Sea Watch Count 10/31/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Red-throated Loon - 61
Common Loon - 35
Horned Grebe - 2
Northern Gannet - 2783
Great Cormorant - 1
Double-crested Cormorant - 1117
Great Blue Heron - 1
Brant - 20
Wood Duck - 2
American Wigeon - 19
American Black Duck - 37
Mallard - 5
Northern Pintail - 31
Green-winged Teal - 55
Ring-necked Duck - 24
Greater Scaup - 65
Lesser Scaup - 29
Common Eider - 1
Long-tailed Duck - 5
Black Scoter - 2335
Surf Scoter - 3596
White-winged Scoter - 18
unidentified scoter - 126
Bufflehead - 1
Red-breasted Merganser - 9
Parasitic Jaeger - 2
Laughing Gull - 75
Ring-billed Gull - 2
Herring Gull - 48
Great Black-backed Gull - 36
Forster's Tern - 108
Royal Tern - 28
Brown Pelican - 7
American Oystercatcher - 41
Ruddy Duck - 2
American Woodcock - 1

TOTAL - 10728

Hawk Watch Count 10/31/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             52             52
Turkey Vulture               0            589            589
Osprey                       0            926           1592
Bald Eagle                   1            124            207
Northern Harrier             6            541            859

Sharp-shinned Hawk          22           6905          11890
Cooper's Hawk                9           1578           2361
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          3            105            106

Broad-winged Hawk            0            408            559
Red-tailed Hawk              3            276            349
Rough-legged Hawk            0              1              1
Golden Eagle                 0              3              4

American Kestrel             2           1226           4558
Merlin                       2            747           1308
Peregrine Falcon             3           1102           1295
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                      51          14584          25732
------------------------------------------------------------

Sea Watch Count 10/30/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Red-throated Loon - 126
Common Loon - 58
Horned Grebe - 2
Northern Gannet - 721
Great Cormorant - 1
Double-crested Cormorant - 4812
Brant - 23
American Wigeon - 1
American Black Duck - 35
Northern Pintail - 26
Green-winged Teal - 202
Ring-necked Duck - 8
Greater Scaup - 29
Lesser Scaup - 17
scaup, sp. - 7
Common Eider - 1
Long-tailed Duck - 3
Black Scoter - 4293
Surf Scoter - 1646
White-winged Scoter - 8
dark-winged scoter - 2671
Bufflehead - 30
Hooded Merganser - 1
Red-breasted Merganser - 2
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Laughing Gull - 93
Ring-billed Gull - 36
Herring Gull - 22
Great Black-backed Gull - 7
Forster's Tern - 287
Royal Tern - 14
Common Tern - 2

TOTAL - 15185

Hawk Watch Count 10/30/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                7             52             52
Turkey Vulture              65            589            589
Osprey                       6            926           1592
Bald Eagle                   0            123            206
Northern Harrier            23            535            853

Sharp-shinned Hawk         106           6883          11868
Cooper's Hawk               61           1569           2352
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk         11            102            103

Broad-winged Hawk            1            408            559
Red-tailed Hawk             49            273            346
Rough-legged Hawk            0              1              1
Golden Eagle                 0              3              4

American Kestrel             0           1224           4556
Merlin                       7            745           1306
Peregrine Falcon             3           1099           1292
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     339          14533          25681
------------------------------------------------------------

Sea Watch Count 10/29/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Red-throated Loon - 41
Common Loon - 25
Northern Gannet - 267
Great Cormorant - 14
Double-crested Cormorant - 16580
Great Blue Heron - 11
Brant - 3
Canada Goose - 37
Wood Duck - 12
American Wigeon - 6
American Black Duck - 102
Mallard - 15
Northern Pintail - 19
Green-winged Teal - 280
Ring-necked Duck - 6
Greater Scaup - 25
Lesser Scaup - 46
scaup, sp. - 16
Common Eider - 3
Long-tailed Duck - 10
Black Scoter - 6411
Surf Scoter - 2810
White-winged Scoter - 8
dark-winged scoter - 3286
Common Goldeneye - 13
Hooded Merganser - 2
Red-breasted Merganser - 15
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Laughing Gull - 63
Bonaparte's Gull - 2
Herring Gull - 5
Great Black-backed Gull - 4
Royal Tern - 18
King Eider - 2

TOTAL - 30158

Hawk Watch Count 10/29/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             45             45
Turkey Vulture              39            524            524
Osprey                       3            920           1586
Bald Eagle                   5            123            206
Northern Harrier            25            512            830

Sharp-shinned Hawk         221           6777          11762
Cooper's Hawk               81           1508           2291
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk         24             91             92

Broad-winged Hawk            6            407            558
Red-tailed Hawk             65            224            297
Rough-legged Hawk            1              1              1
Golden Eagle                 1              3              4

American Kestrel             3           1224           4556
Merlin                       3            738           1299
Peregrine Falcon             2           1096           1289
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     479          14194          25342
------------------------------------------------------------

Sea Watch Count 10/28/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Red-throated Loon - 3
Common Loon - 51
Northern Gannet - 395
Double-crested Cormorant - 14846
Great Blue Heron - 24
Great Egret - 91
Snowy Egret - 14
Brant - 367
Canada Goose - 6
Wood Duck - 18
American Wigeon - 1
American Black Duck - 94
Mallard - 8
Northern Pintail - 105
Green-winged Teal - 129
Ring-necked Duck - 1
Greater Scaup - 1
Lesser Scaup - 15
Long-tailed Duck - 4
Black Scoter - 3360
Surf Scoter - 3671
White-winged Scoter - 2
unidentified scoter - 4080
Bufflehead - 17
Hooded Merganser - 5
Parasitic Jaeger - 3
Laughing Gull - 259
Ring-billed Gull - 38
Great Black-backed Gull - 6
Forster's Tern - 208
Royal Tern - 20
Monarch - 10
Brown Pelican - 1
American Oystercatcher - 7
Black-crowned Night Heron - 42
Yellow-crowned Night Heron - 2

TOTAL - 27894

Hawk Watch Count 10/28/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture               10             45             45
Turkey Vulture             169            485            485
Osprey                      17            917           1583
Bald Eagle                  19            118            201
Northern Harrier            40            487            805

Sharp-shinned Hawk        1403           6556          11541
Cooper's Hawk              180           1427           2210
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk         25             67             68

Broad-winged Hawk           24            401            552
Red-tailed Hawk             88            159            232
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 2              2              3

American Kestrel            34           1221           4553
Merlin                      28            735           1296
Peregrine Falcon             5           1094           1287
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                    2044          13715          24863
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/28/07

Morning Flight: 15-20 NNW wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 1

