Sea Watch Tuesday December 22, 2009

Ladies and gentlemen, that's a wrap. The beginning of winter has finally arrived, and with it so too has the end of the fall counting season here at Cape May. It was certainly an enjoyable autumn of counting seabirds (not to mention all the other birds), and I know Nick joins me (from Maryland) in saying a big "Thank you!" to the Cape May birding community, all the visitors to the Avalon seawatch, and the CMBO for helping to make it so.

(all photos copyright Doug Gochfeld)

The star of the final day, an adult Black-headed Gull (top), wth an adult Bonaparte's Gull below it

The spiffy drake Common Goldeneye that dropped into the seawatch briefly this morning

Can you ID the mid-dive Scoter?

It wouldn't be a fitting end to the season without a photo of these guys

There was no Alcid for the conclusion of the seawatch, nor did the Gannet number overtake the Cormorant number, but the season did end with at east one very notable, and for a change cooperative, bird. From sunrise onward Bonaparte's Gulls were making their presence felt in a big way, and at around 9:40 in their distant midst all of a sudden an adult Black-headed Gull appeared. Over the next several hours it stayed in view most of the time, and it eventually moved closer and more than satisfactory views were had by all the visitors (5) who came out for the last day of the Seawatch.

Long-tailed Ducks were again moving in good numbers, especially for the first 3 hours after sunrise, and Red-breasted Mergansers were no slouches today either. Highlights on the water included a single drake Common Goldeneye showing off very nicely in the bright sun for a brief period, and a couple of Horned Grebes around the inlet. A single Red Knot heading south in the company of 3 Black-bellied Plovers was the first I've seen in a while at Avalon, and the flock of 7 Wood Ducks heading into the inlet from out over the ocean was a bit of a surprise as well. Non-waterbird wise there were a couple of notables: American Pipit, Savannah Sparrow, and the last raptor I saw during the counting season (I know one hawk counter who'd love this) was a juvenile Northern Harrier booking south well offshore through the swathes of Bonaparte's Gull.

Below is the list from today, and below that are the totals from the year:

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 12/22/09
Notes: Final day of the Seawatch. Clear skies, west wind (~12+ MPH). BHGU
stayed around from when it was found (~9:30 AM) until dusk at which time it was
roosting on the ocean just outside the inlet.
Number of species: 43

Brant 11
Canada Goose 176
Wood Duck 7
American Black Duck 58
Mallard 11
Lesser Scaup 2
Common Eider 2
Surf Scoter 239
White-winged Scoter 38
Black Scoter 332
Long-tailed Duck 164
Bufflehead 2
Common Goldeneye 1
Red-breasted Merganser 57
Red-throated Loon 387
Common Loon 27
Horned Grebe 2
Northern Gannet 175
Double-crested Cormorant 36
Turkey Vulture 5
Northern Harrier 1
Black-bellied Plover 3
Red Knot 1
Sanderling 20
Purple Sandpiper 18
Dunlin 4
Bonaparte's Gull 563
Black-headed Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull 289
Herring Gull 697
Great Black-backed Gull 14
Carolina Wren 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling X
American Pipit 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Savannah Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Boat-tailed Grackle 49
House Sparrow X


SEASON TOTALS (all-time high numbers in bold, all-time low in italics)
Snow Goose 2684
Brant 3554
Canada Goose 5593
Goose, sp. 42
Tundra Swan 96
Wood Duck 822
Gadwall 43
American Wigeon 124
American Black Duck 2323
Mallard 456
Mallard/Black Duck 70
Blue-winged Teal 104
Northern Shoveler 42
Northern Pintail 2858
Green-winged Teal 7077
Canvasback 10
Redhead 0
Ring-necked Duck 49
Greater Scaup 623
Lesser Scaup 557
Scaup sp. 334
Aythya, sp. 325
King Eider 5
Common Eider 851
Harlequin Duck 13
Surf Scoter 110987
White-winged Scoter 895
Black Scoter 122090
Dk-wing Scoter 85543
Scoter sp. 4618
Long-tailed Duck 1793
Bufflehead 634
Common Goldeneye 58
Hooded Merganser 115
Common Merganser 0
Red-breasted Merganser 1549
Ruddy Duck 21
Red-throated Loon 63066
Common Loon 1477
Loon sp. 15
Horned Grebe 29
Red-necked Grebe 1
Northern Gannet 119001
Brown Pelican 635
Double-crested Cormorant 119888
Great Cormorant 78
Americam Bittern 0
Great Blue Heron 875
Great Egret 521
Snowy Egret 182
Little Blue Heron 3
Tricolored Heron 9
Egret sp. 0
Green Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 0
Glossy Ibis 1
Laughing Gull 6731
Bonaparte's Gull 1259
Ring-billed Gull 19425
Herring Gull 13847
Iceland Gull 0
Lesser Black-backed Gull 7
Great Black-backed Gull 2676
Black-legged Kittiwake 2
Gull, sp. 812
Caspian Tern 114
Black Tern 0
Common Tern 113
Forster's Tern 2919
Royal Tern 1092
Tern sp. 0
Black Skimmer 280
Parasitic Jaeger 71
Jaeger, sp. 1
Razorbill 0
Alcid, sp. 0
Cackling Goose 1
Pacific Loon 1
Cory's Shearwater 1
Black-headed Gull 1
Dabbler sp. 404
American Oystercatcher 770
Duck sp. 685
Teal sp. 8
Red Knot 1
Killdeer 1
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Greater Shearwater 1
American Coot 1
American Black Duck x Mallard 1
Willet 1

TOTAL 713968

And now I sleep.

Sea Watch Monday December 21, 2009

If you're the kind of person who gets excited about counting really distant Canada Goose flocks (and c'mon, who isn't?) than man was Monday your day. For the rest of you it would have been a rather slow day, although the always exciting Herring Gulls were moving throughout. The highlight came at the crack of dawn with two Bald Eagles chasing each other around more than a mile out over the ocean. Long-tailed Ducks were the only other waterbird that moved in notable numbers, with over a hundred.

Well, the intern house is now down to one person left, and the Seawatch is down to one day left. The real drama today will be seeng if there's a Gannet flight that would make this the first season ever where more Gannets (all time high for a a season) were counted than Cormorants (all time low for a season), and seeing if we can break our Alcid shutout. Today should be interesting regardless...

Snow Goose 3
Brant 7
Canada Goose 1,264
American Black Duck 141
Mallard 39
Greater Scaup 3
Lesser Scaup 6
Common Eider 24
Surf Scoter 226
White-winged Scoter 59
Black Scoter 68
Dark-winged Scoter sp. 52
Unidentified Scoter 7
Long-tailed Duck 124
Common Goldeneye 3
Red-breasted Merganser 78
Red-throated Loon 137
Common Loon 24
Northern Gannet 74
Double-creasted Cormorant 14
Great Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 2
Bonaparte's Gull 24
Ring-billed Gull 439
Herring Gull 271
Great Black-backed Gull 24
Duck Sp. 14

Sea Watch, Sunday December 20, 2009

Well, today was my last official day of counting. It turned into a sunny, though a bit of a nippy day with the wind.

Nothing particularly amazing or rare popped up for my last day. I had a Great Egret and I had a large flight of Canada Geese. Other than that it was a day like any other at the Sea Watch, plus the snow.

Here is the list of birds seen today:

Snow Goose 142
Canada Goose 1072
Brant 182
American Black Duck 48
Mallard 31
Common Eider 2
Surf Scoter 105
White-winged Scoter 17
Black Scoter 111
Scoter Sp 304
Long-tailed Duck 45
Bufflehead 4
Common Goldeneye 2
Red-breasted Merganser 85
Red-throated Loon 121
Common Loon 10
Northern Gannet 231
Double-crested Cormorants 39
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1
Bonaparte's Gull 19
Ring-billed Gull 90
Herring Gull 24
Great Black-backed Gull 2
American Oystercatcher 1

Sea Watch, Saturday December 19, 2009

Can the Sea Watch be said to be snowed out, if the counter makes it through only to find that there is no snow on the ground in Avalon (I saw green lawns!), and more of a mix of rain and salt spray coming at you at 30mph, than of snow?

I will say no (we'll just call it an early day), since technically there was 30 minutes of survey conducted in which...

30 Scoter sp
15 Ring-billed gulls
5 Red-breasted Mergansers

...went south. I say "went south" because I would say with the exception of the gulls, that the other birds were unwillingly blown south after fighting to make ground heading into the inlet, but giving up the struggle. Their were some birds that were able to fight their way back to the inlet, like a few Long-tails, a loon, or some tenacious Red-breasted Mergansers, but most (again except gulls) gave up.

