Weekend Update - Part II

The nocturnal migration was spectacular, and the visible migration during the days on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was nothing short of stunning. Over 100,000 songbirds were counted from two points on Cape Island on Friday, and 60,000 were at the Higbee Dike on Saturday. Huge numbers of American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, House Finch, Red-winged Blackbird, American Goldfinch, and many other species were involved. The House Finch flight might be the biggest on record here, with over 10,000 birds counted (most of which headed west right across the bay to Delaware and beyond).

Cattle Egrets continued to zip around Cape May at regular intervals this weekend - a recent big movement of the species into the inland northeast is perhaps related to the birds here now.

Which one of these is not like the others? A tiny Cackling Goose (second from the right here) passed over the Higbee Dike on Friday morning with Canada Geese. Lots of visitors got to see the goose and enjoy the superb Zeiss-sponsored bagel breakfast/ optics demonstration (thanks again to Rich Moncrief and Steve Ingraham from Carl Zeiss Optical!).

While I was waiting for the Henslow's Sparrow to pop out of the grass at Higbee Beach, Roger and Kathy Horn found an Ash-throated Flycatcher less than a hundred yards away from where I was standing. The slim build, pale gray and yellow underparts, and undertail pattern (dark webs hooking around the tip of the rufous part) are good ID points and help separate this vagrant from other Myiarchus species.

Golden Eagles were seen on Cape Island on each of the last three days! This juvenile bird was trapped, banded, and released - in this photo it is seen beating a hasty departure from an admiring crowd in Cape May Point State Park.

Making a strong showing for October on Friday with 40 individuals, Cave Swallows are decidedly "in"; this now-classic late fall vagrant used to be a major rarity in the northeast, but with expanding populations of the Mexican subspecies pelodoma and a growing understanding of fall dispersal in the species, we now expect to see at least a few each year in Cape May.

If I could pick only one species to highlight, this was THE one that was just incredible on Saturday at Cape May - Hermit Thrushes were everywhere! On my predawn drive north through the woods at Higbee Beach, my headlights illuminated over 100 Hermit Thrushes on the dirt track, and I saw hundreds more in the fields later in the day. Wow!

Weekend Update - Part I

The nocturnal migration of songbirds over Cape May on Thursday night into Friday morning was one of the most spectacular things I've seen in my life. Untold tens of thousands of American Robins and sparrows flew over the beach, heading west, and some were low enough to be lit up from below by the street lights. A wandering group of astonished birders gathered on the promenade on Beach Avenue and watched. And watched. And watched. There were so many birds that some of us stuck around until after 2 AM, walking the streets and looking at birds that had landed on the streets, in yards, under cars, in storefront flowerboxes. American Woodcock, Northern Flicker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Barn Owl, Gray Catbird, Eastern Towhee, and many other species were picked out of the stream of thrushes and sparrows overhead - I must say that seeing and hearing a yipping Red-breasted Nuthatch flapping overhead at 1130 PM is something I won't soon forget. Sparrows blanketed parts of the ground along the beach, dominated by Chipping Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos, but there was tremendous diversity - I think we ended up SEEING 14 or so species of sparrows during the night, including Vesper, Seaside, Saltmarsh, Nelson's, Grasshopper, and a variety of others. A few of us tried to capture the spectacle with long exposure, grainy photos of some of the grounded birds in the dark - here are a few of mine.


This Eastern Towhee landed, along with a few Song Sparrows, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a Common Yellowthroat along a brightly lit strip of shops on Beach Avenue.

Common Yellowthroat is one of the few warbler species still moving through Cape May this late in the fall.

This Saltmarsh Sparrow was clearly disoriented by artificial lighting - originally spotted in the middle of the street, the bird later was seen hopping around a glass storefront.

Among the most surreal memories of the evening was this Marsh Wren silhouetted under a park bench on the Cape May promenade.

Avalon Seawatch October 31, 2010

A fairly slow halloween today at the seawatch, with 7,361 migrants counted. Although we didn't see huge numbers of birds, we did have a nice diversity of birds including a few treats!

Northern Gannets, Double-crested Cormorants, loons, and scoters were again the main species tallied. The gannet show was a good one today; lots of birds came in close and were delighting visitors all day by diving close to shore.

The bird of the day for me was a single Red-necked Grebe that flew south all by itself in the middle of the afternoon. Other highlight birds included 22 Bufflehead, 19 White-winged Scoters, and 6 (!) Parasitic Jaegers, including 3 in one scope field chasing terns!

An eBird list of species detected follows, with counted migrants in bold:

7,631 migrants today.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/31/10
Number of species: 60

Brant 107
Canada Goose 19
Wood Duck 25
American Wigeon 3
American Black Duck 88
Mallard 4
Northern Shoveler 1
Northern Pintail 46
Green-winged Teal 42
Greater Scaup 15
Lesser Scaup 4
Common Eider 2 hanging out by the jetty
Surf Scoter 2187
White-winged Scoter 19
Black Scoter 1327
Surf/Black Scoter 140
Bufflehead 22
Red-breasted Merganser 12
Red-throated Loon 116
Common Loon 31
Red-necked Grebe 1
Northern Gannet 875
Double-crested Cormorant 2223
Great Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 10
Turkey Vulture 30
Osprey 2
Bald Eagle 3
Northern Harrier 5
Cooper's Hawk 1
Peregrine Falcon 2
Black-bellied Plover 45
American Oystercatcher 25
Ruddy Turnstone 4
Red Knot 2
Sanderling 15
Dunlin 100
Bonaparte's Gull 6
Laughing Gull 105
Ring-billed Gull 54
Herring Gull 49
Great Black-backed Gull 2
Forster's Tern 11
Royal Tern 40
Parasitic Jaeger 6
Rock Pigeon 20
Northern Flicker 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 2
European Starling 100
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Song Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 3
Northern Cardinal 1
Boat-tailed Grackle 4
Pine Siskin 6
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 15

Avalon Seawatch October 30, 2010

Another steady day of migration today at the seawatch, with some exciting highlights. Nice variety of ducks throughout the day, with lots of Double-crested Cormorants, scoters, and Northern Gannets.