Northern Flicker- 194

Eastern Phoebe- 3

Golden-crowned Kinglet- 22

Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 3

Kinglet sp.- 1

American Robin- 3969

Cedar Waxwing- 5

Northern Parula- 3

Black-throated Blue Warbler- 1

Yellow-rumped Warbler- 3811

Palm Warbler- 20

Blackpoll Warbler- 1

Warbler sp.- 2427

Chipping Sparrow- 11

Savannah Sparrow- 6

Dark-eyed Junco- 4

Inidgo Bunting- 1

Eastern Meadowlark- 6

Rusty Blackbird- 23

Purple Finch- 13

Pine Siskin- 2

Eastern Bluebird- 4

Total Birds: 10,531

Sea Watch Count 10/27/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Red-throated Loon - 4
Common Loon - 16
Northern Gannet - 430
Great Cormorant - 2
Double-crested Cormorant - 7004
Snow Goose - 12
Brant - 16
American Black Duck - 18
Northern Pintail - 20
Green-winged Teal - 6
Greater Scaup - 2
Lesser Scaup - 13
Common Eider - 3
Black Scoter - 5481
Surf Scoter - 8231
White-winged Scoter - 4
dark-winged scoter - 150
unidentified scoter - 860
Bufflehead - 10
Red-breasted Merganser - 9
Parasitic Jaeger - 3
Laughing Gull - 77
Ring-billed Gull - 7
Herring Gull - 38
Great Black-backed Gull - 35
Forster's Tern - 1441
Royal Tern - 12
Monarch - 19
Brown Pelican - 4
Aythya, sp. - 13
Common Tern - 2
MALL/ABDU Integrade - 1

TOTAL - 23924

Hawk Watch Count 10/27/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             35             35
Turkey Vulture               0            316            316
Osprey                      10            900           1566
Bald Eagle                   1             99            182
Northern Harrier             5            447            765

Sharp-shinned Hawk          40           5153          10138
Cooper's Hawk                6           1247           2030
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          2             42             43

Broad-winged Hawk            0            377            528
Red-tailed Hawk              2             71            144
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             6           1187           4519
Merlin                      12            707           1268
Peregrine Falcon            11           1089           1282
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                      95          11671          22819
------------------------------------------------------------

Monarch Monitoring Project 10/26/07

This past week showed the sharp decline in local monarch numbers expected for this time of year, as cold weather is coming. Monarch butterflies cannot survive long in cold weather, as their only adaptation for surviving the winter in North America is migrating away from it. We sometimes forget that Monarchs are, in reality, a tropical species with its closest kin found in the Caribbean.

Rain made life difficult for the migrants late in the week, although winds may have also helped some cross the Delaware Bay south. Monarchs rarely fly in rain and rarely if ever fly at night. Rain storms could pummel them to the ground or into the sea, so Monarchs appear to be well adapted to judge the weather and fly accordingly.

Census Totals: Monarchs per hour

10-20: 47.37

10-21: 102.63

10-22: 233.68

10-23: 100.50

10-24: 64.86

10-25: 3.33

10-26: 1.71

Monarchs per hour Week 8: 64.13

Monarchs per hour cumulative: 82.90

With only one week remaining, we can safely report that it was a very good year for Monarchs in Cape May. Hopefully, this winter will be favorable for them as the spend the winter in the mountains of Mexico.

Sea Watch Count 10/26/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Red-throated Loon - 27
Common Loon - 80
Northern Gannet - 277
Great Cormorant - 2
Double-crested Cormorant - 44
Brant - 21
Canada Goose - 1
American Wigeon - 25
American Black Duck - 23
Mallard - 1
Northern Pintail - 33
Green-winged Teal - 742
Ring-necked Duck - 11
Greater Scaup - 67
Common Eider - 2
Long-tailed Duck - 3
Black Scoter - 74998
Surf Scoter - 66587
White-winged Scoter - 22
unidentified scoter - 14455
Bufflehead - 19
Hooded Merganser - 16
Red-breasted Merganser - 54
Laughing Gull - 985
Ring-billed Gull - 30
Herring Gull - 34
Great Black-backed Gull - 58
Forster's Tern - 33
Royal Tern - 37
Blue-winged Teal - 1
Aythya, sp. - 5
American Oystercatcher - 3
Ruddy Duck - 2
Marbled Godwit - 1

TOTAL - 158699

Hawk Watch Count 10/26/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             35             35
Turkey Vulture               0            316            316
Osprey                       3            890           1556
Bald Eagle                   0             98            181
Northern Harrier             1            442            760

Sharp-shinned Hawk           1           5113          10098
Cooper's Hawk                0           1241           2024
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0             40             41

Broad-winged Hawk            0            377            528
Red-tailed Hawk              0             69            142
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             4           1181           4513
Merlin                       6            695           1256
Peregrine Falcon             2           1078           1271
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                      17          11576          22724
------------------------------------------------------------

Sea Watch Count 10/25/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Red-throated Loon - 13
Common Loon - 60
Northern Gannet - 282
Double-crested Cormorant - 1617
Wood Duck - 2
American Wigeon - 9
American Black Duck - 3
Mallard - 1
Northern Pintail - 1
Green-winged Teal - 95
Ring-necked Duck - 11
Greater Scaup - 15
Lesser Scaup - 57
Common Eider - 2
Long-tailed Duck - 1
Black Scoter - 13482
Surf Scoter - 24132
White-winged Scoter - 18
unidentified scoter - 398
Bufflehead - 6
Red-breasted Merganser - 2
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Laughing Gull - 715
Ring-billed Gull - 7
Herring Gull - 11
Great Black-backed Gull - 63
Royal Tern - 15
Aythya, sp. - 9
American Oystercatcher - 39
Canvasback - 2

TOTAL - 41069

Hawk Watch Count 10/25/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             35             35
Turkey Vulture               0            316            316
Osprey                       0            887           1553
Bald Eagle                   0             98            181
Northern Harrier             1            441            759

Sharp-shinned Hawk           0           5112          10097
Cooper's Hawk                0           1241           2024
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0             40             41

Broad-winged Hawk            0            377            528
Red-tailed Hawk              0             69            142
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             2           1177           4509
Merlin                       2            689           1250
Peregrine Falcon             1           1076           1269
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                       6          11559          22707
------------------------------------------------------------

Sea Watch Count 10/24/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Common Loon - 10
Northern Gannet - 561
Double-crested Cormorant - 4918
Great Blue Heron - 13
American Wigeon - 17
American Black Duck - 1
Northern Pintail - 65
Green-winged Teal - 32
Common Eider - 1
Black Scoter - 500
Surf Scoter - 371
White-winged Scoter - 5
Parasitic Jaeger - 2
Laughing Gull - 396
Ring-billed Gull - 7
Herring Gull - 11
Great Black-backed Gull - 44
Forster's Tern - 275
Royal Tern - 41
Monarch - 9
American Oystercatcher - 22

TOTAL - 7292

Hawk Watch Count 10/24/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             35             35
Turkey Vulture              12            316            316
Osprey                       4            887           1553
Bald Eagle                   3             98            181
Northern Harrier            12            440            758

Sharp-shinned Hawk          28           5112          10097
Cooper's Hawk               16           1241           2024
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0             40             41

Broad-winged Hawk            8            377            528
Red-tailed Hawk              1             69            142
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             5           1175           4507
Merlin                       4            687           1248
Peregrine Falcon            12           1075           1268
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     105          11553          22701
------------------------------------------------------------

