When submitting eBird observations at Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, it is most helpful to start a new checklist for each hotspot in the refuge. 

Established in 1989, 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 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 has been designated a “Flagship Project” of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, identified as an Important Bird Area (American Bird Conservancy), incorporated within the Delaware Bay site of Hemispheric Significance (Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network), and is located within the portion of the Delaware Bay watershed that is designated a Wetland of International Importance.

The Important Bird Area consists of the open waters of Cape May Inlet, largely owned and maintained by the United States Coast Guard and the municipality of Cape May, and the Two Mile Beach Unit of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Cape May National Wildlife Refuge. The Two Mile Beach Unit contains approximately 500 acres of oceanfront beach, sand dunes, tidal salt marsh and one of the best remaining examples of maritime forest along the New Jersey coast. This IBA has been designated a Natural Heritage Priority Site by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.