Sea Watch, Halloween 2009

To be brief. It was a SLOW day.

Higlights:

King Eider, Common Tern, Bonaparte's Gull, Brown Pelican, and big Parasitic Jaegar day.

List of birds seen:

Brant (Atlantic) 22
American Black Duck 12
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 3
King Eider 1
Common Eider 2
Surf Scoter 432
Black Scoter 138
dark-winged scoter 9
Red-breasted Merganser 6
Red-throated Loon 44
Common Loon 11
Northern Gannet 582
Brown Pelican 5
Double-crested Cormorant 0
Great Cormorant 1
American Oystercatcher 6
Laughing Gull 122
Herring Gull 13
Great Black-backed Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 9
Forster's Tern 140
Royal Tern 16
Parasitic Jaegar 9

Happy Halloween!

Sea Watch Friday, October 30, 2009

Today started out as though it could have developed into the big day with huge flocks of cormorants flying by in the first hour and a seemingly good diversity of other birds moving through, but alas it turned out to be another day at Avalon Sea Watch with the total number of birds at 11,629.

We set new day highs for Red-breasted Mergansers (RBME) and White-winged Scoters (WWSC) with 29 RBME and 43 WWSC. And today we continue to smash past Brown Pelican records with yet another additional sighting today for a total of 626. We are now also starting to get Scaup in greater numbers with 18 Greater Scaup and 4 Lesser Scaup seen today (14 of the Greater with 4 of the Lesser in a flock with a Common Eider).

And for a few disappointed visitors wanting to see a Parasitic Jaegar, I saw 5 in the last 2 and 1/2 hours of the day. Josh, you missed yours by less than 15 minutes, and it was a pretty good look.

Here is a list of birds seen today.

Brant (Atlantic) 20
Wood Duck 4
American Wigeon 4
American Black Duck 1
Green-winged Teal 312
Greater Scaup 18
Lesser Scaup 8
Scaup sp. 1
Common Eider 5
Surf Scoter 1952
White-winged Scoter 43
Black Scoter 1449
dark-winged scoter 17
Red-breasted Merganser 29
Red-throated Loon 109
Common Loon 21
Northern Gannet 3080
Brown Pelican 1
Double-crested Cormorant 3868
Great Cormorant 2
American Oystercatcher 9
Laughing Gull 330
Herring Gull 32
Great Black-backed Gull 66
Ring-billed Gull 65
Forster's Tern 68
Royal Tern 68
Parasitic Jaegar 5

And one last note that I forgot to mention last post, as of yesterday we broke 300,000 birds we have thus far counted migrating south this season.

Morning Flight Friday October 30, 2009

My last morning counting up on the dike this season was an extremely slow one, although there were a couple of interesting birds around, including singles of Red-headed Woodpecker and White-crowned Sparrow (both juveniles). Shorebirds up on the dike were highlighted by 27 White-rumped Sandpipers and a high count of 59 Dunlin, although they were cycling in and out. There was also another large early morning movement of Cormorants which died off after the first hour and change.

eBird list:
Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/30/09
Notes: N-S flight line. East winds.
Number of species: 49

Brant (Atlantic) 7
Wood Duck 2
Northern Pintail 1
Surf Scoter 250
Black Scoter 600
Double-crested Cormorant 7000
Great Blue Heron 2
Osprey 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 5
Semipalmated Plover 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 12
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5
Least Sandpiper 20
White-rumped Sandpiper 27
Dunlin 59
Laughing Gull 150
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 15
Royal Tern 2
Rock Pigeon 21
Mourning Dove 2
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Blue Jay 8
American Crow 55
Tree Swallow 15
Carolina Chickadee 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3
American Robin 335
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 2
European Starling X
American Pipit 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 78
Palm Warbler 1
Eastern Towhee 1
Song Sparrow 15
Swamp Sparrow 10
White-throated Sparrow 8
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 3000
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Common Grackle 5
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 45

Sea Watch Thursday, October 29, 2009

Well today was a little warm-up to the "big day" with over 27,000 birds. It was a big Surf Scoter day, followed by Cormorants, and Black Scoter.

There is the potential that tomorrow maybe the "big day," because it has to happen some time.

Other than a lot of bird movement nothing new showed up. We had two more Long-tailed ducks today, and today has been the biggest Red-throated Loon day at 160 individuals.