Sea Watch Count 10/23/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Common Loon - 4
Northern Gannet - 183
Great Cormorant - 2
Double-crested Cormorant - 81
Northern Pintail - 18
Greater Scaup - 2
Lesser Scaup - 3
Black Scoter - 129
Surf Scoter - 32
Red-breasted Merganser - 1
Parasitic Jaeger - 3
Laughing Gull - 284
Great Black-backed Gull - 55
Forster's Tern - 625
Royal Tern - 296
Brown Pelican - 3
Caspian Tern - 1
Ruddy Duck - 9
American Golden-Plover - 21

TOTAL - 1752

Hawk Watch Count 10/23/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             35             35
Turkey Vulture               0            304            304
Osprey                       2            883           1549
Bald Eagle                   0             95            178
Northern Harrier             1            428            746

Sharp-shinned Hawk          13           5084          10069
Cooper's Hawk                4           1225           2008
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0             40             41

Broad-winged Hawk            0            369            520
Red-tailed Hawk              0             68            141
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             1           1170           4502
Merlin                       1            683           1244
Peregrine Falcon             2           1063           1256
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                      24          11448          22596
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/23/07

Morning Flight: 5-10 SSE wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 1
Northern Flicker- 15

Eastern Phoebe- 1

Red-breasted Nuthatch- 1
American Robin- 568
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 632

Prairie Warbler- 1

Palm Warbler- 2

Blackpoll Warbler- 2

Warbler Sp.- 391

Dark-eyed Junco- 1

Eastern Meadowlark- 9

Total Birds: 1624

Sea Watch Count 10/22/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Common Loon - 11
Northern Gannet - 311
Double-crested Cormorant - 1587
Brant - 5
Wood Duck - 1
Northern Pintail - 2
Green-winged Teal - 4
Greater Scaup -2
Black Scoter - 574
Surf Scoter - 159
White-winged Scoter - 8
Red-breasted Merganser - 3
Parasitic Jaeger - 10
Laughing Gull - 497
Ring-billed Gull - 2
Herring Gull - 4
Great Black-backed Gull - 41
Forster's Tern - 455
Royal Tern - 199
Brown Pelican - 4
Common Tern - 1
Caspian Tern - 1
Ruddy Duck - 10
Killdeer - 1

TOTAL - 3892

Hawk Watch Count 10/22/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             35             35
Turkey Vulture               0            304            304
Osprey                       3            881           1547
Bald Eagle                   0             95            178
Northern Harrier            10            427            745

Sharp-shinned Hawk          94           5071          10056
Cooper's Hawk               28           1221           2004
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          2             40             41

Broad-winged Hawk            8            369            520
Red-tailed Hawk              1             68            141
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel            11           1169           4501
Merlin                       1            682           1243
Peregrine Falcon             2           1061           1254
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     160          11424          22572
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/22/07

Morning Flight: 0-5 S wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Northern Flicker- 21
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 1
American Robin- 215

American Pipit- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 2615
Black and White Warbler- 1
Warbler sp.- 620

Eastern Meadowlark- 145
Purple Finch- 2

Total Birds: 3384

Sea Watch Count 10/21/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Red-throated Loon - 3
Common Loon - 53
Northern Gannet - 324
Great Cormorant - 1
Double-crested Cormorant - 5767
Great Blue Heron - 2
Brant - 27
Canada Goose - 14
Wood Duck - 12
Gadwall - 4
American Wigeon - 3
American Black Duck - 5
Mallard - 4
Northern Pintail - 15
Green-winged Teal - 80
Ring-necked Duck - 10
Greater Scaup -4
Lesser Scaup - 9
scaup, sp. - 9
Black Scoter - 331
Surf Scoter - 277
dark-winged scoter - 120
Red-breasted Merganser - 4
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Laughing Gull - 4658
Bonaparte's Gull - 1
Ring-billed Gull - 29
Herring Gull - 57
Great Black-backed Gull - 28
Forster's Tern - 536
Royal Tern - 24
Brown Pelican - 9
dabbler, sp. - 18
Aythya, sp. - 10
American Oystercatcher - 19
Ruddy Duck - 4
Marbled Godwit - 18

TOTAL - 12490

Hawk Watch Count 10/21/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                3             35             35
Turkey Vulture              53            304            304
Osprey                      27            878           1544
Bald Eagle                  10             95            178
Northern Harrier            16            417            735

Sharp-shinned Hawk         426           4977           9962
Cooper's Hawk              104           1193           1976
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk         16             38             39

Broad-winged Hawk           34            361            512
Red-tailed Hawk              9             67            140
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel            12           1158           4490
Merlin                      13            681           1242
Peregrine Falcon            11           1059           1252
Swainson's Hawk              1              1     1
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     735          11264          22412
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/21/07

Morning Flight: 5-10 W wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 1
Northern Flicker- 72
Eastern Phoebe- 51
Eastern Kingbird- 1
Red-eyed Vireo- 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 76
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 13
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 42
American Robin- 559
Northern Mockingbird- 1

American Pipit- 3
Cedar Waxwing- 25
Tennessee Warbler- 2
Nashville Warbler- 1
Northern Parula- 4
Magnolia Warbler- 2
Cape May Warbler- 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 10,305
Black-throated Green Warbler- 3

Palm Warbler- 93
Bay-breasted Warbler- 1
Blackpoll Warbler- 37
Black and White Warbler- 4
Warbler sp.- 1973
Scarlet Tanager- 1
Chipping Sparrow- 1422
Savannah Sparrow- 39
Dark-eyed Junco- 47
Dickcissel- 1
Bobolink- 1

Eastern Meadowlark- 34
Baltimore Oriole- 4
Purple Finch- 83
Pine Siskin- 11
Blue-headed Vireo- 8
White-breasted Nuthatch- 7
Western Kingbird- 3
Clay-colored Sparrow- 6

Total Birds: 14944

Sea Watch Count 10/20/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Red-throated Loon - 1
Common Loon - 9
Northern Gannet - 721
Great Cormorant - 1
Double-crested Cormorant - 2151
Great Blue Heron - 2
Brant - 26
Canada Goose - 28
American Wigeon - 4
American Black Duck - 5
Mallard - 1
Ring-necked Duck - 4
Greater Scaup - 2
Black Scoter - 907
Surf Scoter - 671
dark-winged scoter - 174
Parasitic Jaeger - 2
Laughing Gull - 708
Ring-billed Gull - 9
Herring Gull - 41
Great Black-backed Gull - 40
Forster's Tern - 546
Royal Tern - 9
Brown Pelican - 18
dabbler, sp. - 3
American Oystercatcher - 65
Common Tern - 1
Caspian Tern - 1

TOTAL - 6150

Hawk Watch Count 10/20/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                8             32             32
Turkey Vulture              44            251            251
Osprey                      15            851           1517
Bald Eagle                   6             85            168
Northern Harrier            18            401            719

Sharp-shinned Hawk         590           4551           9536
Cooper's Hawk              202           1809           1872
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          5             22             23

Broad-winged Hawk            9            327            478
Red-tailed Hawk              2             58            131
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel           168           1146           4478
Merlin                     101            668           1229
Peregrine Falcon            10           1048           1241
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                    1178          10529          21677
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/20/07

Morning Flight: 5-10 W wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Northern Flicker- 1
American Robin- 57
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 132

Blackpoll Warbler- 5
Scarlet Tanager- 1
Chipping Sparrow- 4

Savannah Sparrow- 3

Dickcissel- 1
Eastern Meadowlark- 7

Total Birds: 211

Monarch Monitoring Project 10/19/07

This past weekend saw the biggest push of Monarchs this season. A cold front Friday evening brought butterflies to Cape May and created conditions for huge roosts. See Monarch Update 10/16/07 for more details.