It was blowing hard enough for the Long-tails to hover temporarily as they decided between which raging wave they wanted land on the water after and be next to the jetty. Today would have been a fun day to be an albatross with the wind, percipitation, and torrent of waves, and to ride it all with out much effort.

From what I hear on the radio, it is supposed to only get worse as the day goes. I am not sure how much snow we will get here, but I may not be able to safely make it to the Sea Watch tomorrow for my last official day, before the swing counter takes his last days up there. Tomorrow will probably be the first day in Sea Watch history that we get snowed out. What a year it has been to be the Sea Watch counter.

Sea Watch, Friday December 18, 2009

I'd like to start out by saying it is finally nice to see the change around in the marine mammals up at Sea Watch. At the beginning of the season I would usually see the local Bottle-nose Dolphin pod almost on a daily basis, but as the weather turned cooler the headed south. It has been several weeks since I last say them, but today, as winter is upon us I say my first Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina; east coast subspecies) of the season.

And with winter almost upon us and a winter storm heading our way, it is time to discuss today's one unusual, and rather intellectually challenged, bird. Late this evening I saw a lone Brown Pelican flying North. As Steve, the Sea Watch naturalist, would say "What! Are you serious? C'mon!" This individual is a bird of very little brain; and that is all I have to say on that.

Otherwise my day was rather nice, though it was colder to start out the day than the previous two days, it was not as windy. With the wind shifting from the NW to NE the day did not turn into another big Goose day, but rather it favored the Red-throated Loons (almost 2,000 today) and to a lesser extent Northern Gannets.

Speaking of Gannets, I failed to mention this yesterday, but we broke a Sea Watch record yesterday for the high count of Gannets in a season. Yesterday we topped the Gannet count with a total 117,328 Gannets counted for the season. With today's count we continue to set a new record with a total of now 118,521 for Gannets this year. With four more days of Sea Watch left, we may yet break 120,000 Gannets.

Also, of another number milestone for this season, we broke 700,000 birds counted for this season today. Thanks to yesterdays big push of birds, we made it to this marker before the end of the season; there had been doubt if we would make it to 700,000 or not, but I am glad we did.

Another note concerning today; I had to use "Gull sp" for a gull I saw off in the distance today. It looked to be of the white-winged variety, so Ivory Gull (did it come back?), Iceland, or Glaucous Gull popped to mind, but given the distance, heat waves, and the fact that I saw it only for a split second before it disappeared south I would be hard pressed to put a positive id on the bird. But for those of you doing the Christmas bird count in Cape May County, be on the look out for white gulls! (If we are lucky maybe the Pelican will turn around for Sunday's Christmas Count)

Here is the break down of today's count:

Canada Goose 73
Brant 73
American Black Duck 26
Mallard 32
Northern Pintail 1
Greater Scaup 1
Surf Scoter 679
White-winged Scoter 16
Black Scoter 819
Dark-winged Scoter 94
Scoter Sp 860
Long-tailed Duck 84
Bufflehead 6
Common Goldeneye 3
Hooded Merganser 1
Red-breasted Merganser 68
Red-throated Loon 1811
Common Loon 23
Northern Gannet 1193
Double-crested Cormorants 56
Great Cormorant 1
Bonaparte's Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull 88
Herring Gull 127
Great Black-backed Gull 36

Sea Watch, Thursday December 17, 2009

Today was a bit cooler and and also a stronger breeze than yesterday out of the NW, but the birds were still flying.

We actually had a rather large flight of over 14,000 birds today.

Here are the numberd from today:

Snow Geese 1550
Canada Goose 744
Brant 95
American Black Duck 39
Mallard 10
Northern Pintail 5
Green-winged Teal 1
Lesser Scaup 2
Scaup sp. 19
Surf Scoter 417
White-winged Scoter 13
Black Scoter 966
Dark-winged Scoter 168
Scoter Sp 702
Long-tailed Duck 106
Bufflehead 14
Common Goldeneye 6
Hooded Merganser 4
Red-breasted Merganser 47
Red-throated Loon 503
Common Loon 12
Horned Grebe 1
Northern Gannet 7846
Great Cormorant 4
Great Blue Heron 10
Bonaparte's Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 574
Herring Gull 381
Great Black-backed Gull 24

Sea Watch, Wednesday December 16, 2009

Today was a beautiful sunny day at Avalon, with a breeze out of the WNW making for a slightly chilly day.

The WNW wind brought a good movement of geese, (Snow, Canada, and Brant), as well as a good movement of cormorants and scoter.

The only bird seen today of special note was a Killdeer that fly by south directly above me, so I got a good look at the double black bands on its neck.

Here is the list of birds seen today:

Snow Geese 288
Canada Goose 890
Brant 187
American Black Duck 30
Mallard 1
Green-winged Teal 8
Lesser Scaup 1
Scaup sp. 5
Common Eider 2
Surf Scoter 418
White-winged Scoter 3
Black Scoter 674
Long-tailed Duck 63
Bufflehead 2
Hooded Merganser 2
Red-breasted Merganser 32
Red-throated Loon 350
Common Loon 13
Northern Gannet 979
Great Blue Heron 1
Bonaparte's Gull 9
Ring-billed Gull 218
Herring Gull 274
Great Black-backed Gull 22
Killdeer 1

Sea Watch Tuesday December 15, 2007

Juvenile American Redstart that hung out all day in front of the Apartments on 1st Ave. between 7th and 8th Streets. (photo copyright Doug Gochfeld)

Today started off foggy at Avalon, and stayed Overcast all day, although the lack of precipitation and not very cold temperatures made for relatively pleasant watching conditions. There was a strong early push that seemed to be mostly the residual left over from yesterday (Red-throated Loons, Gannets, White-winged Scoters). Surf Scoters were moving in impressive numbers for the date, and some notables were a single drake Northern Pinail, a Wood Duck, and 4 Laughing Gulls.

The seabird of the day however was a Gull that got away (literally, into the fog); The looks at the bird were suggestive of a juvenile Sabine's Gull, but due to the combination of distance, fog, and darkness, juvenile Black-legged Kittiwake, a much more expected species at this date, could not be ruled out with certainty. There WAS, however, a bird at the seawatch that is probably even more unusual than either of those Gulls for this particular date: none other than a juvenile American Redstart. It was calling (chip note, not flight call) for most of the day from across the street from the parking lot, and seemingly in view for much of that time.

Also of note from off the data sheet were 8 Semipalmated Plovers foraging on the jetty, and 40(!!) Purple Sandpipers. The most exciting moment of the afternon came when an adult male Peregrine Falcon came in and tried unsuccesfully to decrease that Purple Sandpiper number by one. Peregrines performing aerial displays are always a fun sight. We're now into the last week of the Seawatch, so if you've been planning on heading up there all season and just haven't made it quite yet, you've got seven more days!

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 12/15/09
Number of species: 41

Snow Goose 5
Wood Duck 1
American Black Duck 7
Mallard 5
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 5
dabbling duck sp. 1
Greater Scaup 4
Lesser Scaup 6
Common Eider 8
Surf Scoter 1775
White-winged Scoter 35
Black Scoter 345
dark-winged scoter sp. 48
scoter sp. 39
Long-tailed Duck 42
Red-breasted Merganser 31
duck sp. 25
Red-throated Loon 1434
Common Loon 16
Northern Gannet 881
Double-crested Cormorant 8
Great Cormorant 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 8
American Oystercatcher 8
Ruddy Turnstone 3
Sanderling 8
Purple Sandpiper 40
Dunlin 6
Bonaparte's Gull 35
Laughing Gull 4
Ring-billed Gull 55
Herring Gull 115
Great Black-backed Gull 42
gull sp. 1 (Either juvenile Sabine's Gull or juvenile BLKI)
Rock Pigeon X
Carolina Wren 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling X
American Redstart 1 Juvenile, hung around (usually conspicuously)
between 7th and 8th street all day
White-throated Sparrow 1
Boat-tailed Grackle 8
House Sparrow 7

Sea Watch Monday December 14, 2009

It was a beautiful day at Avalon today, and for once good weather was accompanied by a good flight. Species that were moving all day (to the musical sounds of the local Long-tailed Ducks for a good portion of it) included Red-throated Loons, Northern Gannets, American Black Ducks, Scoters, and Oldsquaws themselves. There was also a nice pickup of White-winged Scoters at the end of the day which included at least 3 double digit flocks. Horned Grebes continued their late straggle, and hopefully it's a sign that other late-season movers (i.e. Razorbills and White-winged Gulls) will be here shortly. On the "not-counted but still of interest" front the aggregation of Purple Sandpipers making the rounds of the area jetties has now reached 34 individuals. The only notable raptors were singles of Merlin and Peregrine Falcon.


Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 12/14/09
Number of species: 39

Brant 4
Canada Goose 27
American Wigeon 3
American Black Duck 225
Mallard 41
Green-winged Teal 5
dabbling duck sp. 4
Greater Scaup 1
Lesser Scaup 2
Aythya sp. 53
Common Eider 5
Surf Scoter 605
White-winged Scoter 66
Black Scoter 225
dark-winged scoter sp. 51
scoter sp. 143
Long-tailed Duck 73
Hooded Merganser 3
Red-breasted Merganser 20
duck sp. 98
Red-throated Loon 2599
Common Loon 15
Horned Grebe 4
Northern Gannet 1982
Double-crested Cormorant 89
Great Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 4
Turkey Vulture 4
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
American Oystercatcher 1
Sanderling 8
Purple Sandpiper 34
Dunlin 6
Bonaparte's Gull 69
Ring-billed Gull 104
Herring Gull 1172
Great Black-backed Gull 59
gull sp. 4
Rock Pigeon X
European Starling X
Yellow-rumped Warbler 3
White-throated Sparrow 1
Boat-tailed Grackle 9
House Sparrow 8

Sea Watch, Sunday December 13, 2009

Despite the rain and bit of a head wind their were birds still moving, though not nearly as many as yesterday's count.

There was no huge movement of gulls before the rain came in, and they did not seem inclined to start moving in big numbers once the rain arrived. It also seems the rest of the birds were of a same mind.

To pass the time and to fight off weather induced negative attitudes; a one man caroling concert was given to baffeled Buffelheads, Loons, and Long-tailed Ducks. It obviously did not do anything for the birds, but I enjoyed myself. And to pass the time for when the bird movement really slowed, a new Sea Watch song was composed to the tune of " The 12 Days of Christmas;" its called "The 12 Hours of Sea Watch." I will spare you the lyrics for now.

Here's the list of birds seen today:

Canada Goose 70
Brant 1
American Black Duck 14
Mallard 4
Green-winged Teal 8
Greater Scaup 5
Lesser Scaup 13
Common Eider 10
Surf Scoter 305
White-winged Scoter 24
Black Scoter 346
Dark-winged Scoter 10
Long-tailed Duck 76
Bufflehead 18
Common Goldeneye 1
Hooded Merganser 1
Red-breasted Merganser 84
Red-throated Loon 242
Common Loon 13
Horned Grebe 4
Northern Gannet 260
Great Blue Heron 2
Bonaparte's Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 244
Herring Gull 140
Great Black-backed Gull 24

Sea Watch, Saturday December 12, 2009

Well, today was a lot more agreeable than yesterday, with the winds staying calm through most of today.

There was a strong movement of gulls yesterday and today, and well I'll let the numbers speak for themselves. Today was the first day that we had Horned Grebes, Hooded Mergansers, and Common Goldeneye in any good numbers this season; now that we are almost through the new birds are finally arriving.

Today turned into a rather large day number wise for December, hitting the just over 10,000 birds. Besides the gulls, we had a good movement of Canada Geese, Gannets, and Red-throated Loons.

Here is the break down of today's count:

Snow Goose 179
Brant 125
Canada Goose 827
Tundra Swan 35
Wood Duck 1
American Black Duck 90
Mallard 13
Green-winged Teal 15
Greater Scaup 8
Lesser Scaup 17
Scaup sp. 30
Common Eider 14
Surf Scoter 67
White-winged Scoter 2
Black Scoter 127
Scoter sp. 161
Long-tailed Duck 256
Bufflehead 27
Common Goldeneye 31
Hooded Merganser 29
Red-breasted Merganser 51
Red-throated Loon 883
Common Loon 25
Horned Grebe 7
Northern Gannet 829
Double-crested Cormorant 193
Great Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1
Bonaparte's Gull 72
Ring-billed Gull 3,316
Herring Gull 2,079
Great Black-backed Gull 216

Sea Watch, Friday December 11, 2009

TODAY WAS COLD! But the birds were still flying.

I am defrosting; here is the break down:

Snow Geese 20
Canada Geese 90
Brant 5
American Wigeon 4
American Black Duck 100
Mallard 78
Green-winged Teal 8
Ring-necked Duck 1
Aythya 9
Canvasback 10
Greater Scaup 75
Lesser Scaup 195
Scaup Sp 42
Surf Scoter 60
Black Scoter 8
Scoter Sp 155
Long-tailed Duck 63
Buffelhead 51
Hooded Merganser 1
Red-breasted Merganser 17
Red-throated Loon 28
Common Loon 8
Northern Gannet 186
Bonaparte's Gull 61
Ring-billed Gull 2182
Herring Gull 1417
Great Black-backed Gull 250
Gulls sp 300
Dabbler sp 97

Sea Watch, Thursday December 10, 2009

Today was a rather blustery day with winds coming out of the West.

Today I had a good movement of Snow Geese, and I had some diversity of ducks moving as well, including Mallards, Black Ducks, Gadwall, Pintail, Green-winged Teal, and Greater and Lesser Scaup. The highlight birds of the day were a Parasitic Jaeger and Merlin.

Here is the break down of today's count:

Snow Geese 230
Canada Geese 14
Brant 14
Gadwall 9
American Black Duck 94
Northern Pintail 12
Green-winged Teal 12
Greater Scaup 13
Lesser Scaup 7
Common Eider 1
Surf Scoter 214
White-winged Scoter 7
Black Scoter 137
Long-tailed Duck 25
Red-breasted Merganser 19
Red-throated Loon 344
Common Loon 8
Northern Gannet 40
Great Blue Heron 2
Bonaparte's Gull 1
Laughing Gull 5
Ring-billed Gull 132
Herring Gull 74
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Parasitic Jaeger 1
American Oystercatcher 1

Sea Watch, Wednesday December 9, 2009

Today started off with with torrential down pours, but it did not get as windy as the weather men called for. The rain eventually cleared after the third hour, and the gradually the sun broke through.

It was not exactly a high count today, with only a little over a 3,000 birds, it still was not a bad day. Half of the birds seen today were Surf Scoter. The other highlights of the day were a male and female pair of Harlequin Ducks and over 700 Herring Gulls moving today.

Here is the break down of today's count:

American Black Duck 2
Green -winged Teal 13
Lesser Scaup 2
Common Eider 9
Surf Scoter 1573
White-winged Scoter 25
Black Scoter 383
Long-tailed Duck 11
Buffelhead 3
Red-breasted Merganser 77
Red-throated Loon 21
Common Loon 6
Northern Gannet 23
Bonaparte's Gull 25
Ring-billed Gull 54
Herring Gull 717
Great Black-backed Gull 39

Sea Watch Tuesday December 8, 2009

All photos copyright Doug Gochfeld 2009

Other than an early push of Northern Gannets, today was a relatively slow one, although not tremendously boring. The highlight of the afternon might have been two Northern Harriers having an aerial duel for a while over Sea Isle City. Despite the slow daily count, we did hit and pass 100,000 Northern Gannets for the season, which isn't too shabby. Also the Harlequin Duck and at least 10 Purple Sandpipers were still around today. In lieu of any unusual birds, enjoy the photos above from the last couple of days at Avalon.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 12/8/09
Number of species: 38

Brant 31
Canada Goose 17
American Black Duck 124
Mallard 5
Green-winged Teal 2
Greater Scaup 1
Common Eider 4 Northbound early
Harlequin Duck 1 Probably the same continuing adult male, seen only
early in the morning
Surf Scoter 227
White-winged Scoter 16
Black Scoter 324
dark-winged scoter sp. 234
scoter sp. 96
Long-tailed Duck 9
Bufflehead 6
Hooded Merganser 2
Red-breasted Merganser 14
duck sp. 4
Red-throated Loon 1833
Common Loon 9 (6 migrants)
Northern Gannet 3468
Double-crested Cormorant 197
Great Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 3
Turkey Vulture 14
Bald Eagle 2
Northern Harrier 2
Black-bellied Plover 27
Sanderling 20
Purple Sandpiper 10
Dunlin 650
Ring-billed Gull 101
Herring Gull 472
Great Black-backed Gull 43
Rock Pigeon X
Carolina Wren 2
American Robin 2
European Starling X
Boat-tailed Grackle 26
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch Monday December 7, 2009

Not quite a day that will live in infamy, but it was an interesting flight at Avalon nonetheless, starting out with low numbers and decent diversity and changing over to high numbers but mostly of Gannets and Red-throated Loons. A flock of 17 White-winged Scoters was the most of them I've seen together so far this season. Singles of Parasitic Jaeger and Forster's Tern were nice birds for the date, and 3 Common Goldeneye included my first male of the season.


Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 12/7/09
Notes: WNW/W/WSW Winds
Number of species: 34

Brant 43
Canada Goose 6
Wood Duck 1
American Wigeon 5
American Black Duck 22
Mallard 29
Northern Shoveler 11
Green-winged Teal 118
Lesser Scaup 1
Aythya sp. 15
Common Eider 17 One male flying north
Surf Scoter 686
White-winged Scoter 26
Black Scoter 1162
dark-winged scoter sp. 623
Long-tailed Duck 41
Bufflehead 8
Common Goldeneye 3
Hooded Merganser 9
Red-breasted Merganser 27
duck sp. 23
Red-throated Loon 1995
Common Loon 15 (7 migrants, the rest sitting on the water)
Northern Gannet 8003
Double-crested Cormorant 195
Great Cormorant 1
Turkey Vulture 15
Peregrine Falcon 1
Semipalmated Plover 2+
Sanderling 30
Purple Sandpiper 10
Dunlin 600
Bonaparte's Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull 196
Herring Gull 358
Great Black-backed Gull 109
Forster's Tern 1
Parasitic Jaeger 1

Sea Watch, Sunday December 6, 2009

Today was the first day that the initial temperature at the beginning of the count was below 30 degrees; lets hope winter is here to stay so those dabbling ducks get a clue and migrate.

I had a good movement of Red-throated Loons today, and I also had an unexpected movement of several hundred cormorants. Two birds of note I had was a Harlequin Duck and a Lesser Black-backed Gull. But what made my day was hearing a Common Loon call, not from the water, but in flight behind me and having it fly directly over; I've never had heard a loon call in flight so it was one of those special moments of wonder.

Here is the break down of the day's count:

Canada Goose 24
Brant 59
American Black Duck 22
Green -winged Teal 24
Greater Scaup 1
Scaup Sp. 13
Common Eider 27
Surf Scoter 321
White-winged Scoter 7
Black Scoter 573
Long-tailed Duck 23
Buffelhead 7
Red-breasted Merganser 18
Red-throated Loon 2195
Common Loon 19
Northern Gannet 40
Double-crested Cormorant 403
Bonaparte's Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 454
Herring Gull 221
Great Black-backed Gull 20

Sea Watch, Saturday December 5, 2009

To be honest, today was not as bad as I thought it was going to be because today's rain was rather on the light side and the wind was not blowing out of the North or NE. With the rain slanting in from the NW I was able to use the little construction trailer near where I usually conduct the count as a weather block; had it not been for the trailer I probably would be whistling a different tune.

The weather being what it was though did not make for a big migration day, with the days total under 1,500 birds. There was a good movement of Brant, Red-breasted Mergansers, and Long-tailed Duck today, in addition to the movement of a few hundred Scoter through the course of the day. Special birds of note today were a Great Cormorant and another Royal Tern (the same individual from yesterday?).

Here is today's break down of the count:

Brant 272
American Black Duck 8
Lesser Scaup 11
Common Eider 13
Surf Scoter 303
White-winged Scoter 10
Black Scoter 257
Long-tailed Duck 103
Buffelhead 3
Red-breasted Merganser 121
Red-throated Loon 119
Common Loon 9
Double-crested Cormorant 31
Great Cormorant 1
Bonaparte's Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 15
Herring Gull 11
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Royal Tern 1

Sea Watch, Friday December 4, 2009

Today was a better migration day than yesterday was with a slight NW wind, and being a little cooler as well.

We had a good movement of Red-throated Loons through out the day, and they made up the majority of today's count. There was a late movement of Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls in the evening. But the highlight birds of the day was a Royal Tern and a female Common Goldeneye.

Here is a list of birds seen today:


Wood Duck 1
American Black Duck 40
Common Eider 32
Surf Scoter 266
White-winged Scoter 7
Black Scoter 144
Long-tailed Duck 48
Buffelhead 21
Common Goldeneye 1
Red-breasted Merganser 12
Red-throated Loon 2400
Common Loon 40
Northern Gannet 17
Double-crested Cormorant 178
Great Cormorant 5
Laughing Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 398
Herring Gull 601
Great Black-backed Gull 78
Royal Tern 1

Sea Watch, Thursday December 3, 2009

It is official, there are now only two Cape May bird counters left to finish out the season; our beloved part-time Hawk counter left us today. Take care, Melissa!

Today was a pleasant surprise considering the amount of rain that was forcasted to dump today, that is until last minute. It turned out to be a rather warm day when the sun was out, but it was a strong SW winds throughout the day.

The day started out with a few hundred birds each hour, but by the end of the fourth hour, migration dropped off and for the next 5.5 hours no hour had more than a hundred birds counted. So, today was a slow day.

Part of the time was passed counting Monarch butterflies, of which there were three.

The Sea Watch also had two immature Bald Eagles, and a Cooper's Hawk that flushed up a few hundred gulls from the inlet.

There were no birds of particular note, except perhaps a flock Pintail.

Here is a list of birds seen today.

Canada Goose 3
American Black Duck 5
Northern Pintail 9
Greater Scaup 1
Scaup sp. 6
Surf Scoter 140
White-winged Scoter 2
Black Scoter 127
Long-tailed Duck 5
Buffelhead 6
Hooded Merganser 3
Red-breasted Merganser 16
Red-throated Loon 420
Common Loon 18
Northern Gannet 761
Double-crested Cormorant 21
Great Cormorant 1
Laughing Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull 34
Herring Gull 23
Great Black-backed Gull 58

Sea Watch, Wednesday December 2, 2009

We are in the final weeks of the Sea Watch and we are looking forward to any alcids that might show up. Unfortunately, today was not an alcid day, but we did have a few things of note.

A Harlequin Duck landed by the jetty again today; we had a late showing of Pintail; we had a late Parasitic Jaeger and late flocks of Cormorants; we more than doubled our total Shoveler count for the year in one flock of 15; and we set a new season record for White-winged Scoter in one day of 91.

Here is the lost of birds seen today:

Brant 2
American Black Duck 1
Northern Shoveler 15
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 61
Greater Scaup 6
Lesser Scaup 43
Common Eider 20
Surf Scoter 537
White-winged Scoter 91
Black Scoter 594
Long-tailed Duck 20
Buffelhead 42
Red-breasted Merganser 43
Red-throated Loon 2557
Common Loon 16
Horned Grebe 3
Northern Gannet 840
Double-crested Cormorant 42
Laughing Gull 24
Ring-billed Gull 246
Herring Gull 143
Great Black-backed Gull 55
Parasitic Jaeger 1

Sea Watch Tuesday December 1, 2009

The Seawatch was jumpin' this morning, and it kept on doing so until well after the sun had set. The bulk of the flight were Red-throated Loons and Gulls (Ring-billed and Herring), but diversity was excellent as well, with 35 species of migrant waterbird tallied. Purple Sandpipers continue on the jetty, and there was a noticeable movement of Turkey Vultures over Sea Isle City today as well. It was certainly an auspicious start to December.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 12/1/09
Notes: Clear, Sunny, West winds.
Number of species: 56

Brant 57
Canada Goose 27
Wood Duck 8
Gadwall 8
American Wigeon 6
American Black Duck 162
Mallard 14
Northern Shoveler 7
Green-winged Teal 57
Ring-necked Duck 12
Greater Scaup 7
Lesser Scaup 9
Aythya sp. 7
Common Eider 12
Harlequin Duck 2 (One was with 4 Green-winged Teal, the other was with a
small mixed flock of Black and Surf Scoters.)
Surf Scoter 343
White-winged Scoter 3
Black Scoter 1918
dark-winged scoter sp. 538
Long-tailed Duck 55
Bufflehead 10
Hooded Merganser 10
Red-breasted Merganser 25
duck sp. 9
Red-throated Loon 7975
Common Loon 6
loon sp. 1 (Pacific/juvenile Red-throated. Just after official sunset)
Northern Gannet 1265
Double-crested Cormorant 80
Great Cormorant 3
Great Egret 8
Turkey Vulture 31
Bald Eagle 1 (juvenile)
American Kestrel 3
Peregrine Falcon 2
Semipalmated Plover 2
American Oystercatcher 6 (3 migrants)
Ruddy Turnstone 8
Sanderling 600
Purple Sandpiper 8
Dunlin 300
Bonaparte's Gull 5
Laughing Gull 28
Ring-billed Gull 2751
Herring Gull 1832
Great Black-backed Gull 100
Forster's Tern 10
Royal Tern 1 (Juvenile)
Parasitic Jaeger 1 (Southbound juvenile)
Carolina Wren 2
American Robin 3
European Starling 200
Yellow-rumped Warbler 3
White-throated Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Common Grackle 1
Boat-tailed Grackle 15
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 10