Highlights today included 249 Wood Ducks, 2 Common Eider, 6 Ring-necked Ducks, 8 White-winged Scoters, 2 Long-tailed Ducks, 14 Bufflehead, and 11 Bonaparte's Gulls. Two Common Terns were a nice late addition. The flock of the day was definitely a bizarre one: 1 Bufflehead with 12 Ruddy Ducks that whirred past!

A list of species detected follows, with counted migrants in bold:
12,372 migrants today.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/30/10
Number of species: 67

Brant 163
Canada Goose 32
Wood Duck 249
American Wigeon 1
American Black Duck 15
Mallard 4
Northern Shoveler 1
Northern Pintail 10
Green-winged Teal 322
Ring-necked Duck 6
Greater Scaup 6
Lesser Scaup 4
Common Eider 2
Surf Scoter 4138
White-winged Scoter 8
Black Scoter 1243
Surf/Black Scoter 840
Long-tailed Duck 2
Bufflehead 14
Red-breasted Merganser 23
Red-throated Loon 194
Common Loon 43
Northern Gannet 517
Double-crested Cormorant 4124
Great Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 2
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 45
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 3
Northern Harrier 4
Peregrine Falcon 2
American Coot 1
Black-bellied Plover 13
Semipalmated Plover 2
Killdeer 1
American Oystercatcher 50
Willet 1
Ruddy Turnstone 4
Red Knot 2
Sanderling 12
Dunlin 20
Bonaparte's Gull 11
Laughing Gull 84
Ring-billed Gull 31
Herring Gull 18
Great Black-backed Gull X
Common Tern 2
Forster's Tern 123
Royal Tern 48
Rock Pigeon 30
Northern Flicker 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 5
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 30
American Pipit 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 45
Palm Warbler 1
Song Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Boat-tailed Grackle 6
American Goldfinch 10
House Sparrow 30

Hawk Watch Saturday October 30, 2010

It was another great day at the Hawk Watch platform with lots of bird activity throughout most of the day. With the Northwest winds for the first few hours of the morning, we had a nice push of raptors coming through the point including our first decent push of buteos (Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks). We also had really good numbers of Sharp-shinned Hawks (no surprise there), Northern Harriers, and vultures.


Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 30, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 14 103 149
Turkey Vulture 75 783 981
Osprey 13 1784 4525
Bald Eagle 10 227 403
Northern Harrier 105 1067 1538
Sharp-shinned Hawk 455 12153 17373
Cooper's Hawk 58 2728 3612
Northern Goshawk 0 2 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 39 101 106
Broad-winged Hawk 4 753 1206
Red-tailed Hawk 115 399 538
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 1 6 6
American Kestrel 24 2704 5503
Merlin 4 1335 2156
Peregrine Falcon 2 1084 1361
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0

Total: 919 25229 39460
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:15:00
Observation end time: 15:45:00
Total observation time: 9.5 hours

Official Counter: Melissa Roach

Observers:

Weather:
Light Northwest winds early on provided a nice flight through the first
half of the day but the winds gradually turned to the Southwest by the end
of the day which meant the flight shut down by late afternoon.

Raptor Observations:
Finally a decent push of buteos today with good numbers of Red-shouldered
and Red-tailed Hawks. We also had really good numbers of Sharp-shinned
Hawks, Northern Harriers, and vultures.

Non-raptor Observations:
Common Loons, Brant, 1 Wilson's Snipe, 2 Hooded Mergansers, 3 Eastern
Meadowlarks, 1 Lincoln's Sparrow, 1 Glossy Ibis, 1 Black-crowned Night
Heron, Surf Scoters flying overland, American Oystercatcher, 6 Cave
Swallows, 1 Cliff Swallow

Predictions:
Moderate WSW winds early on turning to West for most of the day but some
WNW near the end of the day.

Morning Flight Friday October 29, 2010- Part 1

There is another excellent night flight going on in Cape May right now, so I won't be putting up a summary of today for a bit. However, since the flight was mind-boggling, here are the numbers, with especially good flights of American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dark-eyed Junco, Pine Siskin, Rusty Blackbird, and Sparrows in general (birds counted as part of Morning Flight in bold):

Total individuals counted: 145,484

Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/29/10
Number of species: 62

Canada Goose X
Surf/Black Scoter 20
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Bald Eagle 4
Northern Harrier 18
Sharp-shinned Hawk 300
Cooper's Hawk 25
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 35
Merlin 15
Peregrine Falcon 3
Killdeer 26
American Woodcock 4
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 14
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 47
Eastern Phoebe 16
Blue-headed Vireo 1

American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 4
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 28
kinglet sp. 7
Eastern Bluebird 3
Hermit Thrush 9
Many more were seen on the ground pre-dawn, but 9
actually participated in Morning Flight, which is unusual for Catharus Thrushes.

American Robin 73570
Magnolia Warbler 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 63640
Pine Warbler 2
Palm Warbler 47

Common Yellowthroat 4
warbler sp. 2250
Chipping Sparrow 335
Field Sparrow 4
Vesper Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 6
Fox Sparrow 1

Song Sparrow 400
Lincoln's Sparrow 1 On Dike
Swamp Sparrow 150
White-throated Sparrow 300
Dark-eyed Junco 3397
sparrow sp. 460

Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 5000
Rusty Blackbird 237
Common Grackle 50
Purple Finch 26
House Finch 4
Pine Siskin 533
American Goldfinch 400

Avalon Seawatch October 29, 2010

Today was a really interesting day at the seawatch. The waterbird flight was naturally overshadowed by the passerine flight in the morning, with incredible numbers of birds fighting to get back to land and running the gauntlet of Peregrine Falcons, Merlins, American Kestrels, and gulls. Loads of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Dark-eyed Juncos, other sparrows, Northern Flickers, and American Robins came in off the water. Highlights were a Saltmarsh Sparrow(!) that sat on the jetty for a few seconds before flying off, and an Eastern Meadowlark. Nine Northern Harriers were spotted, including a beautiful adult male. Two bats (species unknown) were seen over the water as well.

Oh, and it actually wasn't a bad day for waterbirds, either. The count total was a very respectable 21,093 migrants. Double-crested Cormorants were moving in nice numbers all day, and a few thousand scoters made a late day push. Highlights were 4 White-winged Scoters, 7 Gadwall, 2 Long-tailed Ducks, and a beautiful late afternoon wading bird flight of 24 Great Blue Herons, 59 Great Egrets, 4 Snowy Egrets, and 16 Black-crowned Night Herons.