The season is nearly at an end, with only one full week of Monarch censuses left. However, this week showed that there are many Monarchs still around.

Census Totals: Monarchs per hour

10-13: 345.26

10-14: 860.00

10-15: 174.74

10-16: 83.68

10-17: 56.92

10-18: 26.67

10-19: 6.67

Monarchs per hour Week 7: 231.77

Monarchs per hour cumulative: 248.25

If conditions remain good (and unseasonably warm, as they have been), migration may continue into November. Regardless, The Monarch Monitoring Project will be part of the Bird Show this coming weekend. Look for our programs on the schedule, as well as many others.

Sea Watch Count 10/19/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Common Loon - 2
Northern Gannet - 1432
Double-crested Cormorant - 1
Black Scoter - 142
Surf Scoter - 481
Parasitic Jaeger - 2
Laughing Gull - 5787
Ring-billed Gull - 26
Herring Gull - 110
Great Black-backed Gull - 18
Forster's Tern - 844
Royal Tern - 43

TOTAL - 8888

Hawk Watch Count 10/19/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             24             24
Turkey Vulture               0            207            207
Osprey                       1            836           1502
Bald Eagle                   0             79            162
Northern Harrier             0            383            701

Sharp-shinned Hawk           4           3961           8946
Cooper's Hawk                1            887           1670
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0             17             18

Broad-winged Hawk            0            318            469
Red-tailed Hawk              0             56            129
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             0            978           4310
Merlin                       3            567           1128
Peregrine Falcon             3           1038           1231
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                      12           9351          20499
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/19/07

Morning Flight: 0-5 SSE wind, clear conditions
Counter: Chris Brown

Northern Flicker- 3
American Robin- 66

American Pipit- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 115

Palm Warbler- 5

Eastern Meadowlark- 4

Total Birds: 194

Sea Watch Count 10/18/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Red-throated Loon - 4
Common Loon - 26
Northern Gannet - 879
Great Cormorant - 1
Double-crested Cormorant - 1611
Great Egret - 1
American Black Duck - 1
Green-winged Teal - 7
Lesser Scaup - 6
Black Scoter - 419
Surf Scoter - 2338
Parasitic Jaeger - 14
Laughing Gull - 3983
Bonaparte's Gull - 1
Ring-billed Gull - 10
Herring Gull - 36
Forster's Tern - 252
Royal Tern - 22
Monarch - 3
Brown Pelican - 33
Common Tern - 1

TOTAL - 9645

Hawk Watch Count 10/18/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             24             24
Turkey Vulture               0            207            207
Osprey                       0            835           1501
Bald Eagle                   0             79            162
Northern Harrier             5            383            701

Sharp-shinned Hawk          76           3957           8942
Cooper's Hawk               18            886           1669
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          2             17             18

Broad-winged Hawk            0            318            469
Red-tailed Hawk              0             56            129
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             4            978           4310
Merlin                       4            564           1125
Peregrine Falcon            15           1035           1228
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     124           9339          20487
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/18/07

Morning Flight: 0-5 SSE wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 2
Northern Flicker- 26
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 3
American Robin- 145
American Pipit- 2
Northern Parula- 1
Cape May Warbler- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 1018
Blackpoll Warbler- 4
Black and White Warbler- 1
Savannah Sparrow- 3
Bobolink- 2
Purple Finch- 1
Pine Siskin- 1

Total Birds: 1212

Sea Watch Count 10/17/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Red-throated Loon - 5
Common Loon - 10
Northern Gannet - 172
Great Cormorant - 1
Double-crested Cormorant - 1263
Great Blue Heron - 1
Great Egret - 1
Wood Duck - 6
American Wigeon - 35
American Black Duck - 20
Mallard- 2
Northern Pintail - 2
Green-winged Teal - 673
Greater Scaup - 1
Lesser Scaup - 4
Black Scoter - 1057
Surf Scoter - 2578
White-winged Scoter - 1
Red-breasted Merganser - 7
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Laughing Gull - 5426
Bonaparte's Gull - 1
Ring-billed Gull - 16
Herring Gull - 16
Great Black-backed Gull - 5
Forster's Tern - 409
Royal Tern - 11
Brown Pelican - 31
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1

TOTAL - 11756

Hawk Watch Count 10/17/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             24             24
Turkey Vulture               0            207            207
Osprey                       7            835           1501
Bald Eagle                   4             79            162
Northern Harrier             3            378            696

Sharp-shinned Hawk         148           3881           8866
Cooper's Hawk               11            868           1651
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          3             15             16

Broad-winged Hawk            2            318            469
Red-tailed Hawk              2             56            129
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             2            974           4306
Merlin                       9            560           1121
Peregrine Falcon            37           1020           1213
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     228          9215          20363
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/17/07

Morning Flight: 0-5 S wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 2
Northern Flicker- 5
American Robin- 116
Yellow Warbler- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 1173
Blackpoll Warbler- 2
Indigo Bunting- 1
Red-headed Woodpecker- 1
Western Kingbird- 1

Total Birds: 1302

Monarch Update 10/16/07

This past weekend brought the largest numbers of Monarchs through Cape May this fall. A cold front caused Monarchs to accumulate all throughout Cape May County, especially along the coast. As Monarchs waited for conditions to change, they feasted on the seaside goldenrod, which is just coming out of full bloom (photo to the left).

Stone Harbor Point had huge roosts of Monarchs in the red cedar groves, especially Saturday night. Several thousand could be observed (photo to the right).

Cape Ave. on Cape May Point also had several large roosts. One in particular stayed put for over two days straight, at it's largest having well over 2,000 Monarchs. Below is a video of Monarchs preparing to roost for the evening.

This phenomenon was short lived and by Monday shifting winds gave Monarchs the chance to leave, we assume southward across the Delaware Bay. The exodus occurred not long after sunrise. Monarchs are usually the first butterflies to rise because of their physiology and sun-seeking behavior.

Monarchs still remain in the area, but this weekend may have been the last big push we see.

