Cape May National Wildlife Refuge
| Cape May National Wildlife Refuge | |
|---|---|
|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
|
|
 |
|
 Cape May National Wildlife Refuge
Cape May National Wildlife Refuge
|
|
| Location | Cape May County, New Jersey |
| Nearest city | South Dennis, New Jersey |
| Coordinates | 39°09′30″N 74°49′30″W / 39.15833°N 74.82500°WCoordinates: 39°09′30″N 74°49′30″W / 39.15833°N 74.82500°W |
| Area | 21,200 acres (86 km2) |
| Established | 1989 |
| Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Website | Cape May National Wildlife Refuge |
The Cape May National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area on the Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey. It is part of the National Wildlife Refuge System and managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Established in January 1989 with 90 acres (0.36 km2) acquired from the Nature Conservancy, it has since grown to more than 11,000 acres (45 km2) in size, and plans call for its further expansion to more than 21,200 acres (86 km2). It comprises three distinct and disjunct units: the Delaware Bay Division, the Great Cedar Swamp Division, and the Two Mile Beach Unit. Located in the Middle Atlantic coastal forests ecoregion, the cape provides habitat for large numbers of migratory birds.
Cape May National Wildlife Refuge provides critical habitat to a wide variety of migratory birds and other wildlife. It supports 317 bird species, 42 mammal species, 55 reptile and amphibian species, and numerous fish, shellfish and other invertebrates. Its value for the protection of migratory birds and their habitat will continue to grow as wildlife habitat along the Jersey Shore is developed into roads, shopping centers and housing developments. Cape May Peninsula's unique configuration and location concentrate songbirds, raptors and woodcock as they funnel south to Cape May Point during their fall migration. Faced with 12 miles (19 km) of water to cross at the Delaware Bay migrants linger in the area to rest and feed until favorable winds allow them to cross the Bay or head north along the Bay's eastern shore.
The refuge's five-mile stretch along the Delaware Bay is a major resting and feeding area for migrating shorebirds and wading birds each spring. The Delaware Bay shoreline has gained international recognition as a major shorebird staging area in North America second only to the Copper River Delta in Alaska. Each year hundreds of thousands of shorebirds-nearly 80 percent of some populations-stop to rest and feed here during their spring migration from Central and South America to their Arctic breeding grounds. The arrival at Cape May of more than twenty shorebird species-primarily red knots, ruddy turnstones, sanderlings and semipalmated sandpipers-coincides with the horseshoe crab spawning season which occurs in May/early June. The crab eggs provide an abundant food supply which these long-distance flyers use to replenish their energy reserves before moving on. (In May large numbers of red knots gather along Delaware Bay beaches.)
...
Wikipedia