Autumn Weekend: roundup

The first birding bloggers' conference, suggested by John and organized by Sharon, enticed a fair number of bloggers to join the fall festivities in Cape May. We posted entries before, during and after the event.

If you've thought of attending a birding festival but haven't yet, or if you missed out on this year's Autumn Weekend because of other obligations, then you can enjoy a taste here from the smorgasbord of online coverage.

Delia of Beginning to Bird: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday 1 and 2, Wednesday

The view Saturday, about 5 p.m., from the promenade north of the convention hall

John of Born Again Bird Watcher: Friday 1, 2 and 3; Sunday 1 and 2; Tuesday, Thursday

Laura of Somewhere in NJ: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday

Liz of Blue Lizard Birding Blog: Friday (I'd forgotten about that photo, Liz), Saturday

Mike of 10,000 Birds: Sunday, Tuesday

The view Monday, about 8 a.m., from the hawkwatch platform at Cape May Point State Park

Patrick of The Hawk Owl's Nest: Thursday, Sunday

Sharon of Birdchick: Thursday; Friday; Saturday 1 and 2; Monday, Wednesday, Thursday

Sheri of Birders on the Border & Life, Birds and Everything: Oct. 6

Susan of Lake Life: Saturday

Susan of Susan Gets Native: Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Friday

Perhaps the Autumn Weekend organizers consider the quality of this coverage an appropriate return on investment for the blogger registration discount and they'll offer a discount for future events. We'll see!

Completely off-topic: Did anyone else visit Rita's, across the street from the convention hall? It's not a West Coast option, so when Sheri of Birders on the Border showed me her custard cone, I had to investigate the new shop. (I think it replaced an Atlantic Book Shops.) Oh, the choices! Upon my return to the convention hall, my hand held a cup of Death by Chocolate Blenderini -- chocolate ice, chocolate custard and Oreo crumbles. Happiness, indeed!

Autumn Weekend: Monday

Although the festivities officially ended on Sunday, some of us remained in Cape May on Monday morning. I was lured to the hawkwatch platform (the green circle) at Cape May Point State Park to see the sunrise. (As always, click on an image to see a larger version.)


Despite the cold (yes, I am a weather wuss), I loved being there and seeing the sky come alive as the sun slowly rose behind the clouds to the east. The 90 minutes at the platform with fun birders -- and, of course, neat birds like Northern Harriers and low-flying Cooper's Hawks -- kept me happy through the morning/afternoon/evening of travel west to Orange County.

Autumn Weekend: Sunday

The morning's long-awaited, dry, sunny weather meant that everyone explored outdoors, making for a very quiet convention hall. In turn, the lower traffic flow through the entrance and exit doors meant more time to chat with WildBird readers and contributors, birders and colleagues. I really enjoy that aspect of Autumn Weekend -- the chance to gab about birds and anything under the sun with fun, friendly folks.

The Bird Show ended at 3 p.m., and my simple booth allowed for a quick wrap-up to another delightful event. A nap in the hotel room felt delicious.

One of my favorite parts of the day: seeing the sky ablaze after the sun set.



Birdchick and I enjoyed another filling, tasty meal with colleagues at Gecko's. Paul Lehman recommends the Navajo fry bread, and I heartily recommend the grilled veggie burrito with peanut mole (it's big enough for two meals).

Autumn Weekend: Saturday

Facing another rainy morning, Birdchick and I walked to Uncle Bill's Pancake House for a tasty start to the day. The waitresses brightened the atmosphere with their fun costumes -- a cow, a prom queen, a housewife and other whimsical attire.

The Flock (Susan, Delia, Susan and Laura) also enjoyed breakfast at Uncle Bill's and stopped by our table to gab about Birds & Beer the night before. Birdchick savored her pumpkin pancakes while I indulged in potato pancakes with sour cream and applesauce -- mmmm.

While tending a booth in the Cape May Convention Hall, sometimes little things become bigger in importance. Those little things might include the quality of the candy at your booth or that of your neighbors. Yes, our perspective might have been reduced to this when visitors to the convention hall dwindled.


The number of visitors decreased for a very good reason: The sun finally came out. Woo hoo! When the show closed at 5 p.m., I began walking on the promenade to the Grand Hotel for the evening's activities. Isn't this glorious?


The Saturday night program started with a social and a book signing, the first to which I was asked to participate. I contributed an essay ("Think like a migrating bird" on page 75) to Good Birders Don't Wear White (Houghton Mifflin, 2007) and earned a spot at the table between Kevin Karlson and Chuck Hagner. Kevin needed to leave temporarily, so Michael O'Brien, his co-author on The Shorebird Guide (Houghton Mifflin, 2006), signed copies of that photo-filled resource.