Hawkwatch 11/28-30/09

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 30, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                2            408            550
Turkey Vulture              17           1344           1992
Osprey                       0             27           2589
Bald Eagle                   0             48            459
Northern Harrier             4            264            882
Sharp-shinned Hawk           3           1805          13851
Cooper's Hawk                1            306           5536
Northern Goshawk             0              4              7
Red-shouldered Hawk          1            465            543
Broad-winged Hawk            0             17            710
Red-tailed Hawk              3           1279           1910
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             0            127           4017
Merlin                       2             39           1910
Peregrine Falcon             0             16           1189
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                      33           6154          36152
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end   time: 13:30:00
Total observation time: 6.5 hours

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

Observers:

Weather:
SW Winds, Rain in the afternoon

Raptor Observations:


Non-raptor Observations:
American Bittern, 4 Canvasbacks

Predictions:
Official count season over
(But Cold Front passing through with clear skies and W Winds forecast for tomorrow if you were wondering)

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 29, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                8            406            548
Turkey Vulture              42           1327           1975
Osprey                       1             27           2589
Bald Eagle                   3             48            459
Northern Harrier             2            260            878
Sharp-shinned Hawk           5           1802          13848
Cooper's Hawk                3            305           5535
Northern Goshawk             0              4              7
Red-shouldered Hawk          5            464            542
Broad-winged Hawk            0             17            710
Red-tailed Hawk              7           1276           1907
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             1            127           4017
Merlin                       1             37           1908
Peregrine Falcon             1             16           1189
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                      79           6121          36119
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end   time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours

Official Counter:        Pete Dunne

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 28, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture              194            375            517
Turkey Vulture             210           1231           1879
Osprey                       1             26           2588
Bald Eagle                   1             42            453
Northern Harrier             3            250            868
Sharp-shinned Hawk           1           1758          13804
Cooper's Hawk                3            291           5521
Northern Goshawk             0              4              7
Red-shouldered Hawk          2            447            525
Broad-winged Hawk            0             17            710
Red-tailed Hawk             19           1223           1854
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             0            122           4012
Merlin                       0             33           1904
Peregrine Falcon             0             13           1186
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                     434           5837          35835
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end   time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours

Official Counter:        Pete Dunne

Observers:

Weather:
West winds, clear.

Raptor Observations:
Good Vulture movement.

Sea Watch Monday November 30, 2009

The above Harlequin Duck showed nicely for a brief time just off the jetty in the morning. (photo copyright Doug Gochfeld)

The Long-tailed Ducks finally built in by the seawatch today, and we had a flock of 11 by the end of the day. Hopefully this means they're finally here to stay. (photo copyright Doug Gochfeld)

Most of today was spent clicking the steady flow of Red-throated Loons flying by and differentiating distant Gulls (all of the 3 common species were moving today). The Long-tailed Duck flock right in front of the watch gradually grew throughout the day from 1 male in the morning, to 11 individuals by the evening, which entertained by persistently calling. During the first hour of the day, a male Harlequin Duck flew in and landed by the jetty for a time before I lost track of it. The only non-waterbird highlight was a flyover Snow Bunting.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 11/30/09
Number of species: 44

Brant 5
Canada Goose 4
American Wigeon 1
American Black Duck 28
Mallard 4
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 6
Greater Scaup 3
Lesser Scaup 2
Common Eider 14
Harlequin Duck 2
Surf Scoter 89
White-winged Scoter 5
Black Scoter 1252
dark-winged scoter sp. 34
Long-tailed Duck 39
Bufflehead 2
Hooded Merganser 4
Red-breasted Merganser 13
Red-throated Loon 4061
Common Loon 14
Northern Gannet 309
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 2
Black-bellied Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 11
American Oystercatcher 14
Ruddy Turnstone 4
Sanderling 35
Purple Sandpiper 24
Dunlin 10
Bonaparte's Gull 38
Laughing Gull 11
Ring-billed Gull 215
Herring Gull 270
Great Black-backed Gull 236
Forster's Tern 1
Rock Pigeon X
Carolina Wren 1
European Starling X
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Snow Bunting 1 Calling flyover towards main jetty
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch, Sunday November 29, 2009

Today was very good; we had a strong flight of Gannets in the morning, Scoter in the middle of the day, and Red-throated Loons in the evening.

Total we had almost 20,000 birds pass through.

The most unexpected bird seen flying south by the Sea Watch was a Brown Pelican; it makes you wonder where the heck that bird has been hanging around?

Another bird seen today that we have not seen to much of was a lone Great Cormorant.

Here is a list of the birds seen today:

Snow Goose 74
Brant 24
American Wigeon 3
American Black Duck 65
Green-winged Teal 499
Ring-necked Duck 3
Greater Scaup 19
Lesser Scaup 18
Scaup sp. 57
Common Eider 59
Surf Scoter 656
White-winged Scoter 14
Black Scoter 5417
Long-tailed Duck 50
Buffelhead 66
Red-breasted Merganser 52
Red-throated Loon 5904
Common Loon 50
Northern Gannet 5062
Brown Pelican 1
Double-crested Cormorant 42
Great Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 3
Laughing Gull 35
Bonaparte's Gull 8
Ring-billed Gull 370
Herring Gull 156
Great Black-backed Gull 34
American Oystercatcher 1

Sea Watch, Saturday November 28, 2009

Today was another day of cold weather and strong wind out of the west.

Though today was like yesterday, there was a strong movements of ducks!

We had large numbers of Buffelhead, Snow Geese, Green-winged Teal, and Long-tailed Ducks, as well as Tundra Swan.

Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

And thanks to Doug, the swing counter, I was able to slip a way for a little while to see the Ivory Gull. Thanks Doug!

Here are the list of birds seen today:

Snow Goose 151
Canada Goose 3
Brant 115
Tundra Swan 7
American Wigeon 8
American Black Duck 58
Mallard 12
Green-winged Teal 146
Ring-necked Duck 1
Greater Scaup 18
Lesser Scaup 15
Scaup sp. 8
Common Eider 21
Harlequin 1
Surf Scoter 66
White-winged Scoter 1
Black Scoter 760
Long-tailed Duck 84
Buffelhead 226
Red-breasted Merganser 38
Common Goldeneye 12
Red-throated Loon 113
Common Loon 10
Northern Gannet 367
Double-crested Cormorant 8
Great Blue Heron 1
Laughing Gull 73
Bonaparte's Gull 124
Ring-billed Gull 991
Herring Gull 78
Great Black-backed Gull 7

Hawk Watch Friday November 27, 2009

My last day of the season as the official counter was an uneventful one on the platform, although I was able to sneak away for a brief time during the slow flight to check out the Ivory Gull at Cape May Harbor. At least 6 Cave Swallows brightened up the morning, and there were also 4 Barn Swallows seen over the course of the day and a flock of 60 Tree Swallows hanging around throughout. Only 3 more days left for the Hawkwatch, the counter for the weekend is Pete Dunne, and Melissa Roach closes it out on Monday; hopefully they finish up the season with a bang. It's been a good one.

Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 11/27/09
Number of species: 56

Snow Goose 16 1 Blue Phase.
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck X
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal X
Surf Scoter X
Black Scoter X
Long-tailed Duck 1
Red-breasted Merganser 6
Red-throated Loon X
Common Loon 3
Pied-billed Grebe X
Northern Gannet 100
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Blue Heron 2
Black Vulture 18
Turkey Vulture 32
Bald Eagle 2 (1 local adult over Bunker Pond, 1 migrating juvenile)
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 7
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 15
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 3
American Coot 20
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Laughing Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 7
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove 1
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 60
Cave Swallow 6
Barn Swallow 4
Carolina Wren X
American Robin X
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
American Pipit 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) X
Song Sparrow X
Red-winged Blackbird X
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch, Friday November 27th, 2009

Today I was expecting a bit of rain with the nippy wind, but thankfully what rain we were going to get occurred in the early hours of the morning.

