to the telephoto lens I’ll need to take closeup bird photos now that the available light is starting to increase. I dismount the camera from the tripod and turn away from the pond in order to move over to a bench and change my lens. I am about to remove the wide angle lens from the camera body when all of a sudden I hear the loud honking of a flock of Canada Geese and I know they are taking off from the water behind me. I instinctively pick up the camera and quickly turn back towards the pond while simultaneously placing the viewfinder towards my eye, focusing and shooting as the flock flies towards me and then overhead. The entire flock is over the water now and is beautifully silhouetted with the sun rising behind them. Magnificent photos! But these birds aren’t done with their show just yet. The flock proceeds to fly towards the lighthouse and I assume they will disappear beyond it. Instead, I continue to watch in amazement as they wheel around the lighthouse and come straight back towards me, flying high in a perfect V formation with the lighthouse now behind them. They are heading back towards the pond! Again, I quickly focus, press the shutter and shoot rapid fire. I am rewarded with a bonus shot of these birds silhouetted once more against the dawn sky, this time with the glowing old Cape May Lighthouse in the background. No – it definitely wasn’t such a quiet morning sunrise after all. Nature saw to that!