A list of species detected follows, with counted migrants in bold:

21,093 migrants today.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/29/10
Number of species: 72

Brant 236
Canada Goose 53
Wood Duck 116
Gadwall 7
American Black Duck 11
Mallard 1
Northern Pintail 32
Green-winged Teal 30
Greater Scaup 1
Surf Scoter 6389
White-winged Scoter 4
Black Scoter 1662
Surf/Black Scoter 2120
Long-tailed Duck 2
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Red-throated Loon 115
Common Loon 76
Northern Gannet 309
Double-crested Cormorant 9503
Great Cormorant 1 local
Great Blue Heron 24
Great Egret 59
Snowy Egret 4
Black-crowned Night-Heron 16
Turkey Vulture 15
Osprey 2
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 9
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 3
Black-bellied Plover 18
Semipalmated Plover 5
Killdeer 1
American Oystercatcher 30
Ruddy Turnstone 3
Red Knot 6
Sanderling 15
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 5
Bonaparte's Gull 2

Laughing Gull 136
Ring-billed Gull 40
Herring Gull 16
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 18
Royal Tern 56

Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove 1
Northern Flicker 8
Tree Swallow 6
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Hermit Thrush 7
American Robin 20
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling X
American Pipit 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler 300
Palm Warbler 2
Chipping Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 2
Saltmarsh Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 3
Swamp Sparrow 6
White-throated Sparrow 3
Dark-eyed Junco 20
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 30
Eastern Meadowlark 1
American Goldfinch 15
House Sparrow 30

Hawk Watch Friday October 29, 2010

Words simply can't do today justice (not my words at least). It was simply breathtaking. No, wait, awe-inspiring. How about unbelievable? Why don't we just go with all of the above! I was literally speechless during today's amazing passerine flight. I don't think I said more than a couple of complete sentences the first few hours of daylight, and that was in direct correlation with the vast amount of birds flying all around me.

The raptor flight was not too shabby either. With over 1000 birds today, we had a really good push of Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, and Northern Harriers. We added another 2 Golden Eagles to the count for the season, one of which was caught by the banders and brought to the platform around 4:30.


Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 29, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 7 89 135
Turkey Vulture 60 708 906
Osprey 8 1771 4512
Bald Eagle 8 217 393
Northern Harrier 88 962 1433
Sharp-shinned Hawk 556 11698 16918
Cooper's Hawk 39 2670 3554
Northern Goshawk 0 2 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 5 62 67
Broad-winged Hawk 1 749 1202
Red-tailed Hawk 27 284 423
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 2 5 5
American Kestrel 241 2680 5479
Merlin 41 1331 2152
Peregrine Falcon 13 1082 1359
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0

Total: 1096 24310 38541
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 10 hours

Official Counter: Melissa Roach

Observers:

Weather:
Light to moderate Northwest winds all day with partly cloudy skies.

Raptor Observations:
Very nice movement of raptors today with a good push of Sharp-shinned
Hawks, American Kestrels, and Northern Harriers.

Non-raptor Observations:
LOTS of passerine movement today! Tons of American Robins, Yellow-rumped
Warblers, Red-winged Blackbirds, finches, and sparrows. We also had 1
Stilt Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpipers, 5 Cattle Egrets, 40 Cave Swallows,
and Common Loons.

Predictions:
Starting out with Northwest winds for the first couple hours should produce
a nice movement of birds early on, but the winds will be gradually turning
to the Southwest throughout the day.

Hawk Watch Thursday October 28, 2010

It was a good, steady day at the platform this warm and sunny Thursday. Although it wasn't an overwhelming flight, it was hard to scan the sky and not find a raptor of some sort. Once again dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks, we also had good numbers of American Kestrels, Merlins, and Northern Harriers.

Alright, enough of those South winds already. It's time to put your game face on and get out there because tomorrow should be great!


Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 28, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 82 128
Turkey Vulture 0 648 846
Osprey 7 1763 4504
Bald Eagle 0 209 385
Northern Harrier 36 874 1345
Sharp-shinned Hawk 422 11142 16362
Cooper's Hawk 51 2631 3515
Northern Goshawk 0 2 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 57 62
Broad-winged Hawk 0 748 1201
Red-tailed Hawk 4 257 396
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 3 3
American Kestrel 109 2439 5238
Merlin 50 1290 2111
Peregrine Falcon 26 1069 1346
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0

Total: 706 23214 37445
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:15:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.75 hours

Official Counter: Melissa Roach

Observers:

Weather:
Light SW winds gradually becoming West by the end of the day with partly
cloudy skies.

Raptor Observations:
A steady stream of birds throughout most of the day dominated by
Sharp-shinned Hawks, Northern Harriers, American Kestrels, and Merlins.

Non-raptor Observations:
A flock of 13 Wilson's Snipe, American Pipits, Cave Swallow, Cliff Swallow,
Barn Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Predictions:
Go birding around Cape May tomorrow. There will be lots o birds.

Sea Watch Thursday October 28, 2010

The middle of the day today was rather dull, and would have been nearly devoid of birds if not for the constant all-day movement of Gannets, and a few Scoter and Cormorant pulses. Outside that time period there was a good movement of Gulls, especially Laughing and Herring, as well as a few interesting ducks thrown in here and there including three different groups of Gadwall, and two groups of Blue-winged Teal. Another juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull came by at extremely close range, grabbed a large fish out of the water and was then harassed by a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull for a minute or more. Another immature LBBG was tallied a bit later.

Passerine wise, an American Pipit came over, and a very strange encounter with a completely unfamiliar passerine (presumably) well out over the water left Me and Cameron Cox completely dumbfounded, especially after it dropped onto the water, possibly plunging intentionally to its death.

The radar is going off at the moment, and tons of birds are flying over Cape May right now. If you're in the mid-Atlantic region you definitely want out be out birding tomorrow, as well as listening/watching tonight!