The number of bird seen today is comparable to yesterday's. We had a Lesser Black-backed Gull today, along with late migrating Great Egrets and Forster's Terns. We set a new season record this season for Brant in one day, 248.

Here is a list of birds seen today:

Brant 248
American Black Duck 3
Greater Scaup 6
Common Eider 32
Surf Scoter 73
White-winged Scoter 5
Black Scoter 80
Long-tailed Duck 18
Red-breasted Merganser 7
Common Goldeneye 2
Red-breasted Merganser 2
Red-throated Loon 367
Common Loon 10
Northern Gannet 1082
Double-crested Cormorant 9
Great Egret 11
Laughing Gull 164
Bonaparte's Gull 22
Ring-billed Gull 241
Herring Gull 13
Great Black-backed Gull 5
Forster's Tern 8

Hawkwatch 11/26/09

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 26, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0            149            291
Turkey Vulture               0            952           1600
Osprey                       0             25           2587
Bald Eagle                   0             39            450
Northern Harrier             1            243            861
Sharp-shinned Hawk           7           1714          13760
Cooper's Hawk                1            272           5502
Northern Goshawk             0              4              7
Red-shouldered Hawk          1            420            498
Broad-winged Hawk            0             17            710
Red-tailed Hawk              0           1145           1776
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             0            120           4010
Merlin                       1             27           1898
Peregrine Falcon             0             13           1186
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                      11           5145          35143
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:45:00
Observation end   time: 15:15:00
Total observation time: 8.5 hours

Official Counter:        Doug Gochfeld

Observers:

Weather:
Overcast, Light east winds, intermittent light drizzle.

Raptor Observations:
Local TV's, RT Hawk.

Non-raptor Observations:
19 Tundra Swans, American Bittern, Virginia Rail, Snow Buntings, Wood Duck

Hawk Watch Thursday November 26, 2009

Thanks to Scott Whittle for letting me use his camera to capture this photo of the slightly cooperative (but not so much) Virginia Rail. Now that's what I call teamwork!

The weather was a continuation of the dreary conditions that have been predominant for the past week plus, but other than the almost non-existent raptor flight there were some interesting birds around. 19 Tundra Swans and 6 Snow Geese flew over (in separate flocks of course), and on the water there was a steady trickle of Red-throated Loons all day, a flyby Wood Duck, and a flock of 11 Common Eider flew by in addition the 17 sitting in the water just off the State Park beach. The Virginia Rail pictured above skulked around in front of the platform for a while but rewarded a few of us with satisfying close views after some patience. An American Bittern was also in the marsh in the same general vicinity. Bob Fogg spotted a flock of about 20 Snow Buntings flying down the beach towards the Meadows and called the platform just in time for us to see them before the dropped below the dunes.

Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 11/26/09
Notes: Light East Winds, Overcast, Intermittent light drizzle.
Number of species: 62

Snow Goose 6
Brant 21
Canada Goose 400
Mute Swan 15
Tundra Swan 19
Wood Duck 1
Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck X
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X
Green-winged Teal 75
Ring-necked Duck 6
Common Eider 28
Surf Scoter 25
Black Scoter 20
Red-throated Loon 145
Common Loon 2
Northern Gannet 10
Double-crested Cormorant 12
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 3
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 12
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 7
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Merlin 1
Virginia Rail 1 Seen in the marsh right in front of the platform.
American Coot 20
Laughing Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 7
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Belted Kingfisher 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 20
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow 12
Barn Swallow 2
Carolina Wren X
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 500
Northern Mockingbird 5
European Starling 1000
American Pipit 2
Cedar Waxwing 28
Yellow-rumped Warbler 40
Song Sparrow X
White-throated Sparrow X
Snow Bunting 20
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Baltimore Oriole 1 Perched in tree-line with Robins.
House Finch X
American Goldfinch 150
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch, Thanksgiving 2009

As the seemingly sleepy town of Avalon woke up this holiday and took a walk or car ride to look out on the calm ocean I can't help but think what these people thought of finding me staring through a scope. For those who were curious enough to see if I was looking through camera or something, I enlightened them to the doings, history, and why of the Sea Watch.

Today I was thankful for the improvement in the movement of birds headin south over yesterday's numbers. We hit a new mile marker for the record number of Eider we are having this season; today we topped 500 Common Eider.

But the bird that I am truly thankful that showed up this holiday was the Black-legged Kittiwake that showed itself off rather nicely going across the bar and then south of the jetty.

Here are the rest of the birds seen this Thanksgiving day:

Brant 165
American Black Duck 42
Great Scaup 1
Common Eider 30
Surf Scoter 310
White-winged Scoter 13
Black Scoter 422
Long-tailed Duck 4
Red-breasted Merganser 4
Bufflehead 2
Red-throated Loon 904
Common Loon 54
Northern Gannet 51
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Laughing Gull 50
Bonaparte's Gull 10
Ring-billed Gull 164
Herring Gull 61
Great Black-backed Gull 9
Black-legged Kittiwake 1
American Oystercatcher 1

Hawkwatch 11/23-25/09

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 25, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0            149            291
Turkey Vulture               0            952           1600
Osprey                       0             25           2587
Bald Eagle                   0             39            450
Northern Harrier             2            242            860
Sharp-shinned Hawk           0           1707          13753
Cooper's Hawk                0            271           5501
Northern Goshawk             0              4              7
Red-shouldered Hawk          1            419            497
Broad-winged Hawk            0             17            710
Red-tailed Hawk              0           1145           1776
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             0            120           4010
Merlin                       0             26           1897
Peregrine Falcon             0             13           1186
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                       3           5134          35132
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end   time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours

Official Counter:        Doug Gochfeld

Observers:

Weather:
East winds, intermittent drizzle

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 24, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0            149            291
Turkey Vulture               0            952           1600
Osprey                       0             25           2587
Bald Eagle                   0             39            450
Northern Harrier             1            240            858
Sharp-shinned Hawk           2           1707          13753
Cooper's Hawk                0            271           5501
Northern Goshawk             0              4              7
Red-shouldered Hawk          0            418            496
Broad-winged Hawk            0             17            710
Red-tailed Hawk              0           1145           1776
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             0            120           4010
Merlin                       0             26           1897
Peregrine Falcon             0             13           1186
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                       3           5131          35129
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end   time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

Observers:

Weather:
NE winds and scattered drizzle

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 23, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0            149            291
Turkey Vulture               0            952           1600
Osprey                       0             25           2587
Bald Eagle                   0             39            450
Northern Harrier             1            239            857
Sharp-shinned Hawk           3           1705          13751
Cooper's Hawk                1            271           5501
Northern Goshawk             0              4              7
Red-shouldered Hawk          0            418            496
Broad-winged Hawk            0             17            710
Red-tailed Hawk              1           1145           1776
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             0            120           4010
Merlin                       0             26           1897
Peregrine Falcon             0             13           1186
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                       6           5128          35126
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end   time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

Observers:

Weather:
Strong NE winds and rain in the afternoon

"Hawk" Watch Wednesday November 25, 2009

Bleh. Once upon a time the most interesting parts of my day were a Great Black-backed Gull carrying the severed head of a fish around the parking lot, and some American Wigeon sitting on the ocean. No raptor movement. The End.

Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 11/25/09
Notes: East Winds, Intermittent Drizzle, Low Visibility
Number of species: 51

Brant 1
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 22
Gadwall 30
American Wigeon 250
American Black Duck X
Northern Shoveler 25
Green-winged Teal 15
Ring-necked Duck 25
Greater Scaup 9
Lesser Scaup 3
Surf Scoter 125
White-winged Scoter 1
Black Scoter 25
dark-winged scoter sp. 50
Bufflehead 4
Red-breasted Merganser 12
Red-throated Loon 125
Northern Gannet 25
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 1 (local)
Northern Harrier 2 (1 male)
Cooper's Hawk 1 (perched)
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1 (perched)
Wilson's Snipe 2
Bonaparte's Gull 2
Laughing Gull 5
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 5
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow 7
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Carolina Wren 8
Eastern Bluebird 5
American Robin 600
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 1200
American Pipit 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 25
Song Sparrow 15
White-throated Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 4
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
blackbird sp. 200
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 950
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch, Wednesday November 25, 2009

I won't make this blog as long as my day, so here are the few birds that were seen today.

