Cape May Point State Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

located in

Lower Township, New Jersey Lower Township is a township (New Jersey), township in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City, New Jersey, Ocean City metropolitan statis ...

, with a

Cape May Point Cape May Point is a borough located at the tip of the Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the ...

postal address. The park offers walking, hiking and nature trails as well as beaches, an exhibit gallery, a ranger office and is the site of the

Cape May Light The Cape May Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in the U.S. state of New Jersey at the tip of Cape May, in Lower Township, New Jersey, Lower Township's Cape May Point State Park. It was built in 1859 under the supervision of U.S. Army Corps of To ...

. The park is operated and maintained by the

New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry In the state of New Jersey, the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry is an administrative division of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. In its most visible role, the Division is directly responsible for the management an ...

Birding

Cape May Point State Park is considered to be one of the best places in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

to view the Fall

bird migration Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Animal migration, Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and ...

to the south. The location attracts migratory birds of the eastern seaboard looking for cover and food as they await favorable winds to cross the

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltw ...

. Because of this,

birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

is one of the most prominent activities conducted at the park. In 1935, the National Audubon Society leased 25 acres of land in what is now the state park, for the creation of a wild life sanctuary named the

Witmer Stone Witmer Stone (September 22, 1866 – May 24, 1939) was an American ornithologist, botanist, and mammalogist. He worked for over 51 years in the Ornithology Department at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and served in multiple ro ...

Wild Life Sanctuary after the noted ornithologist. The sanctuary expanded to 1,000 acres, however in 1941, a

magnesite Magnesite is a mineral with the chemical formula ( magnesium carbonate). Iron, manganese, cobalt, and nickel may occur as admixtures, but only in small amounts. Occurrence Magnesite occurs as veins in and an alteration product of ultramafic r ...

factory for the production of

fire brick A fire brick, firebrick, fireclay brick, or refractory brick is a block of ceramic material used in lining furnaces, kilns, fireboxes, and fireplaces. Made of primarily oxide materials like silica and alumina in varying ratios, these insulati ...

needed to produce steel for the war effort was located in the middle of the sanctuary. The emissions from the factory damaged the flora and fauna of the sanctuary and the lease and sanctuary were abandoned in 1959. Every fall, visitors converge from across the country to witness the migration of most types of North American migratory birds in great numbers. Every year the a hawk watch is also held, in which the numbers of various types of migratory birds of prey are counted during a several month period. Birds can be seen in the Park at three areas. These are the

hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...

watching platform (for hawks), the nature and hiking trails (for

songbirds A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passerine, Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes co ...

) and the beach (

shorebirds FIle:Vadare - Ystad-2021.jpg, 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, forage for food c ...

). For the most part, birds of many varieties can be seen at all of these areas year round.

Trails

Yellow Trail - Cape May Point State Park

The park has three hiking trails, each designated by a color. All three start and end at the

parking lot A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdi ...

. The Red trail, a boardwalk trail which is

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

accessible, is long. It has several observation platforms. The Yellow trail is long and is part boardwalk and part dirt. It begins from the red trail and has one additional birding platform. The Blue trail, closed for a long time due to hurricane damage in the 1960s, reopened again in the 1990s. It is long, part of which is on the beach. The park's trails and beach connect to the adjacent 200-acre South Cape May Meadows owned by

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

Gun emplacements

During World War I and World War II the park was the Cape May Military Reservation. Remnants of a gun battery, part of the

Harbor Defenses of the Delaware The Harbor Defenses of the Delaware was a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps Harbor Defense Command, harbor defense command. It coordinated the coastal defence and fortification, coast defenses of the Delaware River estuary from 1897 to 19 ...

, can be seen today. Battery 223 Cape May Point

A 6-inch gun was mounted near the former

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

station in World War I, but the emplacement has been demolished. Three batteries were in the park area in World War II. These were Battery 223 with two 6-inch guns on shielded mounts, with an ammunition and

fire control Fire control is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving it of fuel, oxygen, or heat (see fire triangle). Fire prevention and control ...

bunker between them, Battery 25 with four towed 155 mm guns on concrete

Panama mount The Panama Mount is a form of gun mount for fixed coastal artillery developed by the U.S. Army in Panama during the 1920s. Widely used during the buildup to and during World War II by the United States military, it was typically equipped with ...

s, and Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat battery (AMTB) 7, with four 90 mm guns, two on fixed mounts and two on towed mounts. Only the bunker for Battery 223 remains visible, stripped of its original earth cover. A beach restoration project in 2005 covered the remains of the other emplacements.

References

External links

Migrating birds
along the New Jersey shore {{authority control Parks in Cape May County, New Jersey State parks of New Jersey

Birding

Trails

Gun emplacements

See also

References

External links