You can volunteer for Springwatch through May 31st.

Carl Zeiss, a leading manufacturer of high-performance sports optics for birders, is expanding its partnership with New Jersey Audubon to include lead corporate sponsorship for The Cape May Springwatch, an ongoing and evolving bird migration monitoring project at Cape May, New Jersey. The Cape May Springwatch initiative is a volunteer-created and volunteer-powered project that anyone can participate in through May 31st at this famous migration hotspot.

While a majority of bird study at Cape May has historically been conducted during autumn, there is still much to learn about how, why, and when birds migrate north through the Cape May region during spring. All species of migrating birds are counted each morning at Cape May Point, beginning at sunrise and continuing 3 to 6 hours, contingent on weather conditions. Additional projects will include transect and area surveys conducted at locations at or near the Cape, aimed at detecting migrant songbirds; conducting exploratory evening migration counts, and acoustic monitoring (analyzing nocturnal flight calls recorded at one or more locations).

A number of volunteer Migration Field Assistant positions are available during Springwatch; participants will learn about migration monitoring techniques, enjoy opportunities to enhance their field birding skills, and contribute to the early stages of an important and unique research project.

The Cape May Springwatch initiative is a volunteer-created and volunteer-powered project that has existed for the past several years with assistance from New Jersey Audubon’s Cape May Bird Observatory. This collaboration with Zeiss, through financial and optical support, will allow a high level and standardization of data gathering and outreach.

To view the results of daily Springwatch counts and for more information overall, see https://njaudubon.org/watches/cape-may-springwatch/ and visit www.Zeiss.com/nature