Brant 95
American Black Duck 3
Ring-necked Duck1
Scaup Sp 6
Common Eider 3
Surf Scoter 179
White-winged Scoter 14
Black Scoter 456
Long-tailed Duck 2
Red-breasted Merganser 37
Red-throated Loon 360
Common Loon 24
Northern Gannet 71
Laughing Gull 22
Ring-billed Gull 119
Herring Gull 58
American Oystercatcher 4

Sea Watch Tuesday November 24, 2009

One of these days I'll be reminded of what the sun looks like...it just certainly wasn't today. The NE Winds lessened slowly throughout, and the precipitation decreased as well, which led to much more enjoyable viewing conditions in the afternoon at the Kowa Seawatch. The movement of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls was notable, and Red-throated Loons were relatively thick for a couple of hours. The species highlight was without a doubt the juvenile Caspian Tern which came by shortly after 1:00 PM.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 11/24/09
Notes: Overcast. Strong NE Winds. intermittent drizzles for the first half
of the day.
Number of species: 27

Brant 61
Green-winged Teal 6
Ring-necked Duck 1
Greater Scaup 7
Lesser Scaup 3
Common Eider 9
Surf Scoter 1306
White-winged Scoter 9
Black Scoter 792
dark-winged scoter sp. 125
Red-breasted Merganser 40
Red-throated Loon 1679
Common Loon 9
Northern Gannet 13
Double-crested Cormorant 1 (local juvenile)
Great Cormorant 1
American Oystercatcher 2
Sanderling 8
Purple Sandpiper 4
Laughing Gull 7
Ring-billed Gull 560
Herring Gull 378
Great Black-backed Gull 32
Caspian Tern 1
Royal Tern 1
American Robin 15
European Starling X
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch Monday November 23, 2009

"Wet" was the operative word at the Avalon Seawatch today, although "alty" would probably suffice as well. There was a decent movement of Scoters and Red-throated Loons early, but movement essentially shut down by noon. There was however a bizarre looking creature known as a Harlequin Duck (drake) bobbing merrily just off of the jetty to lighten up the dreariness of the day.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 11/23/09
Notes: NE Winds, intermittent rain.
Number of species: 22

Brant (Atlantic) 20
Green-winged Teal 21
dabbling duck sp. 11
Greater Scaup 4
Lesser Scaup 30
Greater/Lesser Scaup 6
Aythya sp. 81
Common Eider 6
Harlequin Duck 1 Drake, sitting in water close to jetty.
Surf Scoter 418
White-winged Scoter 44
Black Scoter 1136
dark-winged scoter sp. 245
Bufflehead 9
Red-breasted Merganser 4
Red-throated Loon 715
Common Loon 2
Northern Gannet 8
Sanderling 2
Purple Sandpiper 4
Ring-billed Gull 164
Herring Gull 13
Great Black-backed Gull 30
Rock Pigeon X
European Starling X
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch, Sunday November 22, 2009

Another day at the Sea Watch and another 12,000+ passed.

The weather started off 100% cloudy with the wind picking up as the day went along, but at about one in the afternoon the clouds broke, but the wind remained.

The highlight of the day was having a male Harlequin Duck land by the jetty. We also had a new record day for Common Eider of 99 birds.

Here is what was seen today:

Brant 92
American Black Duck 17
Green-winged Teal 2
Greater Scaup 2
Lesser Scaup 2
Common Eider 99
Harelquin Duck 1
Surf Scoter 1730
White-winged Scoter 7
Black Scoter 3715
Long-tailed Duck 2
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Red-throated Loon 2246
Common Loon 8
Double-crested Cormorant 552
Northern Gannet 3164
Laughing Gull 14
Bonaparte's Gull 6
Ring-billed Gull 557
Herring Gull 144
Great Black-backed Gull 19

Sea Watch, Saturday November 21, 2009

Well today was the first day that was below sixty degrees, and wouldn't you know we had a movement of over 12,000 birds today.

We started off slow today, but we had some good sightings of different birds early on such as a flock of Snow Geese, a King Eider, and a Common Goldeneye.

As the day progressed there was a fair movement of Scoter and Red-throated Loons, but it was not until the last three hours that the Loons and the Gannets really picked up and kept me busy until the end of the day.

Here is what was seen today:

Snow Goose 9
Brant 7
American Black Duck 8
Blue-winged Teal 1
King Eider 1
Common Eider 1
Surf Scoter 699
White-winged Scoter 4
Black Scoter 482
Long-tailed Duck 9
Bufflehead 1
Common Golderneye 1
Red-breasted Merganser 8
Red-throated Loon 1731
Common Loon 10
Double-crested Cormorant 15
Northern Gannet 8936
Laughing Gull 189
Ring-billed Gull 212
Herring Gull 99
Great Black-backed Gull 47
Royal Tern 4
American Oystercatcher 58

Hawk Watch Friday November 20, 2009

At the crack of dawn 3 Wilson's Snipe flushed from directly in front of the platform and when I looked to see what had put them up a Deer was galloping through the marsh. Certainly not the way I usually start my day at the State Park. While not a huge hawk flight, at least it wasn't nearly as slow as yesterday's. Other than the general lack of migrating raptors however, it was a very pleasant day on the platform. The front passed within the first hour of the watch, and after that the sun was shining all day long, and this afforded excellent looks at what birds were seen. The Swainson's Hawk put in an appearance or two, but was only seen out over the Meadows today. 4 Cave Swallows were pretty cooperative for the first couple of hours in the day, and after diappearing for the middle of the day came back and were in view almost constantly for the last couple of hours of the count, albeit a bit far away (over Lighthouse Pond) for satisfying views. A real nice early morning bonus was an American Bittern which landed nearby the platform and then foraged mostly in view for at least 20 minutes. Here's hoping the raptors come through thick tomorrow.

Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 11/20/09
Number of species: 56

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck X
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X
Green-winged Teal X
Common Goldeneye 1
Ruddy Duck X
Pied-billed Grebe X
Northern Gannet X
Double-crested Cormorant X
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 1
Black Vulture 26
Turkey Vulture 83
Bald Eagle 2 (1 local adult)
Northern Harrier 13
Sharp-shinned Hawk 38
Cooper's Hawk 3
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Swainson's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 27
American Kestrel 3
Merlin 1
American Coot 20
Wilson's Snipe 8
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Northern Flicker X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Fish Crow 1
Tree Swallow 2
Cave Swallow 4
Carolina Chickadee X
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren X
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
American Pipit X
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) X
Song Sparrow X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch, Friday November 20, 2009

Today was a beautiful day, with NW wind, however there was no many birds flying.

The highlight of the day was the sighting of a Parasitic Jaeger and Bonaparte's Gull.

Here is what was seen today:

Brant 1
American Black Duck 10
Scaup Sp. 1
Common Eider 1
Surf Scoter 87
White-winged Scoter 1
Black Scoter 10
dark-winged scoter sp. 11
Long-tailed Duck 3
Red-breasted Merganser 3
Red-throated Loon 733
Common Loon 22
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Noorthern Gannet 177
Great Egret 24
Snowy Egret 1
Bonaparte's Gull 3
Laughing Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 176
Herring Gull 69
Great Black-backed Gull 25
Royal Tern 11
American Oystercatcher 33

Hawkwatch 11/20/09

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 20, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture               26            149            291
Turkey Vulture              83            952           1600
Osprey                       0             25           2587
Bald Eagle                   1             39            450
Northern Harrier            13            238            856
Sharp-shinned Hawk          38           1702          13748
Cooper's Hawk                3            270           5500
Northern Goshawk             0              4              7
Red-shouldered Hawk          2            418            496
Broad-winged Hawk            0             17            710
Red-tailed Hawk             27           1144           1775
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             3            120           4010
Merlin                       1             26           1897
Peregrine Falcon             0             13           1186
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                     197           5122          35120
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:45:00
Observation end   time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.25 hours

Official Counter:        Doug Gochfeld

Observers:

Weather:
NW Wind

Raptor Observations:
Local adult Bald Eagle, continuing Swainson's Hawk

Non-raptor Observations:
8 WIlson's Snipe, 4 Cave Swallows, American Bittern

Predictions:
NW Winds, shifting to WNW

Hawkwatch 11/17-19/09

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 19, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0            123            265
Turkey Vulture               0            869           1517
Osprey                       0             25           2587
Bald Eagle                   0             38            449
Northern Harrier             1            225            843
Sharp-shinned Hawk          16           1664          13710
Cooper's Hawk                2            267           5497
Northern Goshawk             0              4              7
Red-shouldered Hawk          1            416            494
Broad-winged Hawk            0             17            710
Red-tailed Hawk              4           1117           1748
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             0            117           4007
Merlin                       1             25           1896
Peregrine Falcon             0             13           1186
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                      25           4925          34923
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:45:00
Observation end   time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.25 hours

Official Counter:        Doug Gochfeld

Observers:

Visitors:
3


Weather:
ENE winds, shifting to ESE through the day

Raptor Observations:


Non-raptor Observations:
3 Cave Swallows, 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallows, 2 Barn Swallows, Common
Goldeneye. The 3 Eurasian Wigeons continue on nearby Lighthouse Pond.



Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 18, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                5            123            265
Turkey Vulture              49            869           1517
Osprey                       1             25           2587
Bald Eagle                   1             38            449
Northern Harrier             6            224            842
Sharp-shinned Hawk          74           1648          13694
Cooper's Hawk                9            265           5495
Northern Goshawk             1              4              7
Red-shouldered Hawk         11            415            493
Broad-winged Hawk            0             17            710
Red-tailed Hawk             49           1113           1744
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             1            117           4007
Merlin                       1             24           1895
Peregrine Falcon             2             13           1186
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                     210           4900          34898
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:30:00
Observation end   time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.5 hours

Official Counter:        Doug Gochfeld

Observers:

Visitors:
Few and far between


Weather:
ENE Winds

Raptor Observations:
Nrthern Goshawk @ 8:06 AM, Raptor flight died after 11:30 AM. The
continuing Swainson's Hawk was seen again several times.

Non-raptor Observations:
6-10 Cave Swallows, 3 Barn Swallows, 5 Wilson's Snipe, Snowy Egret



Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 17, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture               22            118            260
Turkey Vulture              43            820           1468
Osprey                       0             24           2586
Bald Eagle                   2             37            448
Northern Harrier             3            218            836
Sharp-shinned Hawk         102           1574          13620
Cooper's Hawk               17            256           5486
Northern Goshawk             0              3              6
Red-shouldered Hawk         50            404            482
Broad-winged Hawk            0             17            710
Red-tailed Hawk             91           1064           1695
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             1            116           4006
Merlin                       1             23           1894
Peregrine Falcon             0             11           1184
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                     332           4690          34688
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:45:00
Observation end   time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.25 hours

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

Observers:

Weather:
NE winds

Hawk Watch Thursday November 19, 2009

The raptor flight today was essentially nonexistent, as was the flight of most other birds. It was so dead, that there wasn't even a single hour with more than 6 raptors. The quiet day was interspersed with 4 species of Swallows before 8:30 AM (3 Caves, 1 Northern Rough-winged, and 2 Barns to accompany the half dozen or so Trees), and a late-in-the-day American Bittern. Incidentally the 3 Eurasian Wigeons continue on the Lighthouse Pond as well.

Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 11/19/09
Notes: ENE/ESE Winds
Number of species: 56

Brant 1
Canada Goose 300
Mute Swan 10
Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck 6
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X
Green-winged Teal X
Ring-necked Duck X
Common Goldeneye 1
Ruddy Duck 20
Red-throated Loon 1
Common Loon 5
Northern Gannet 25
Double-crested Cormorant 90
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 1
Black Vulture 6
Turkey Vulture 18
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 16
Cooper's Hawk 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Merlin 1
American Coot 30
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Royal Tern 2
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
Blue Jay X
American Crow 15
Fish Crow 2
Tree Swallow 7
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Cave Swallow 3
Barn Swallow 2
Carolina Wren X
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling 650
American Pipit 3
Cedar Waxwing 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) X
Field Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 20
White-throated Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 4
Red-winged Blackbird X
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch, Thursday November 19, 2009

Today the forecast called for showers, but thankfully that changed and the sun actually came for a little. However, visibility was limited and not much was flying. Yes, it was yet another slow day at the sea watch. My prediction is still holding true; this warm weather is no friend of waterbird migration.

The best birds of the day a Common Tern and three Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Here is what was seen today:

Brant 1
American Black Duck 2
Green-winged Teal 8
Greater Scaup 3
Common Eider 5
Surf Scoter 476
White-winged Scoter 7
Black Scoter 645
dark-winged scoter sp. 26
Scoter Sp. 26
Red-breasted Merganser 4
Red-throated Loon 713
Common Loon 42
Double-crested Cormorant 14
Noorthern Gannet 22
Laughing Gull 7
Ring-billed Gull 135
Herring Gull 30
Great Black-backed Gull 8
Lesse Black-backed Gull 3
Royal Tern 10
American Oystercatcher 3

Sea Watch, Wednesday November 18, 2009

We had a strong NE wind through the entire day sending in the salt spray quite well, but then there was not too many birds flying today either; only 4,888.

The only thing of special note is that we had some Hooded Mergansers fly by.

Here is what was seen today:


Brant 1
Wood Duck 4
Gadwall 16
American Black Duck 13
Green-winged Teal 52
Greater Scaup 15
Lesser Scaup 11
Common Eider 2
Surf Scoter 1441
White-winged Scoter 4
Black Scoter 1082
dark-winged scoter sp. 26
Long-tailed Duck 26
Bufflehead 1
Red-breasted Merganser 37
Red-throated Loon 484
Common Loon 19
Double-crested Cormorant 25
Noorthern Gannet 1536
Ring-billed Gull 49
Herring Gull 18
Great Black-backed Gull 12
Royal Tern 2

Hawk Watch Wednesday Novemer 18, 2009

The NE Winds kept a lid on most migration, although there was a decent push for a couple of hours. Things mostly shut down around 11:30 AM and migrant raptors were hard to come by after that. The Swainson's Hawk once again put on a good show, ranging from near the lighthouse to over the Meadows. A Goshawk came going east from the Cape May Point and then what was presumably the same individual was seen briefly a bit later over the State Park.
Non-raptor highlights were at least 6 Cave Swallows (the most seen at any one time, but perhaps up to 10), 3 Barn Swallows, 5 Wilson's Snipe, and the continuing Common Goldeneye on Bunker Pond.

Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 11/18/09
Number of species: 60

Canada Goose 400
Mute Swan 6
Gadwall 25
American Wigeon 250
American Black Duck 10
Mallard 20
Blue-winged Teal 3
Northern Shoveler 25
Green-winged Teal 76
Ring-necked Duck 10
dark-winged scoter sp. 45
Common Goldeneye 1
Red-breasted Merganser 3
Red-throated Loon 1
Common Loon 5
Northern Gannet 50
Double-crested Cormorant 100
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 1
Black Vulture 10
Turkey Vulture 49
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 2
Northern Harrier 6
Sharp-shinned Hawk 74
Cooper's Hawk 9
Northern Goshawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 11
Swainson's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 49
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 2
Wilson's Snipe 5
Laughing Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Royal Tern 1
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 15
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow 10
Cave Swallow 6
Barn Swallow 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 5
American Robin 1200
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling X
American Pipit 15
Yellow-rumped Warbler 50
Song Sparrow 8
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird 550
Brown-headed Cowbird 200
American Goldfinch 400
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch November 17, 2009

Well, at least there wasn't an hour where I saw more Monarchs than Black Scoters at Avalon today. It was certainly not as slow, but the diversity today wasn't quite what it was yesterday. Hundreds of Northern Gannets streamed north early and proceeded to feed around the inlet and points to the north, so none were counted today. Red-breasted Mergansers are becoming more common now, as are Scaup. A late flock of 16 Common Eider and a flock of 31 Great Egrets were the only late-in-the-day highlights.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 11/17/09
Notes: NE Winds, sunny, chilly
Number of species: 34

Brant 28
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 1
American Wigeon 5
American Black Duck 8
Green-winged Teal 28
Greater Scaup 15
Lesser Scaup 30
Greater/Lesser Scaup 3
Common Eider 29
Surf Scoter 1781
White-winged Scoter 13
Black Scoter 1835
dark-winged scoter sp. 1120
scoter sp. 39
Long-tailed Duck 4
Bufflehead 1
Red-breasted Merganser 44
Red-throated Loon 994
Common Loon 6
Double-crested Cormorant 606
Great Cormorant 1
Great Egret 31
Semipalmated Plover 1
Sanderling X
Purple Sandpiper 4
Dunlin X
Ring-billed Gull 562
Herring Gull 59
Great Black-backed Gull 13
Royal Tern 1
Carolina Wren 1
European Starling 45
Yellow-rumped Warbler 3
Fox Sparrow 1
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
House Sparrow X