Total individuals counted: 10,491
Complete eBird list with counted species in bold:

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/28/10
Number of species: 53

Brant (Atlantic) 39
Wood Duck 5
Gadwall 15
American Wigeon 5
Blue-winged Teal 8
Northern Pintail 19
Green-winged Teal 3
Greater Scaup 1
Lesser Scaup 2
Surf Scoter 3065
Black Scoter 335
Surf/Black Scoter 38
Red-breasted Merganser 3
Red-throated Loon 11
Common Loon 37
Northern Gannet 2095
Brown Pelican 2
Double-crested Cormorant 2695
Great Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 34

Turkey Vulture 4
Osprey 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Peregrine Falcon 3
American Golden-Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 5
Ruddy Turnstone 2
Sanderling 400
Semipalmated Sandpiper 4
Least Sandpiper 3
Dunlin 650
Bonaparte's Gull 1
Laughing Gull 649
Ring-billed Gull 148
Herring Gull 961
Lesser Black-backed Gull 2
Great Black-backed Gull 84
gull sp. 1
Caspian Tern 12
Common Tern 3
Forster's Tern 67
Royal Tern 146

Rock Pigeon X
Tree Swallow 15
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling X
American Pipit 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 8
Savannah Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 35
passerine sp. 1

Sea Watch Wednesday October 27, 2010

What a crazy day up at Avalon! The shifty weather made for some interesting conditions for migration. Despite some heavy precipitation the viewing conditions were actually okay for most of the day, thanks in part to an improvised telescope/bungee-cord/umbrella set-up. Despite thoroughly sifting through the good movement of Laughing Gulls in the morning, I couldn't turn up a Franklin's Gull, which should be thought of as a legitimate possibility here over the next couple of days given the current weather pattern.

Other than Gulls, there was not much moving in notable numbers. Interestingly though, the VAST majority of dark-winged Scoters today (>92%) were Surf Scoters. Interesting species highlights were 3 Horned Grebes flying by together during the second hour of the day, an adult/subadult-type Parasitic Jaeger, a juvenile Common Tern, and two back-to-back point-blank crisp juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Tomorrow should be a good one (or at the very least it should present more pleasant weather)!

Complete eBird list with counted species in bold:
Total individuals counted: 3,482
Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/27/10
Number of species: 35

Brant 1
Northern Pintail 1
Greater Scaup 15
Greater/Lesser Scaup 1
Surf Scoter 2266
White-winged Scoter 4 (3 were flying north)
Black Scoter 181
Surf/Black Scoter 41
Red-throated Loon 6
Common Loon 21
Horned Grebe 3
Northern Gannet 291
Brown Pelican 1
Double-crested Cormorant 8

Peregrine Falcon 2
Semipalmated Plover 22
Ruddy Turnstone 2
Sanderling 45
Semipalmated Sandpiper 13
Dunlin 7
Bonaparte's Gull 1
Laughing Gull 289
Ring-billed Gull 40
Herring Gull 69
Lesser Black-backed Gull 2 Juveniles
Great Black-backed Gull 66
Caspian Tern 2
Common Tern 1 Juvenile
Forster's Tern 59
Royal Tern 113
Black Skimmer 1
Parasitic Jaeger 1

Tree Swallow 300
European Starling X
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1
Song Sparrow 2
House Sparrow 20

Hawk Watch Wednesday October 27, 2010

I'm going to classify today as the calm before the storm. It was a quiet and slow day at the Hawk Watch with very little movement. We were treated to a handful of Sharp-shinned Hawks, Northern Harriers, and Peregrine Falcons. In fact, we had some excellent views of Peregrines cruising above the treeline. At one point, there were 3 Peregrines foraging above the bunker at the same time. Surprisingly, none of them snatched a meal!


Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 27, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 82 128
Turkey Vulture 0 648 846
Osprey 0 1756 4497
Bald Eagle 0 209 385
Northern Harrier 9 838 1309
Sharp-shinned Hawk 36 10720 15940
Cooper's Hawk 4 2580 3464
Northern Goshawk 0 2 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 56 61
Broad-winged Hawk 0 748 1201
Red-tailed Hawk 0 253 392
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 3 3
American Kestrel 1 2330 5129
Merlin 7 1240 2061
Peregrine Falcon 20 1043 1320
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0

Total: 77 22508 36739
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:15:00
Observation end time: 15:15:00
Total observation time: 9 hours

Official Counter: Melissa Roach

Observers:

Weather:
Variable South winds throughout the day with overcast skies with scattered
showers early on. Thunderstorms in the afternoon cut the count 45 minutes
early today.

Raptor Observations:
Very little movement today, but some Sharp-shinned Hawks, Northern
Harriers, and Peregrines.

Non-raptor Observations:
3 Common Loons, 3 Great Cormorants

Predictions:
SSW winds first thing but gradually turning to West throughout the day, so
tomorrow has some potential.

Morning Flight Tuesday October 26, 2010

Today's morning flight was quite light on all accounts, as anticipated given the moderate to strong south winds which should continue through tomorrow. American Robins, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and finches continue to dominate the flights daily.

American Robin. Higbee Beach.

Purple Finch. Higbee Beach.

"Myrtle" Yellow-rumped Warbler. Higbee Beach.

Avalon Seawatch October 26, 2010

It was a rather quiet day today at the seawatch numbers-wise, but as always, there was still plenty to watch and count. Northern Gannets moved through in big numbers this morning, some Double-crested Cormorants moved early, and scoters moved in small numbers throughout the day.

Highlights today were 2 White-winged Scoters, 2 Common Eiders, and 31 Black Skimmers. The bird of the day for me was a male Harlequin Duck that was leading a small group of scoters right down the bar.