Here are left to right: (back row) Pete Dunne, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Bouton, Clay Sutton, Lisa White, Sheri Williamson; (front row) Kevin Karlson, Chuck Hagner, Jessie Barry, me and Louise Zemaitis. I'm happy to note that Pete and Kevin participate on WildBird's advisory board, Jeff B. writes the "Adventures with Austin" column in each issue, Sheri contributes her expertise to the annual hummingbird issue, and Jessie writes reviews for Book Nook in each issue.

After the signing, we adjourned to the evening meal before adorning the stage as a panel presentation. For the evening program, we briefly spoke about our respective topics (mine being our responsibility to prepare for field trips with rest, water and snacks so we can better enjoy the birds and avoid becoming hangry -- hungry and angry).

Autumn Weekend: Friday

The Bird Show began at noon, with me behind a table of candy and complimentary copies of the May/June issue -- the annual hummingbird overdose. (Many thanks to Adrian Binns for the photo.)


With the gray damp weather outside the Cape May Convention Hall, I didn't mind spending most of the afternoon indoors. Plus, I've enjoyed the same spot -- near the entrance and exit -- for a few years and like chatting with familiar neighbors: The Bird House of Cape May on my left and Tom Ahern and his wife, Barbara, on my right. See what we avoided while tending our booths inside the hall?


While inside, I got to catch up with colleagues and to greet bloggers in town for the birding bloggers conference. Woo hoo!

On the way to Jackson Mountain Cafe for dinner and Birds & Beers, Birdchick and I stopped in Atlantic Book Shops on Washington Street Mall to look for her newly released book. One copy remained in the humor section!


Then things got silly at the cafe.


We enjoyed the wit and laughter of so many interesting folks that evening: Laura of Somewhere in New Jersey, Susan of Susan Gets Native, Delia of Beginning to Bird, Susan of Lake Life, John of Born Again Bird Watcher, Mike of 10,000 Birds, Jeff of Jeff Gyr's Birding Blog, Liz of Blue Lizard Birding Blog, Sheri of Birders on the Border, Patrick of The Hawk Owl's Nest, Beth of Easy Eco-Living, Taryn and Lisa of Houghton Mifflin, Bill Stewart who shared positive news about birders buying land for Red Knots (that's what it takes -- doing it ourselves), Jim Rapp of Delmarva Low Impact Tourism Experiences... and probably other individuals who're beyond my recall at the moment.

Sheri, Mike, Sharon and I practically closed the place. We had such a good time gabbing about birds and other topics that we were the last customers in the cafe. We should do it again soon.

Autumn Weekend: Thursday

The day began, literally, on a plane traveling from Denver to Philadelphia, preceded by an 8 p.m. flight from Orange County to Denver. Red-eye flights seem like the only logical way to reach the East Coast without wasting an entire day inside tin cans.

Reaching Philly at 5:30 a.m., I navigated through the usual number sequence -- 95, 76, 42, 55, 47, 9, 109 -- to reach the southernmost city in New Jersey. The rental car pulled into the birding mecca about two hours after it left the City of Brotherly Love.


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Uncle Bill's Pancake House lured me to it with the siren song of buttermilk pancakes, bacon and eggs. Love that place. The filling food and warm service provided a nice finish to the overnight travel.

After checking into the usual spot, Avondale by the Sea, I encountered two optics colleagues, one of whom invited me to visit the Meadows (aka The Nature Conservancy's Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge) on Sunset Boulevard -- that pink area. (Click on the image to see a larger version.)

Honestly, it felt so good to be outside -- despite the wind, rain and cold temperature -- that I didn't pay much attention to the birds. I noted Canada Geese, sparrows (which largely remain Little Brown Jobs for me) and Mallards.

When Clay and I reached the dunes, my brain recognized Great Black-backed Gulls on the sand. Mostly, I reveled in being in one of my favorite spots: Cape May.


We also visited the Second Avenue jetty, and Clay spotted a Black-throated Blue Warbler as it flew to shore from the ocean. When we got closer looks through our bins, the bird appeared to be catching its breath while sitting on the sand near the fence. What incredible plumage!


Birdchick appeared in mid-afternoon, and we stocked the hotel room's mini-fridge with snacks and pampered ourselves at Hale Nails before enjoying a fabulous meal at Freda's Cafe. (Like many restaurants in the city, Freda's is BYOB, so visit Collier's beforehand.)