with Clay & Pat Sutton |
Clay & Pat Sutton are a husband and wife team of naturalists and writers whose careers and names are synonymous with their home town of Cape May, New Jersey, a place that has been aptly called the migration capitol of North America. This migratory crossroads is famous for its hawk, owl, songbird, shorebird, and Monarch butterfly migration. They have keenly studied the natural world for over 30 years. |
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Pat Sutton was for 21 years the Program Director at the New Jersey Audubon Society’s Cape May Bird Observatory. Prior to that, she was the Park Naturalist at Cape May Point State Park. Pat is a founding board member of the North American Butterfly Association. Clay is a life-long resident of Cape May, where he has worked as an Environmental Planner, Environmental Program Administrator, Vice-President of an environmental consulting firm specializing in threatened and endangered species, and for the past decade as a self-employed environmental consultant, naturalist and field biologist. Migration in all its forms remains his captivating interest. Articles and photography by Pat & Clay have appeared in New Jersey Audubon, Peregrine Observer, New Jersey Outdoors, Sanctuary, American Butterflies, Wild Bird, Bird Watcher's Digest, Birder's World, Birding, Living Bird, Defenders, and others.
Their latest book, Birds and Birding at Cape May (Stackpole Books, 2006, 568 pages), is the in-depth result of their efforts over many years documenting and protecting the migration and the area that they so love. This landmark book is a complete guide to birds and birding for the Cape May region, covering what to see, when, where, and how to go, as well as the storied ornithological history of the Cape.
Cape May’s ornithological history is unparalleled in North America, and over the years such titans as Alexander Wilson, John James Audubon, Witmer Stone, Edwin Way Teale, and Roger Tory Peterson have all worked and studied at Cape May. Clay and Pat will share the rich history of Cape May birding – from these early days until the emergent exciting discoveries of today. Expect a walk through time as they share images over the past 30 years and earlier, a journey that offers a unique perspective of both "Old Cape May" and the opportunities available today.
Cape May, at the southern tip of New Jersey, is one of the most famous and most visited birdwatching destinations in all of North America, visited by over 100,000 birders annually. It can be counted among the top birding areas and attractions in the world. Cape May’s fame as a birding Mecca is based on a unique combination of factors -- its location and geography; the diversity, quality, and extent of the natural habitats found there; and the many protected natural areas available to birds and birders. Cape May is a major migratory bottleneck, "the neck of an hourglass," where birds are funneled to the tip of the Cape May peninsula. Here, birders enjoy numbers and a variety of birds found at few other places. Over 444 species of birds have been found in the Cape May region. The program covers not only Cape May City, but "Greater Cape May" -- north up the Atlantic Coast to places like Forsythe NWR and Barnegat, and west up the incomparable rural Delaware Bayshore into Cumberland County and beyond.
Clay and Pat Sutton are veteran naturalists who have lived and worked at Cape May throughout their entire careers. They will share their insiders’ understanding of all that makes Cape May great. "Birds and Birding at Cape May" is the migration story both explained and brought alive by first-hand knowledge, lively anecdotes, and stories of both yesteryear, today, and the bright future.
Special Discount for reservations made before October 15, 2009