Sea Watch Count 10/16/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Red-throated Loon - 9
Common Loon - 41
Northern Gannet - 113
Great Cormorant - 2
Double-crested Cormorant - 7854
Great Blue Heron - 71
Brant - 37
Canada Goose - 118
Wood Duck - 30
Gadwall - 1
American Wigeon - 16
American Black Duck - 68
Mallard- 5
Northern Pintail - 55
Green-winged Teal - 257
Ring-necked Duck - 2
Greater Scaup - 19
Lesser Scaup - 22
scaup, sp. - 7
Common Eider - 4
Long-tailed Duck - 1
Black Scoter - 294
Surf Scoter - 1684
dark-winged scoter - 63
Red-breasted Merganser - 3
Parasitic Jaeger - 2
Laughing Gull - 481
Bonaparte's Gull - 6
Ring-billed Gull - 26
Herring Gull - 50
Great Black-backed Gull - 55
Black-legged Kittiwake - 1
Forster's Tern - 221
Royal Tern - 76
Monarch - 40
Brown Pelican - 30
Common Tern - 3
Harlequin Duck - 2
Cackling Goose - 1

TOTAL - 11730

Hawk Watch Count 10/16/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             24             24
Turkey Vulture               0            207            207
Osprey                      16            828           1494
Bald Eagle                   5             75            158
Northern Harrier            21            375            693

Sharp-shinned Hawk         234           3733           8718
Cooper's Hawk               81            857           1640
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          4             12             13

Broad-winged Hawk           25            316            467
Red-tailed Hawk              9             54            127
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             3            972           4304
Merlin                       8            551           1112
Peregrine Falcon            26            983           1176
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     432          8987          20135
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/16/07

Morning Flight: 5-10 W wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3
Northern Flicker- 28
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 42
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 5

Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 2
American Robin- 136

American Pipit- 7

Cedar Waxwing- 20
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 2197
Blackpoll Warbler- 3
Warbler sp.- 2990
Scarlet Tanager- 1
Chipping Sparrow- 2

Savannah Sparrow- 2
Indigo Bunting- 2
Eastern Meadowlark- 18
Baltimore Oriole- 1

Purple Finch- 21

Pine Siskin- 9

Fox Sparrow- 1
Red-headed Woodpecker- 1
White-breasted Nuthatch- 1

Total Birds: 5493

Sea Watch Count 10/15/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Red-throated Loon - 8
Common Loon - 16
Horned Grebe - 1
Northern Gannet - 29
Great Cormorant - 4
Double-crested Cormorant - 5291
Great Blue Heron - 8
Snowy Egret - 40
Canada Goose - 60
Wood Duck - 6
Gadwall - 4
American Wigeon - 1
American Black Duck - 19
Northern Pintail - 12
Green-winged Teal - 204
Lesser Scaup - 5
scaup, sp. - 5
Black Scoter - 433
Surf Scoter - 545
dark-winged scoter - 92
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Laughing Gull - 769
Bonaparte's Gull - 3
Ring-billed Gull - 103
Herring Gull - 328
Forster's Tern - 686
Royal Tern - 20
Brown Pelican - 27
dabbler, sp. - 8
Aythya, sp. - 16
Caspian Tern - 9

TOTAL - 8753

Hawk Watch Count 10/15/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                3             24             24
Turkey Vulture              24            207            207
Osprey                      11            812           1478
Bald Eagle                   4             70            153
Northern Harrier             9            354            672

Sharp-shinned Hawk         168           3499           8484
Cooper's Hawk               65            776           1559
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          2              8              9

Broad-winged Hawk           32            291            442
Red-tailed Hawk             12             45            118
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             2            969           4301
Merlin                       6            543           1104
Peregrine Falcon             5            957           1150
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     343          8555          19703
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/15/07

Morning Flight: 0-5 NE wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 1
Northern Flicker- 23

Red-eyed Vireo- 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 40
American Robin- 166

American Pipit- 10

Cedar Waxwing- 36

Northern Parula- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 860
Palm Warbler- 25
Blackpoll Warbler- 14
Warbler sp.- 3680

Savannah Sparrow- 1

Dark-eyed Junco- 2
Blue Grosbeak- 1
Indigo Bunting- 10

Dickcissel- 3
Bobolink- 2
Rusty Blackbird- 2
Eastern Meadowlark- 10

Purple Finch- 64

Pine Siskin- 9

Total Birds: 4942

Sea Watch Count 10/14/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Red-throated Loon - 3
Common Loon - 40
Northern Gannet - 141
Great Cormorant - 2
Double-crested Cormorant - 4128
Great Blue Heron - 37
Great Egret - 2
Brant - 37
American Wigeon - 1
American Black Duck - 25
Mallard - 2
Northern Pintail - 6
Green-winged Teal - 6
Black Scoter - 342
Surf Scoter - 158
White-winged Scoter - 10
unidentified scoter - 7
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Laughing Gull - 4820
Ring-billed Gull - 24
Herring Gull - 457
Great Black-backed Gull - 36
Forster's Tern - 691
Royal Tern - 8
Monarch - 431
Brown Pelican - 10
American Oystercatcher - 120
Belted Kingfisher - 1

TOTAL - 11115

Hawk Watch Count 10/14/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             21             21
Turkey Vulture               0            183            183
Osprey                      14            801           1467
Bald Eagle                  10             66            149
Northern Harrier            44            345            663

Sharp-shinned Hawk         601           3331           8316
Cooper's Hawk              129            711           1494
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          4              6              7

Broad-winged Hawk            9            259            410
Red-tailed Hawk             13             33            106
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel            12            967           4299
Merlin                      16            537           1098
Peregrine Falcon             6            952           1145
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     858           8212          19360
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/14/07

Morning Flight: 5-10 W wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Northern Flicker- 48
Eastern Phoebe- 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 63

Golden-crowned Kinglet- 2

Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 8
American Robin- 1507

Cedar Waxwing- 14
Northern Parula- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 3264

Black-throated Green Warbler- 1
Palm Warbler- 186
Blackpoll Warbler- 5
Warbler sp.- 1757
Scarlet Tanager- 4
Indigo Bunting- 9
Bobolink- 1

Eastern Meadowlark- 5

Pine Siskin- 7

Total Birds: 6883

Sea Watch Count 10/13/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Red-throated Loon - 7
Common Loon - 33
Northern Gannet - 116
Great Cormorant - 2
Double-crested Cormorant - 5917
Great Blue Heron - 44
Brant - 638
Canada Goose - 501
Wood Duck - 46
American Wigeon - 1
American Black Duck - 22
Mallard - 3
Northern Pintail - 10
Green-winged Teal - 61
Black Scoter - 103
Surf Scoter - 89
dark-winged scoter - 10
unidentified scoter - 11
Red-breasted Merganser - 2
Laughing Gull - 391
Ring-billed Gull - 28
Herring Gull - 766
Great Black-backed Gull - 95
Forster's Tern - 157
Royal Tern - 25
Monarch - 4047
Brown Pelican - 14
American Oystercatcher - 90
Belted Kingfisher - 2

TOTAL - 9184

Hawk Watch Count 10/13/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                6             21             21
Turkey Vulture              52            183            183
Osprey                      49            787           1453
Bald Eagle                   5             56            139
Northern Harrier            46            301            619