A list of species detected follows, with counted migrants in bold:

9,100 migrants today.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/26/10
Number of species: 49

Brant 1
Wood Duck 1
American Wigeon 2
American Black Duck 7
Mallard 1
Northern Pintail 10
Green-winged Teal 3
Greater Scaup 19
Lesser Scaup 10
Common Eider 2
Harlequin Duck 1
Surf Scoter 3674
White-winged Scoter 2
Black Scoter 881
Surf/Black Scoter 15
Red-throated Loon 31
Common Loon 36
Horned Grebe 2
Northern Gannet 2286
Brown Pelican 8
Double-crested Cormorant 1713
Great Cormorant 1
Turkey Vulture 5
Northern Harrier 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover 7
Semipalmated Plover 5
Ruddy Turnstone 4
Sanderling 20
Dunlin 30
Laughing Gull 188
Ring-billed Gull 23
Herring Gull 24
Great Black-backed Gull 12
Forster's Tern 63
Royal Tern 49
Black Skimmer 31
Rock Pigeon 30
Northern Flicker 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 30
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
Palm Warbler 1
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
House Sparrow 15

Hawk Watch Tuesday October 26, 2010

Another unexpectedly decent flight for south winds. Over 200 Sharp-shinned Hawks flew by, and remained steady throughout the day. We hit a milestone for Peregrine Falcons today, as the 1,300th of the season passed by the Hawkwatch at 4:59 PM, with one minute to spare before the end of the count.

On the non-raptor front, the juvenile Blue Grosbeak continued right around the platform for most of the day associating loosely with at least 8 juvenile White-crowned Sparrows. 6 Pine Siskins, a Purple Finch, 3 Eastern Meadowlarks, a Great Cormorant, and a Pectoral Sandpiper were individual species highlights. The most interesting spectacles were the relatively large migrations of American Robins, Northern Gannets, and Swallows. The Swallow flight was comprised almost entirely of Tree Swallows (as expected), although a single Cliff Swallow and 5 Northern Rough-winged Swallows added some spice (however scant).

Location: Cape Island--CMPSP--Hawkwatch Platform (CMBO hawkwatch)
Observation date: 10/26/10
Number of species: 79

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck X
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal 1
Northern Shoveler X
Green-winged Teal X
Ring-necked Duck 1
Greater Scaup 13
Surf Scoter X
Black Scoter X
Ruddy Duck 52
Red-throated Loon 1
Common Loon 5
Pied-billed Grebe 4
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 1
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 10
Osprey 6
Northern Harrier 23
Sharp-shinned Hawk 204
Cooper's Hawk 29
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 4
Merlin 26
Peregrine Falcon 39
Killdeer 4
Greater Yellowlegs 9
Lesser Yellowlegs 15
Sanderling 25
Semipalmated Sandpiper 8
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 18
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 1
Royal Tern 600
Black Skimmer 280
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Belted Kingfisher 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 75
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Tree Swallow 9000
Cliff Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X
Carolina Wren X
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
American Robin 7500
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
American Pipit 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) X
Song Sparrow 3
Swamp Sparrow 6
White-throated Sparrow 3
White-crowned Sparrow 8
Northern Cardinal X
Blue Grosbeak 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
Eastern Meadowlark 3
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird 150
Purple Finch 1
House Finch 350
Pine Siskin 6
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X



Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 82 128
Turkey Vulture 0 648 846
Osprey 6 1756 4497
Bald Eagle 0 209 385
Northern Harrier 23 829 1300
Sharp-shinned Hawk 204 10684 15904
Cooper's Hawk 29 2576 3460
Northern Goshawk 0 2 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 56 61
Broad-winged Hawk 0 748 1201
Red-tailed Hawk 0 253 392
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 3 3
American Kestrel 4 2329 5128
Merlin 26 1233 2054
Peregrine Falcon 39 1023 1300
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0

Total: 331 22431 36662
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:15:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.75 hours

Official Counter: Doug Gochfeld

Observers:

Weather:
SW/S Winds; Mostly cloudy all day.

Raptor Observations:
1,300th Peregrine Falcon of the season came by at 4:59 PM.

Non-raptor Observations:
Blue Grosbeak, Cliff Swallow, American Pipit, Eastern Meadowlark, Great
Cormorant, 5 Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Great Cormorant, 13 Greater
Scaup, Pectoral Sandpiper, 6+ Pine Siskin

Predictions:
S winds, intermittent thunderstorms. Hard to say but it could be decent for
Peregrines again with all the rain to our west.

Avalon Seawatch October 25, 2010

Today was a very nice day of migration again at the seawatch. Nothing like yesterday's numbers or diversity, but still a good total of birds. Over 11,000 scoters and 5,000 Double-crested Cormorants made up the vast majority of counted migrants. Numbers were good early, but then died, with sporadic migrants the rest of the day.

Highlights today included the first two Long-tailed Ducks of the fall (one male, one female) and 11 White-winged Scoters. A Belted Kingfisher was heard and then seen well out over the ocean!

A list of species detected follows, with counted migrants in bold:

17,315 migrants today.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/25/10
Number of species: 44

Brant 16 hanging out by the jetty
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 1
Northern Pintail 4
Green-winged Teal 86
Ring-necked Duck 2
Greater Scaup 5
Lesser Scaup 2
Surf Scoter 8517
White-winged Scoter 11
Black Scoter 2786
Surf/Black Scoter 70
Long-tailed Duck 2
Red-breasted Merganser 13Red-throated Loon 61
Common Loon 42
Northern Gannet 525
Double-crested Cormorant 5050
Great Cormorant 2
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover X
Semipalmated Plover X
Ruddy Turnstone 4
Sanderling 20
Bonaparte's Gull 2
Laughing Gull 25
Ring-billed Gull 23
Herring Gull 3
Great Black-backed Gull 4
Forster's Tern 21
Royal Tern 28
Rock Pigeon X
Belted Kingfisher 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin X
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 50
American Pipit 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Song Sparrow 2
House Sparrow 25

Hawk Watch Monday October 25, 2010

It was a better than expected flight at the Hawkwatch today. Despite the SSW winds there were still raptors moving with decent consistency throughout the day. Sharp-shinned Hawks (as usual) dominated the flight, although Cooper's Hawks were no slouches in the middle of the day either. The raptor highlight, by far, was a juvenile Northern Goshawk that came by the platform during the noon hour giving pretty decent views for the few (Read: 2) people remaining in the upper deck of the platform.

