One of the best beach walks in the known universe is located between the Cape May Point Lighthouse and the cove at the west end of Beach Drive in Cape May. The walk begins at the Cape May Point State Park, traverses beach owned by the Nature Conservancy, and ends at a Cape May beach. This strand is flat and very comfortable to walk on at any tide and any month of the year. The South Cape May meadows are just over the dune line so falcons and hawks are often visible in the air. The highlight at this time of year is that piping plovers walk the beach. The left picture below shows a piping plover in the foreground with the lighthouse in the background. These small birds prefer to scurry along the beach as they forage rather than fly. They are not terribly shy (one reason why they're endangered) so you can observe them up close. In the center picture below we can see the sand and surf that are home to the piping plover in the picture. They have good protective coloration for the beach as you can see. The piping plovers locate their nests right on the beach at the base of the dune line. These nests are vulnerable to flooding by the tides, predators, and human use of the beach. Dogs are particularly dangerous for the plovers. The Nature Conservancy places a wire cage around any piping plover nest that contains eggs (on their part of the beach). The right picture below shows a plover and the wire cage behind. The Nature Conservancy also closes off the nesting area for the piping plovers and least terns.

Ghost crabs also roam this beach. These elusive creatures dig burrows all along the strand and can be seen in the distance as they scuttle around. When a crab sees or hears an observer, it heads for its hole. The crab will usually linger at the opening to see what is going on. The left picture below shows a ghost crab hole and tracks around it. Look carefully at the center picture below. About 25% down from the top and 60% over from the left you can see the black eye of a ghost crab peering out of its hole. In the picture at the right below, one of the two crabs from the hole is outside. When you see two crabs in a hole, they are a mating pair.

As the water warms up, jellyfish occasionally wash up on the beach. The left picture below shows a big one. There are lots of dolphins just off shore of this stretch of beach. It is very common to see the whale watching boats in this area. The center picture below shows one of the boats moving toward a pod of dolphins (not shown). Finally, in the picture at the right, we see a typical Cape May summer beach scene: bathers, sunbathers, and another whale watcher in the distance. Try this beach walk, you'll love it.