Sharp-shinned Hawk         443           2730           7715
Cooper's Hawk               76            582           1365
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          1              2              3

Broad-winged Hawk            9            250            401
Red-tailed Hawk              8             20             93
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel            28            955           4287
Merlin                      23            521           1082
Peregrine Falcon             6            946           1139
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     752           7354          18502
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/13/07

Morning Flight: 5-10 W wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Northern Flicker- 42

Eastern Phoebe- 1

Red-eyed Vireo- 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 55

Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 1
American Robin- 135

American Pipit- 7

Cedar Waxwing- 20

Nashville Warbler- 2

Northern Parula- 6

Cape May Warbler- 8
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 15
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 2254
Black-throated Green Warbler- 2
Palm Warbler- 318
Blackpoll Warbler- 18
American Redstart- 2
Warbler sp.- 4715
Scarlet Tanager- 3

Savannah Sparrow- 3

Dark-eyed Junco- 1
Indigo Bunting- 10

Dickcissel- 2
Bobolink- 7
Eastern Meadowlark- 10

Purple Finch- 31

Pine Siskin- 3

Clay-colored Sparrow- 1

Total Birds: 7674

Monarch Monitoring Project 10/12/07

Stagnant weather patterns have not allowed many Monarchs to come to Cape May this past week. Hopefully the cold front this weekend will change this.

Unusually warm conditions have promoted one last rush of breeding. Caterpillars can be seen at the Cape May Bird Observatory Northwood Center.

The Monarch weighing program has been going well. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week, project members collect 20 male and 20 female Monarchs, weigh them, and apply a colored tag (a different color each day: Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Project members then try to track down these individuals again and re-weigh them. The Point is to determine whether or not these butterflies are gaining much weight while in Cape May. So far, the results seem to suggest that they very much are.

Census Totals: Monarchs per hour

10-6: 16.27

10-7: 40.68

10-8: 52.80

10-9: 78.00

10-10: 32.00

10-11: 4.29

10-12: 46.07

Monarchs per hour Week 6: 38.55

Monarchs per hour cumulative: 60.34

Below is some video of a Monarch caterpillar at a garden in Cape May Point. Normally, Caterpillars don't leave their milkweed hostplant. However, a "mature" caterpillar will leave to find a location to become a chrysalis, often well hidden and hard to find. The nickname for this is a "walkabout".

Sea Watch Count 10/12/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Red-throated Loon - 3
Common Loon - 36
Northern Gannet - 63
Double-crested Cormorant - 3414
Great Blue Heron - 118
Great Egret - 314
Snowy Egret - 275
Snow Goose - 35
Brant - 1122
Canada Goose - 307
Wood Duck - 1
American Black Duck - 163
Mallard - 9
Northern Pintail - 11
Green-winged Teal - 17
Black Scoter - 1
Surf Scoter - 5
Red-breasted Merganser - 2
Laughing Gull - 157
Ring-billed Gull - 4
Herring Gull - 40
Great Black-backed Gull - 15
Forster's Tern - 114
Royal Tern - 18
Monarch - 153
Little Blue Heron - 5
duck, sp. - 6
American Oystercatcher - 16
Common Tern - 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron - 20
Tricolored Heron - 2
American Golden-Plover - 1

TOTAL - 6295

Hawk Watch Count 10/12/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture               11             15             15
Turkey Vulture              21            131            131
Osprey                     171            738           1404
Bald Eagle                   7             51            134
Northern Harrier            25            255            573

Sharp-shinned Hawk         445           2287           7272
Cooper's Hawk               64            506           1289
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              1              2

Broad-winged Hawk            3            241            392
Red-tailed Hawk              2             12             85
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel           435            927           4259
Merlin                     179            498           1059
Peregrine Falcon            24            940           1133
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                    1387           6602          17750
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/12/07

Morning Flight: 40-45 W wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-rumped Warbler- 1
Blackpoll Warbler- 3

Total Birds: 4

Sea Watch Count 10/11/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Red-throated Loon - 1
Common Loon - 1
Northern Gannet - 87
Double-crested Cormorant - 1077
Great Blue Heron - 9
Brant - 16
Green-winged Teal - 1
Black Scoter - 51
Surf Scoter - 60
unidentified scoter - 8
Laughing Gull - 651
Ring-billed Gull - 1
Herring Gull - 100
Great Black-backed Gull - 31
Forster's Tern - 123
Royal Tern - 4
Monarch - 157
Greater Yellowlegs - 3

TOTAL - 2224

Hawk Watch Count 10/11/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              4              4
Turkey Vulture               0            110            110
Osprey                       5            567           1233
Bald Eagle                   7             44            127
Northern Harrier            19            230            548

Sharp-shinned Hawk          46           1842           6827
Cooper's Hawk                8            442           1225
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              1              2

Broad-winged Hawk            0            238            389
Red-tailed Hawk              0             10             83
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel            12            492           3824
Merlin                      52            319            880
Peregrine Falcon            80            916           1109
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     229           5215          16363
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/11/07

Morning Flight: 10-15 E wind, cloudy conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Northern Parula- 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 12
Palm Warbler- 3
Blackpoll Warbler- 1
Warbler sp.- 101
Indigo Bunting- 7
Bobolink- 1
Eastern Meadowlark- 7

Total Birds: 139

Sea Watch Count 10/10/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Common Loon - 21
Northern Gannet - 111
Double-crested Cormorant - 5532
Great Blue Heron - 14
Great Egret - 1
Snowy Egret - 7
Brant - 22
American Wigeon - 7
American Black Duck - 1
Green-winged Teal - 11
Common Eider - 1
Black Scoter - 376
Surf Scoter - 520
White-winged Scoter - 1
dark-winged Scoter - 90
unidentified scoter - 190
Red-breasted Merganser - 1
Parasitic Jaeger - 4
Laughing Gull - 674
Ring-billed Gull - 32
Herring Gull - 221
Great Black-backed Gull - 76
Forster's Tern - 369
Royal Tern - 15
Monarch - 12
Brown Pelican - 3
American Oystercatcher - 7
Common Tern - 2
Northern Shoveler - 3

TOTAL - 8312

Hawk Watch Count 10/10/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              4              4
Turkey Vulture               0            110            110
Osprey                      34            562           1128
Bald Eagle                   5             37            120
Northern Harrier            13            211            529

Sharp-shinned Hawk          91           1796           6781
Cooper's Hawk               38            434           1217
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              1              2

Broad-winged Hawk           25            238            389
Red-tailed Hawk              0             10             83
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             9            480           3812
Merlin                      62            267            828
Peregrine Falcon           192            836           1029
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     469           4986          16134
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/10/07

Morning Flight: 10-15 NW wind, rainy conditions
Counter: Sam Galick
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 3
Northern Parula- 4
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 11
Palm Warbler- 4
"Baypoll" Warbler- 1
Warbler sp.- 1
Indigo Bunting- 7
Purple Finch- 1