This Blue Grosbeak spent the whole day hanging around the platform and could often be heard "chinking" from the vegetation when it wasn't in view. (photo by Alyssia Church)

Non-raptor highlights were an American Bittern, 3 Great Cormorants, a juvenile Blue Grosbeak, 11 juvenile White-crowned Sparrows, an American Golden-Plover (seen twice flying towards the beach with a flock of Black-bellied Plovers), 6 Eastern Meadowlarks, and 2 each of Eastern Bluebird and Pine Siskin. There was also a sizeable movement of House Finches this morning, along with a southbound (as typically happens on south winds) push of Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Complete eBird list follows with Hawkcount data below:

Location: Cape Island--CMPSP--Hawkwatch Platform (CMBO hawkwatch)
Observation date: 10/25/10
Notes: SSW Winds all day.
Number of species: 79

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck X
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal 3
Northern Shoveler X
Northern Pintail 6
Green-winged Teal 115
Ring-necked Duck 1
Surf Scoter 1500
Black Scoter 400
Surf/Black Scoter 2000
Ruddy Duck 52
Red-throated Loon 4
Common Loon 2
Pied-billed Grebe 3
Northern Gannet 35
Double-crested Cormorant 2100
Great Cormorant 3
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron X
Great Egret 2
Black Vulture 3
Turkey Vulture 9
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 16
Sharp-shinned Hawk 276
Cooper's Hawk 66
Northern Goshawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 8
Merlin 18
Peregrine Falcon 21
Black-bellied Plover 14
American Golden-Plover 1
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Lesser Yellowlegs 14
Sanderling X
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Royal Tern X
Black Skimmer 180
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 500
Tufted Titmouse 6
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren X
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin 2500
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1000
Palm Warbler (Yellow) 2
Song Sparrow 3
Swamp Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 3
White-crowned Sparrow 11
Northern Cardinal 2
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
Eastern Meadowlark 6
Common Grackle X
House Finch 800
Pine Siskin 2
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X


Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 25, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 1 82 128
Turkey Vulture 5 648 846
Osprey 1 1750 4491
Bald Eagle 0 209 385
Northern Harrier 16 806 1277
Sharp-shinned Hawk 276 10480 15700
Cooper's Hawk 66 2547 3431
Northern Goshawk 1 2 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 56 61
Broad-winged Hawk 0 748 1201
Red-tailed Hawk 2 253 392
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 3 3
American Kestrel 8 2325 5124
Merlin 18 1207 2028
Peregrine Falcon 21 984 1261
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0

Total: 416 22100 36331
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:15:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.75 hours

Official Counter: Doug Gochfeld

Observers:

Weather:
SSW Winds all day.

Raptor Observations:
Juvenile Northern Goshawk AT 12:25 PM. Several adult male Merlins.

Non-raptor Observations:
Juvenile Blue Grosbeak, 11 juvenile White-crowned Sparrows, American
Bittern (1-2), American Golden-Plover, 6 Eastern Meadowlarks, 2 Eastern
Bluebirds, 3 Great Cormorants, 2 Pine Siskins, several hundred House
Finches.

Predictions:
S and SSW winds again. Clouds.

Avalon Seawatch October 24, 2010

Today was an incredible day at the seawatch! Despite the southerly winds, large numbers of cormorants, scoters, gannets, loons, and all other manner of water birds decided that today was the day to move. Cutting right to the chase, 61,666 migrants were counted today when all was said and done.

The day started with a nice loon movement early, along with some Northern Gannets. Soon enough, Double-crested Cormorant numbers started to build, along with decent numbers of both Black and Surf Scoters. Cormorant numbers eventually faded, but the scoter numbers kept fairly steady until the middle of the afternoon, when the floodgates opened. Huge mixed flocks of scoters and other ducks started pouring past the seawatch. Over 43,000 scoters were counted today! Lots of fun!

Highlights today were many: 2015 Green-winged Teal, 34 Ring-necked Ducks (including a pure flock of 27), 15 White-winged Scoters, 1 Bufflehead, 3 Horned Grebes, 2 Parasitic Jaegers, and 3 Bonaparte's Gulls.

I would be remiss to not mention the help that I received throughout the day with the count. Special thanks go out to Nick, Gail, Doug, and Andy. Thanks to all!

I'm excited to see what tomorrow brings since birds were still flying well after sunset tonight.

A list of species detected follows, with counted migrants in bold:

61,666 migrants today.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/24/10
Number of species: 61

Brant 76
Canada Goose 5
Wood Duck 161
American Wigeon 35
American Black Duck 197
Mallard 6
Northern Shoveler 10
Northern Pintail 129
Green-winged Teal 2015
Ring-necked Duck 34
Greater Scaup 13
Lesser Scaup 25
Surf Scoter 26795
White-winged Scoter 15
Black Scoter 14349
Surf/Black Scoter 2089
Bufflehead 1
Red-breasted Merganser 11
Red-throated Loon 114
Common Loon 56
Horned Grebe 3
Northern Gannet 1454
Brown Pelican 18
Double-crested Cormorant 13815
Great Cormorant 6
Great Blue Heron 26
Turkey Vulture 5
Osprey 2
Northern Harrier 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover 20
Semipalmated Plover 15
American Oystercatcher 30
Ruddy Turnstone 5
Sanderling 20
Least Sandpiper 2
Dunlin 30
Bonaparte's Gull 3
Laughing Gull 14
Ring-billed Gull 17
Herring Gull 4
Great Black-backed Gull 3
Forster's Tern 13
Royal Tern 103
Parasitic Jaeger 2
Rock Pigeon 25
Mourning Dove 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 5
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 40
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Savannah Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 4
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 25

Monarch Monitoring Project: Budding Romance

It’s that time of year again, when all creatures have that romantic urge: the flowers are popping up, the birds are singing, the butterflies are flirting. That time of year that caused Thumper in Bambi to ask, “Why are they acting that way?” with the response by Friend Owl, “They’re twitterpated.” Except, hold on a sec. That isn’t right. In Bambi, this scene occurred in the spring. And the flowers are certainly not popping up anymore. Some are surely still blooming, but these are no young flowers. And the birds are migrating. But you can still find butterflies mating around the point. Which is very bizarre behavior indeed for this time of year.

