Season at the Point: The Birds and Birders of Cape May [Paperback]

Thomas Connor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 21, 1994

Cape May Point, New Jersey, is home to a natural phenomenon of stunning proportions. Each autumn millions of migrating birds converge here on their annual flight to wintering grounds as far away as Brazil and Peru. Season at the Point, the rich and telling story of the birds and birders of Cape May, evokes the sense of mystery and excitement that pervades the Cape as birders gather to count owls by the hundreds, hawks by the tens of thousands, and shorebirds and songbirds by the hundreds of thousands.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The season is fall, the players are counters and banders and the field is the sky at Cape May. Birders know that this area at the southernmost tip of New Jersey is a natural funnel for tens of thousands of migrating raptors and shorebirds. Now even non-birders can enjoy a fall migration from the Cape in this movable feast of amateur field ornithology--observing mostly hawks and falcons--captured by Connor ( The Complete Birder ) in hundreds of crisp moments of individual discovery. Exceptions to the focus on raptors include the last known sighting of the Bachman's warbler, North America's rarest songbird. This is hunkered-down-in-the-blind reporting from a fine naturalist writer who seems able to make a sunset linger while he and his readers strain to see the last silhouetted shape in the winter sky at the Point.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

The title's ``Point'' is Cape May Point, N.J., and the ``Season'' is the 1988 hawk-watch, a three-month period from mid- August to mid-November when tens of thousands of migrating birds pass overhead. Despite the title's narrow focus, this excellent account has a scope as broad as life on earth, and Connor leaves the reader wanting to know more, wanting even to grab binoculars and head outdoors. Like John McPhee, the author knows how to bring a subject alive through the words of the people closest to it. Here, those men and women are dedicated birders and bird-banders, two sometimes antagonistic but not always mutually exclusive groups, and the ostensible subject is raptors (a group of birds that includes both owls and hawks), or, to be technical, which Connor rarely is, the order Falconiformes, which includes osprey, vultures, kites, accipiters, buteos, eagles, and, of course, falcons. The larger subject is our fragile environment, for which birds are a measure of change as well as the victims of change. For birders, Connor makes clear, seeing birds is all-important; for banders, capturing them and actually handling them is the ultimate experience. Though the two may disagree about priorities, both groups are filled with committed naturalists and conservationists, and Connor presents their views equitably and their enthusiasms eloquently. Nature writing by a keen observer of nature, both human and otherwise. (Line drawings--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; 1st paper edition (January 21, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871134756
• ISBN-13: 978-0871134752
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,449,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gentle, yet high-impact book, July 16, 2000

By 

Carrie Laben (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Season at the Point: The Birds and Birders of Cape May (Paperback)

This is a book of many moods, and all of them well-written. It is, by turns, a giggle-provoking acocunt of the eccentricities of those strange folks who watch birds, a warmly nostalgic portrait of the Cape May that once was, a fascinating account of the on-the-spot naturalism that goes on during migrations, and a compelling call for action to preserve the remaining natural beauty of this unique point in the otherwise wasted state of New Jersey. Though it is definitely a sedate read, it is a pleasant one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy reading! Hard to put down!, May 10, 2004

By 

A. J. CHODAN (Elizabeth, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Season at the Point: The Birds and Birders of Cape May (Paperback)

Jack does a wonderful job in "Season at the Point." Even for those who have never birded at Cape May, the book is truly entertaining and informative. The book was very easy to read, and Jack's descriptions are very detailed. Even if you live far away from Cape May Point, this a great book to own. It is astounding to read about the number and variety of birds seen at this spot over the years. The commentary on the characters that frequent CMBO is great! Jack was one of my college professors and was so knowledgeable on birds that I decided to purchase his book. What a great investment! Thanks, Jack.- Anthony J. Chodan

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Birding in Cape May, with the Binoculars Focused on the Birders This Time., March 10, 2008

By 

mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Season at the Point: The Birds and Birders of Cape May (Paperback)

This fun and informative volume, "Season at the Point: The Birds and Birders of Cape May", turns the tables on birders during Cape May, New Jersey's 1988 Autumn Hawk Watch. Jack Conner observed and interviewed people who gravitate to Cape May's 3 1/2-month annual migration and its impressive 410 recorded avian species. For once, we get to read about who is on the other end of the binoculars: who the serious birders are, what they do, and why. This book was published in 1991, so the individuals may have changed, and more is understood about bird migration now, but this is an enticing introduction to birds and birding in Cape May for those who live or vacation there. And it's a good read for anyone with a general interest in birding.

We are guided through the birding hot spots at Cape May Point and Higbee's Beach, as well as some lesser-known nooks and crannies, by a diverse cast of dedicated birders: Jeff Bouton, self-described "punk birder", who was the official hawk counter that year. Richard Crossley, an Englishman with a dim view of American birders, conducting a songbird survey. Conservationist birders Clay and Pat Sutton. Paul Kerlinger, the director of the Cape May Bird Observatory. Al Nicholson, a vocal critic of hawk-banding who has been birding in Cape May since the 1930s. Chris Schultz, hawk bander and "professional raptor bum". And there are the regular, obsessive birders. I may as well mention their names, as they get little other compensation for their hard work.

The primary focus is on hawk-counting and hawk-banding, including some history and details about the procedures. The song bird and owl migrations, and the grueling owl-banding program, are also discussed. Most interesting to me are the controversy surrounding the hawk count numbers, which seem to be overcounted on one hand and undercounted on another, and the mild antagonism between professional ornithologists and the skilled amateurs who comprise the ranks of bird counters and banders. For more current, equally readable information on the whys and wheres of bird migration, I recommend Living on the Wind. "Season at the Point" gives more detail about counting and banding, and its perspective is that of a single location. There is a brief guide to Cape May's hawks in the back of the book.