Total Birds: 36

Sea Watch Count 10/9/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Red-throated Loon - 4
Common Loon - 18
Northern Gannet - 30
Double-crested Cormorant - 2649
Great Blue Heron - 25
Snow Goose - 4
Brant - 26
Wood Duck - 1
American Black Duck - 10
Northern Pintail - 20
Green-winged Teal - 67
Greater Scaup - 4
Lesser Scaup - 1
scaup, sp. - 19
Black Scoter - 1811
Surf Scoter - 1643
White-winged Scoter - 1
dark-winged Scoter - 548
Laughing Gull - 177
Great Black-backed Gull - 30
Forster's Tern - 97
Royal Tern - 9
Monarch - 111
Brown Pelican - 3
Blue-winged Teal - 1

TOTAL - 7198

Hawk Watch Count 10/9/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                2              4              4
Turkey Vulture              88            110            110
Osprey                     156            528           1194
Bald Eagle                   9             32            115
Northern Harrier            34            198            516

Sharp-shinned Hawk         436           1705           6690
Cooper's Hawk              133            396           1179
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              1              2

Broad-winged Hawk          115            213            364
Red-tailed Hawk              2             10             83
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel            86            471           3803
Merlin                      20            205            766
Peregrine Falcon           221            644            837
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                    1302           4517          15665
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/9/07

Morning Flight: 5-10 W wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 3
Northern Flicker- 16
Eastern Phoebe- 2
Red-eyed Vireo- 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 19
Golden Crowned Kinglet- 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 2
American Robin- 17
Cedar Waxwing- 2
Northern Parula- 13
Yellow Warbler- 1
Magnolia Warbler- 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 374
Palm Warbler- 67
Blackpoll Warbler- 9
Bay-breasted Warbler- 1
"Baypoll" Warbler- 6
Black and White Warbler- 5
Northern Waterthrush- 3
Warbler sp.- 272
Scarlet Tanager- 1
Chipping Sparrow- 2
Savannah Sparrow- 10
Dark-eyed Junco- 1
Indigo Bunting- 21
Bobolink- 7
Eastern Meadowlark- 5

Total Birds: 867

Sea Watch Count 10/8/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Red-throated Loon - 2
Common Loon - 7
Northern Gannet - 25
Double-crested Cormorant - 1590
Great Blue Heron - 7
Great Egret - 8
Snowy Egret - 2
Snow Goose - 11
Brant - 26
Canada Goose - 31
Wood Duck - 1
American Wigeon - 16
American Black Duck - 4
Northern Pintail - 4
Green-winged Teal - 423
Greater Scaup - 1
Black Scoter - 1199
Surf Scoter - 757
White-winged Scoter - 4
dark-winged Scoter - 53
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Laughing Gull - 83
Forster's Tern - 121
Royal Tern - 15
Brown Pelican - 9
Blue-winged Teal - 5

TOTAL - 4405

Hawk Watch Count 10/8/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                2              2              2
Turkey Vulture              22             22             22
Osprey                      65            372           1038
Bald Eagle                   4             23            106
Northern Harrier            16            164            482

Sharp-shinned Hawk         143           1269           6254
Cooper's Hawk               34            263           1046
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              1              2

Broad-winged Hawk           62             98            249
Red-tailed Hawk              1              8             81
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel            41            385           3717
Merlin                      18            185            746
Peregrine Falcon            68            423            616
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     476           3215          14363
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/8/07

Morning Flight: 0-5 S wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 10
Northern Flicker- 18
Eastern Phoebe- 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 5
Golden Crowned Kinglet- 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 24
American Robin- 6
American Pipit- 6
Cedar Waxwing- 13
Northern Parula- 4
Magnolia Warbler- 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 216
Palm Warbler- 12
Blackpoll Warbler- 4
"Baypoll" Warbler- 1
Black and White Warbler- 1
American Redstart- 1
Warbler sp.- 347
Scarlet Tanager- 10
Indigo Bunting- 18
Bobolink- 2
Eastern Meadowlark- 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo- 1

Total Birds: 713

Sea Watch Count 10/7/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Common Loon - 5
Northern Gannet - 56
Double-crested Cormorant - 5172
Great Blue Heron - 19
Great Egret - 1
Brant - 15
Wood Duck - 3
American Wigeon - 11
American Black Duck - 2
Northern Pintail - 7
Green-winged Teal - 9
Black Scoter - 146
Surf Scoter - 104
Parasitic Jaeger - 4
Laughing Gull - 260
Forster's Tern - 264
Monarch - 190
Aythya, sp. - 21
American Oystercatcher - 12
Common Tern - 1
Black Skimmer - 40

TOTAL - 6152

Hawk Watch Count 10/7/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                     131            307            973
Bald Eagle                  11             19            102
Northern Harrier           101            148            466

Sharp-shinned Hawk         681           1126           6111
Cooper's Hawk              116            229           1012
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          1              1              2

Broad-winged Hawk           26             36            187
Red-tailed Hawk              3              7             80
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel           281            344           3676
Merlin                     115            167            728
Peregrine Falcon           136            355            548
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                    1602           2739          13887
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/7/07

Morning Flight: Strong 15-20 W wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 1
Northern Flicker- 16
Eastern Wood-Pewee- 1
Eastern Phoebe- 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 4
American Robin- 34
Cedar Waxwing- 1
Northern Parula- 33
Magnolia Warbler- 3
Cape May Warbler- 6
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 15
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 77
Black-throated Green Warbler- 4
Pine Warbler- 1
Palm Warbler- 9
Blackpoll Warbler- 26
"Baypoll" Warbler- 2
Black and White Warbler- 5
American Redstart- 3
Northern Waterthrush- 5
Connecticut Warbler- 1
Warbler sp.- 253
Chipping Sparrow- 3
Savannah Sparrow- 2
Blue Grosbeak- 1
Indigo Bunting- 8
Bobolink- 16
Clay-colored Sparrow- 1

Total Birds: 537

Sea Watch Count 10/6/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Northern Gannet - 28
Double-crested Cormorant - 59
Canada Goose - 3
Wood Duck - 1
American Black Duck - 1
Green-winged Teal - 5
Black Scoter - 4
Surf Scoter - 20
Bufflehead - 3
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Forster's Tern - 390
Monarch - 19
Brown Pelican - 12
Marbled Godwit - 6
Belted Kingfisher - 1

TOTAL - 534

Hawk Watch Count 10/6/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      31            176            842
Bald Eagle                   2              8             91
Northern Harrier            11             47            365

Sharp-shinned Hawk         127            445           5430
Cooper's Hawk               32            113            896
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              1

Broad-winged Hawk            2             10            161
Red-tailed Hawk              2              4             77
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel            15             63           3395
Merlin                       6             52            613
Peregrine Falcon            48            219            412
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     276           1137          12285
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/6/07

Morning Flight: 0 wind, foggy conditions
Counter: Sam Galick


Total Birds: 0

Monarch Monitoring Project 10/05/07

A cold front on the 29th brought huge numbers of Monarchs to Cape May. Gardens on Cape May Point were flooded with Monarchs. Warm conditions did not promote much large roosting, however. The phenomenon was short lived, though. Winds shifted and Monarchs left our shores, we assume to go south to their ultimate destination.