Why is this strange? Well, like I mentioned in a previous post, the Monarchs flying around Cape May this time of year are a “Super” generation. They can live 8-9 months whereas the lifespan of another generation is only 6 weeks. Why? Because the “Super” generation Monarchs repress the urge to reproduce. They focus on nectaring and storing lipids, or fats, that will help them survive the journey to Mexico and the winter at 10,000-12,000 feet where there is no food. Reproducing takes a lot of energy so NOT reproducing allows a Monarch to funnel that energy into travel. Therefore, in theory, we should not be seeing any Monarchs mating at this time of year. They should all be hanging out, boys and girls cohabitating nicely together, without any of that silly reproduction drama. And yet, there is always that exception to the rule. We DO see Monarchs still mating. October 12th, I saw 3 separate pairs of Monarchs mating (or “hugging” as my 8-year old helper now innocently calls it). These Monarchs look healthy and I would suspect that they are migrating--any eggs they lay now would have a hard time making it through the whole metamorphosis with limited milkweed at this time of year. Yet, they are wasting valuable resources by attempting to reproduce. Which must mean that it is true butterfly love, for these Monarchs to sacrifice valuable energy needed for overwintering in Mexico.

Here is a mating pair of Monarchs, observed today in Cape May Point: the male (top) is holding the female.

Hawk Watch Sunday October 24, 2010

Unfortunately, it was a pretty uneventful day at the Hawk Watch platform. There was a good movement of birds around midday, but that push came to a screeching halt in the afternoon. It's a good thing we can see the ocean from the top deck because the amazing scoter show kept me awake.


Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 24, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 81 127
Turkey Vulture 19 643 841
Osprey 5 1749 4490
Bald Eagle 3 209 385
Northern Harrier 24 790 1261
Sharp-shinned Hawk 255 10204 15424
Cooper's Hawk 36 2481 3365
Northern Goshawk 0 1 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 55 60
Broad-winged Hawk 0 748 1201
Red-tailed Hawk 4 251 390
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 3 3
American Kestrel 12 2317 5116
Merlin 15 1189 2010
Peregrine Falcon 9 963 1240
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0

Total: 383 21684 35915
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:15:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.75 hours

Official Counter: Melissa Roach

Observers:

Weather:
Light SSW winds becoming SW with partly cloudy skies becoming overcast by
late afternoon.

Raptor Observations:
A decent movement of birds today, especially around midday. The count was
dominated by Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks along with good numbers of
Northern Harriers as well.

Non-raptor Observations:
7 Common Loons, 7 Eastern Meadowlarks, Eastern Bluebird, 5 White-crowned
Sparrows, 6 American Pipits, Pine Siskin, 1 Blackpoll

Predictions:
Variable South winds forecasted for tomorrow with isolated thunderstorms in
the afternoon. Migration will most likely be slow.

Morning Flight Sunday October 24, 2010

Finches handily outstripped the nocturnal migrant species today at the Higbee Dike. There was a very strong southbound movement of House Finches, Purple Finches, and American Goldfinches for the first two hours after sunrise. Even more House Finches were tallied at Cape May Point SP during the same time, suggesting that there were other finch flightlines heading down the peninsula not visible from my vantage point at the Dike. The roadside was hopping with sparrows - most unusual was an interesting Clay-colored Sparrow with dark flank streaking, most likely a young bird retaining some juvenal plumage (see a previous post for photos).

Eastern Meadowlark, the fluttering mini-football of the Dike. Higbee Beach.


Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/24/10
Notes: primarily a southbound flight with some northbound robins and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Wind WSW 10-15 mph, 65 F.
Number of species: 23

hummingbird sp. 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 1700
American Pipit 16
Cedar Waxwing 32
Northern Parula 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 475
Palm Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 8
Northern Waterthrush 1
Chipping Sparrow 2
Savannah Sparrow 5
Dark-eyed Junco 5
Indigo Bunting 1
Dickcissel 1
Eastern Meadowlark 21
Purple Finch 212
House Finch 1540
Carpodacus sp. 610
American Goldfinch 705

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

A different sort of Clay-colored Sparrow

While counting songbird migrants at the Higbee Dike this morning, I was distracted for a while by a small sparrow feeding along the edge of the dirt track. I was especially puzzled by the fairly heavy, blackish flank streaking and richly saturated upperparts on what otherwise looked and sounded (thin, Tennessee Warbler-like "tsip") like a Clay-colored Sparrow, and figured that the bird was most likely a hybrid, perhaps with a member of the genus Melospiza (like a Swamp or Song Sparrow). A bit of digging in Pyle and the Birds of North America account revealed that some young-of-the-year Clay-colored Sparrows don't finish their post-juvenal molt until after migration, and so can retain some of the streaking on their bodies where juvenal feathers haven't yet been replaced. Though the overall color of the upperparts still strikes me as a bit odd, I now think this is most likely a young Clay-colored Sparrow with some vestiges of juvenal plumage, something that we don't often see on the East Coast in fall. Thanks to Michael O'Brien for his comments and help with the identification.





Avalon Seawatch October 23, 2010

The seawatch was fairly slow but steady today, but there was enough activity to always be looking at something, and enough excitement to keep most everyone satisfied. Northern Gannets (2107) and Green-winged Teal (791) were the stars of the seawatch today, with lots of gannets in the first few hours and a steady stream of teal all day.

Double-crested Cormorants again put in a decent showing, with 4 Great Cormorants adding variety. A nice assortment of dabbling ducks was counted today, which is always a highlight. Loons were migrating in decent numbers early again today.

A few non-waterbird migrants today: singles of Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, and American Pipit. An American Woodcock came in off the water early, which was really awesome to see. A Northern Flicker successfully made it back to land after being stooped on repeatedly by a young Peregrine Falcon.

