Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area

I have 160 hours of unused vacation time. Last year at this time, I had 40 hours of unused vacation time. I’m not against time off from work. I’m just struggling with planning what to do and where to do it, given that from 2013 to 2024 I worked as an independent cybersecurity consultant. I think I just got used to working. I almost never get sick, so sick days are useless to me. I never used them. Last year, I spent 10 weekdays in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This year I stayed only five weekdays in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Last week my boss sternly reminded me that unused vacation days are lost.

I used up one day this week. I wanted some warbler action. It’s my last chance this year until the Spring 2027 migration. I had planned to visit Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area in Cape May. From what I had read, it’s one of the best spots in New Jersey for warblers during fall and spring migration. I planned my trip for the weekend. But then nature had other plans. A n’or’easter battered the Jersey Shore. Cape May and many other coastal towns were partially under water, mostly from back-bay tidal flooding. But I wanted warblers, so I consulted the weather app. From what was predicted, it seemed that Wednesday would be a partly cloudy day, and that the streets and roads would be cleared for my trip, my first, to Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area.

Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia), Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area · Wednesday 30 September 2026
FujiFilm X-T5 · ISO 10000 · 1/1000 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 600 mm · f/8.0

Tuesday night, I cleared the memory cards in the X-T5, inserted a fully charged battery, attached the XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR, and configured the X-T5 in my baseline “bird” mode: auto ISO, 1/1000 sec, f/8 and Bird Subject Detection¹ autofocus. I added two more batteries to the camera bag, backup SD cards, a snack, and my BlackRapid camera strap to the Everyday Backpack and set my iPhone alarm clock to 3:40 AM. My normal get-up-and-greet-the-day time is 6 AM.

The drive was uneventful. At certain points along the Garden State Parkway I could smell the stench of rotting shellfish even with the windows closed.

Northern Parula, Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area · Wednesday 30 September 2026
FujiFilm X-T5 · ISO 12800 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 246.6 mm · f/8.0

I arrived at the main parking area at Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area around 6:20 AM. It was still dark. There were two other cars parked. I consulted Apple Maps and, using a flashlight, quickly found my way to the beach. Not much was going on there, but I enjoyed the quiet for another twenty minutes. I started to hear bird sounds. I found the observation platform on Apple Maps and walked back through the trees to it.

There was one man, James, already there. I introduced myself. James had come up from Washington, D.C. Shortly after I arrived, another group of men arrived. Doug (“The past tense of dig,” he joked), Frank (another form of “cure,” we joked) and another gentleman whose name escapes me. I was happy for the company, given that this was my first time at Higbee. They had scouted the area on Tuesday and found pockets of warblers. We all had high hopes for the day.

Common Yellowthroat, Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area · Wednesday 30 September 2026
FujiFilm X-T5 · ISO 8000 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 339.5 mm · f/8.0

Things didn’t work out that way. The sky stayed overcast. With my poor low-light eyesight, I struggled to identify the birds I was seeing. My strategy switched from waiting, composing and capturing to “point camera at the thing that just landed on that branch”. Most of my shots were at high ISO. The X-T5 can handle it fairly well, but to retain detail I wanted ISO to be as low as possible.

Larger numbers of people, from North Carolina, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and areas of New Jersey, started to arrive. The platform grew crowded, so I explored the trail heading south. Another group had a similar idea, so I joined them as we slowly walked from field one² to field two and field three. This group (I didn’t get names) had a “leader”, a New Jersey resident who seemed to know the people involved in restoring and maintaining Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area · Wednesday 30 September 2026
FujiFilm X-T5 · ISO 2500 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 558.5 mm · f/8.0

Flocks (about 30–50 birds) of cedar waxwings flew overhead. The warblers were quiet. The catbirds, blue jays and northern cardinals were not. I decided to call it quits. I had been walking around for nearly three hours and my energy was starting to wane. Many of the birders were staying in Cape May, so I expected they would continue to make an entire day of it. I could not.

Red-eyed Vireo · Wednesday 30 September 2026
FujiFilm X-T5 · ISO 8000 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 539 mm · f/8.0

Back at the platform I saw an elderly gentleman with a cane looking for a place to sit with the aid of his wife. As I approached, I stopped to photograph something that had landed in a nearby tree. I wasn’t sure what it was. That’s when the man called out to me. “Seen anything interesting today?”

Palm Warbler, Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area · Wednesday 30 September 2026
FujiFilm X-T5 · ISO 250 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 600 mm · f/8.0

I struck up a conversation about birding with Bernard, who owns a home in Wildwood. His wife, Terry, mentioned that Bernie had seen almost 9000 species of birds over decades of birding. I found that incredible. We talked about his family and his travels. He has travelled all over the world for birding. One of his kids is a librarian. I mentioned that my daughter was a staff librarian at Cornell University. I asked if he was on eBird. No, he’s not a big fan of technology. Terry was taking photos while we talked. He suggested I join the American Birding Association after I mentioned that I was a member of New Jersey Audubon. We talked for almost 45 minutes. Before I left, Terry mentioned that their last name was Master.

Eastern Phoebe, Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area · Wednesday 30 September 2026
FujiFilm X-T5 · ISO 250 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 600 mm · f/8.0

At home, after some Google Foo using the keywords “top aba birders with last name master”, I realised that “Bernie” may be Bernard Master. According to [Wikipedia][wikipedia], Bernard Master is well known and is a keen birder who started his life list when he was four. The Chocó vireo (Vireo masteri) of Colombia is named after him, and he visits Cape May every year. I may have been in the presence of a top birder and didn’t even know it.

I didn’t get many keepers, but the conversation with Bernie was the highlight of the day. Not because of who I now know him to be, but because of how much he knew and was willing to share.

I still have 152 hours of vacation time to use, and I still have some time to get some migrating warbler photos. I just wish the weather would cooperate.