Unusually warm conditions have created a boon for insects of all kinds. Monarchs are breeding much more than usual, it seems, with caterpillars still feasting upon milkweed patches. Fall butterflies are still abundant and huge numbers of migrating dragonflies have been seen near the hawk watch.

Census Totals: Monarchs per hour

9-29: 196.72

9-30: 77.00

10-1: 57.89

10-2: 28.00

10-3: 10.34

10-4: 54.55

10-5: 30.53

Monarchs per hour for Week 5: 66.03

Mean Monarchs per hour cumulative: 64.70

The 29th of September was the annual Harbor Fair and Monarch Festival at the Nature Center of Cape May. It went splendidly and our thanks goes out to everyone who helped it be so. Visit the Cape May Bird Observatory and the Nature Center of Cape May for information on other programs and events.

Sea Watch Count 10/5/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Common Loon - 1
Northern Gannet - 51
Double-crested Cormorant - 93
Great Blue Heron - 5
American Black Duck - 9
Northern Pintail - 1
Green-winged Teal - 28
Black Scoter - 6
Surf Scoter - 15
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Laughing Gull - 70
Great Black-backed Gull - 4
Forster's Tern - 365
Royal Tern - 3
Brown Pelican - 9
American Oystercatcher - 6
Common Tern - 11
Black-crowned Night-Heron - 2

TOTAL - 680

Hawk Watch Count 10/5/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0

Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      60            145            811
Bald Eagle                   3              6             89
Northern Harrier            12             36            354

Sharp-shinned Hawk         118            318           5303
Cooper's Hawk               28             81            864
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              1

Broad-winged Hawk            3              8            159
Red-tailed Hawk              2              2             75
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel            13             48           3380
Merlin                      16             46            607
Peregrine Falcon            53            171            364
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     308            861          12009
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/5/07

Morning Flight: 0-5 NE wind, patchy fog conditions
Counter: Chris Brown

Northern Flicker- 6
American Robin- 2
Northern Parula- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 8
Palm Warbler- 1
Bay-breasted Warbler- 1
Blackpoll Warbler- 6
"Baypoll" Warbler- 11
Black and White Warbler- 1
American Redstart- 1
Northern Waterthrush- 16
Warbler sp.- 76
Indigo Bunting- 3
Downy Woodpecker- 1

Total Birds: 134

Sea Watch Count 10/4/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Northern Gannet - 18
Double-crested Cormorant - 9
Green-winged Teal - 1
Black Scoter - 3
Surf Scoter - 1
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Laughing Gull - 41
Forster's Tern - 87
Monarch - 2
Brown Pelican - 34

TOTAL - 195

Hawk Watch Count 10/4/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0

Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                       4             85            751
Bald Eagle                   1              3             86
Northern Harrier             2             24            342

Sharp-shinned Hawk          20            200           5185
Cooper's Hawk                6             53            836
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              1

Broad-winged Hawk            1              5            156
Red-tailed Hawk              0              0             73
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             6             35           3367
Merlin                       4             30            591
Peregrine Falcon             9            118            311
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                      53            553          11701
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/4/07

Morning Flight: 0 wind, foggy conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Total Birds: 0

Sea Watch Count 10/3/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Northern Gannet - 8
Double-crested Cormorant - 33
Parasitic Jaeger - 4
Forster's Tern - 236
Brown Pelican - 6

TOTAL - 287

Hawk Watch Count 10/3/07

Counter: Chris Brown

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0

Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      29             81            747
Bald Eagle                   1              2             85
Northern Harrier             7             22            340

Sharp-shinned Hawk         107            180           5165
Cooper's Hawk               27             47            830
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              1

Broad-winged Hawk            4              4            155
Red-tailed Hawk              0              0             73
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel            17             29           3361
Merlin                      13             26            587
Peregrine Falcon            45            109            302
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     250            500          11648
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/3/07

Morning Flight: 0-5 SSE wind, overcast conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Northern Flicker- 1
Palm Warbler- 1
Blackpoll Warbler- 1

Total Birds: 3

Sea Watch Count 10/2/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Common Loon - 9
Northern Gannet - 39
Great Cormorant - 2
Double-crested Cormorant - 662
Great Blue Heron - 4
Black Scoter - 75
Surf Scoter - 67
Parasitic Jaeger - 14
Laughing Gull - 60
Herring Gull - 14
Forster's Tern - 181
Royal Tern - 9
Brown Pelican - 74
Common Tern - 8

TOTAL - 1218

Hawk Watch Count 10/2/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0

Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      28             52            718
Bald Eagle                   1              1             84
Northern Harrier             9             15            333

Sharp-shinned Hawk          29             73           5058
Cooper's Hawk                9             20            803
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              1

Broad-winged Hawk            0              0            151
Red-tailed Hawk              0              0             73
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             7             12           3344
Merlin                       9             13            574
Peregrine Falcon            53             64            257
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     145            250          11398
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/2/07

Morning Flight: 0-5 E wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Northern Flicker- 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 2
American Robin- 3
Palm Warbler- 4
Northern Waterthrush- 1
Warbler sp.- 12
Savannah Sparrow- 1

Total Birds: 27

Sea Watch Count 10/1/07

Counter: Ken Behrens

Common Loon - 2
Northern Gannet - 57
Double-crested Cormorant - 914
Great Blue Heron - 6
Green-winged Teal - 34
Black Scoter - 709
Surf Scoter - 333
Parasitic Jaeger - 5
Laughing Gull - 83
Herring Gull - 27
Glossy Ibis - 3
Spotted Sandpiper - 1

TOTAL - 2174

Hawk Watch Count 10/1/07

Counter: Jessie Barry

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0

Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      24             24            690
Bald Eagle                   0              0             83
Northern Harrier             6              6            324

Sharp-shinned Hawk          44             44           5029
Cooper's Hawk               11             11            794
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              1

Broad-winged Hawk            0              0            151
Red-tailed Hawk              0              0             73
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1

American Kestrel             5              5           3337
Merlin                       4              4            565
Peregrine Falcon            11             11            204
Unknown                      0              0              1

Total:                     105            105          11253
------------------------------------------------------------

Morning Flight Count 10/1/07

Morning Flight: 5-10 SE wind, foggy conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 1
Northern Flicker- 62
Eastern Wood-Pewee- 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 22
American Robin- 4
Northern Parula- 21
Yellow Warbler- 1
Magnolia Warbler- 3
Cape May Warbler- 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 8
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 3
Black-throated Green Warbler- 4
Palm Warbler- 31
Blackpoll Warbler- 25
"Baypoll" Warbler- 2
Black and White Warbler- 5
American Redstart- 13
Northern Waterthrush- 4
Warbler sp.- 107
Scarlet Tanager- 1
Indigo Bunting- 3
Bobolink- 10

Total Birds: 333