A list of species detected follows, with counted migrants in bold:

9,056 migrants today.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/23/10
Number of species: 64

Brant 72
Canada Goose 59
Wood Duck 133
Gadwall 2
American Wigeon 1
American Black Duck 101
Mallard 2
Northern Shoveler 9
Northern Pintail 112
Green-winged Teal 791
Lesser Scaup 4
Common Eider 4
Surf Scoter 651
Black Scoter 577
Surf/Black Scoter 58
Red-breasted Merganser 2
Red-throated Loon 40
Common Loon 47
Northern Gannet 2107
Brown Pelican 1
Double-crested Cormorant 3956
Great Cormorant 4
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 6
Osprey 2
Bald Eagle 1
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 3
Black-bellied Plover 15
Semipalmated Plover 20
Killdeer 1
American Oystercatcher 40
Ruddy Turnstone 5
Sanderling 20
Least Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 20
American Woodcock 1
Laughing Gull 74
Ring-billed Gull 27
Herring Gull 24
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Forster's Tern 72
Royal Tern 82
Rock Pigeon 25
Mourning Dove 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Tree Swallow 10
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 7
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 20
American Pipit 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 12
Palm Warbler 1
Savannah Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Purple Finch 1
Pine Siskin 1
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 20

Hawk Watch Saturday October 23, 2010

Before the winds turned to the Southwest (and migration came to a crawl), there was good raptor movement for most of the day. Although not jaw-dropping numbers, we had a nice movement of Sharp-shinned Hawks and Northern Harriers again today. We also had quite the kettle of Turkey Vultures that hung around for most of the day and would occasionally host another species or two. A distant and very low immature Golden Eagle was picked up in the morning but quickly drifted out of sight. I think one of the best raptor highlights from the day came from one crazed Merlin that came barreling right past my head! That sneaky fiend apparently made a breathtaking stoop from behind me and zipped just a few inches above the platform (and a few inches by my head). Clearly, I didn't see the bird coming, but it got my heart racing as I heard a swoosh and saw a flash of dark going past!

The best non-raptor highlight definitely goes to the Short-eared Owl that was cruising over the ocean. Plenty of people got on the bird before it went behind the bunker and proceeded to disappear.


Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 23, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 81 127
Turkey Vulture 70 624 822
Osprey 12 1744 4485
Bald Eagle 6 206 382
Northern Harrier 43 766 1237
Sharp-shinned Hawk 337 9949 15169
Cooper's Hawk 49 2445 3329
Northern Goshawk 0 1 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 54 59
Broad-winged Hawk 3 748 1201
Red-tailed Hawk 14 247 386
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 1 3 3
American Kestrel 56 2305 5104
Merlin 6 1174 1995
Peregrine Falcon 1 954 1231
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0

Total: 599 21301 35532
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:15:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.75 hours

Official Counter: Melissa Roach

Observers:

Weather:
Light to moderate WSW winds turning to SW around 10 (STD) with clear skies
the entire day.

Raptor Observations:
Good movement of birds until the afternoon when things slowed down
considerably. As usual, the count was dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks,
but we also had good numbers of Northern Harriers and Turkey Vultures.
Another immature Golden Eagle was seen from a distant as well.

Non-raptor Observations:
A handful of Northern Rough-winged Swallows kept passing over the platform
(literally buzzing our heads at times). We also had a Short-eared Owl
flying fairly close over the ocean!

Predictions:
Light SSW/SW winds tomorrow so I'm not expecting a significant number of
birds.

Exceedingly visible migration - 22 Oct

If you weren't inspired by the migration in Cape May today, it is time to hang up those binoculars. I caught the heavy morning flight of passerines at the Cape May Point State Park hawkwatch platform and ended up staying all day. The hawk flight was spectacular, with tons of low, in-your-face accipiters and falcons and a prize Golden Eagle to boot. Species highlights aside from the raptors (check Melissa's post for details) included Cave Swallow (early), 5+ Cliff Swallows, Hudsonian Godwit, Red-headed Woodpecker, 3 Vesper Sparrows, the continuing Eurasian Wigeon (Lighthouse Pond), and a mind-blowing flight of robins, sparrows, blackbirds, and finches. Gettin' by with a little help from my friends, I compiled counts or estimates of all species seen at the hawkwatch today - 111 species! Some photos from the day and the full species list follow.

Bird of the day? Sharp-shinned Hawks were EVERYWHERE!

Wood Ducks (hundreds moved during the first few hours)

Little Blue Heron juvenile at sunrise.

Hudsonian Godwit flying in off the ocean.

American Kestrel.

Male Northern Harrier.

Cliff Swallow (left) and Cave Swallow (center and right) - composite image.

Adult (probably female) Cooper's Hawk.

Vesper Sparrow in flight.

American Bittern on Bunker Pond.





Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 10/22/10
Number of species: 111

Canada Goose 460
Mute Swan 4
Wood Duck 260
Gadwall 80
Eurasian Wigeon 1
American Wigeon 140
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 22
Blue-winged Teal 2
Northern Shoveler 8
Northern Pintail 10
Green-winged Teal 35
Ring-necked Duck 6
Surf Scoter 45
Black Scoter 350
Surf/Black Scoter 200
Ruddy Duck 32
Pied-billed Grebe 3
Northern Gannet 24
Double-crested Cormorant 80
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 5
Little Blue Heron 1
Cattle Egret 3
Black Vulture 5
Turkey Vulture 64
Osprey 17
Bald Eagle 21
Northern Harrier 49
Sharp-shinned Hawk 731
Cooper's Hawk 82
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Broad-winged Hawk 12
Red-tailed Hawk 37
Golden Eagle 1
American Kestrel 234
Merlin 62
Peregrine Falcon 15
Sora 1
American Coot 4
Killdeer 55
Greater Yellowlegs 3
Lesser Yellowlegs 4
Hudsonian Godwit 1
Sanderling 1
Least Sandpiper 1
Pectoral Sandpiper 15
Dunlin 2
Wilson's Snipe 1
Laughing Gull 4
Ring-billed Gull 30
Herring Gull 10
Great Black-backed Gull 35
Royal Tern 8
Black Skimmer 400
Rock Pigeon 25
Mourning Dove 40
Chimney Swift 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 16
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 8
Fish Crow 22
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Tree Swallow 12000
Barn Swallow 4
Cliff Swallow 5
Cave Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin 8500
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 35
American Pipit 40
Cedar Waxwing 55
Nashville Warbler 1
Northern Parula 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 3420
Palm Warbler 18
Blackpoll Warbler 4
Common Yellowthroat 1
Chipping Sparrow 340
Field Sparrow 1
Vesper Sparrow 3
Savannah Sparrow 16
Song Sparrow 10
Swamp Sparrow 8
White-throated Sparrow 4
White-crowned Sparrow 6
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 9400
Eastern Meadowlark 10
Rusty Blackbird 9
Common Grackle 28
Boat-tailed Grackle 4
Brown-headed Cowbird 60
Purple Finch 75
House Finch 1150
Pine Siskin 230
American Goldfinch 850
House Sparrow 45

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)