One more item of interest, we still have the flock of 11 Common Eider hanging around the jetty.

Here is a lost of birds seen today:


Brant (Atlantic) 121
Wood Duck 3
American Black Duck 12
Mallard 1
Green-winged Teal 88
Greater Scaup 1
Lesser Scaup 2
Common Eider 7
Surf Scoter 12540
White-winged Scoter 17
Black Scoter 3904
Red-breasted Merganser 6
Red-throated Loon 160
Common Loon 14
Northern Gannet 581
Brown Pelican 10
Double-crested Cormorant 5541
Great Blue Heron 16
American Oystercatcher 12
Laughing Gull 7
Herring Gull 4
Great Black-backed Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 36
Forster's Tern 45
Royal Tern 9

Morning Flight Thursday October 29

Today was quite slow but was salvaged by the sudden appearance of a Yellow-headed Blackbird. It flew right over my head with two Red-winged Blackbirds and rapidly disappeared. After that we went on a bit a roll with new species for the dike for this season. In rapid succession we had White-winged Scoter, Red-throated Loon, and Ruddy Duck, all new for the season. Otherwise we had a trickle of Yellow-rumpeds and not much else.


Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/29/09
Number of species: 62

Mallard 6
Green-winged Teal 2
White-winged Scoter 1
Black Scoter 40
dark-winged scoter sp. 80
Ruddy Duck 1
Red-throated Loon 1
Common Loon 4
Northern Gannet 15
Double-crested Cormorant 15
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3
Merlin 1
Black-bellied Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 15
Lesser Yellowlegs 8
Semipalmated Sandpiper 4
Least Sandpiper 12
White-rumped Sandpiper 15
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 25
Laughing Gull 85
Ring-billed Gull 25
Herring Gull 40
Great Black-backed Gull 65
Forster's Tern 12
Royal Tern 3
Rock Pigeon 15
Mourning Dove 4
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 15
American Crow 12
Fish Crow 8
Tree Swallow 200
Carolina Chickadee 5
Carolina Wren 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Hermit Thrush 2
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 3
European Starling 12
American Pipit 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 213
Palm Warbler (Western) 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 3
Swamp Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 3
Northern Cardinal 3
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 95
Yellow-headed Blackbird 1
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 45

Sea Watch Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Well the big day still has not happened; if anything today was a rather "small" day with less than 4,000 birds moving through. The first five hours were especially hard, having counted less than five-hundred birds as I went into the sixth hour.

Today we set a new high for the number of Parasitic Jaegars seen in a day for this season, and that number is 5. This brings us up to 32 PAJA for the season. My goal is not to be the counter with the lowest Jaegar record.

The highlight of the day was the Common Eider flock that stuck around the jetty all day allowing any visitors a good view of them.

Here is a list of birds seen today:

Brant (Atlantic) 7
Wood Duck 4
American Black Duck 37
Northern Pintail 25
Green-winged Teal 10
Greater Scaup 12
Lesser Scaup 4
Common Eider 1
Surf Scoter 1841
White-winged Scoter 1
Black Scoter 556
dark-winged scoter sp. 340
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Red-throated Loon 5
Common Loon 5
Northern Gannet 255
Brown Pelican 6
Double-crested Cormorant 236
American Oystercatcher 2
Laughing Gull 15
Herring Gull 8
Great Black-backed Gull 8
Ring-billed Gull 78
Common Tern 1
Caspian Tern 1
Forster's Tern 132
Royal Tern 36
Parasitic Jaegar 5

Monarch Migration Project - Week 7 & Week 8

Greetings All!

This post will be a longer one, since I will be combining Week 7 and Week 8's posts. Hopefully I haven't kept folks waiting anxiously for too long, but as they say absence makes the heart grow fonder right?

In these past two weeks, as predicted, our Monarch numbers tapered off significantly. There were some days I was scouring the point and occasionally sprinting up and down Coral Avenue after a single Monarch to take to one of the demos. Well, the results speak for themselves:

Week 7: 3.88 monarchs/hr
Week 8: 20.23 monarchs/hr

The storms really worked their magic on Week 7, leading the Monarch Team to cancel two of our weekend demos due to inclement weather and a general lack of butterflies. Week 8 picked up a bit with the arrival of a cold front and northwest winds though, for the most part, our Monarch friends have gotten out of Dodge. Most of us have instead been witnessing migrations from a different sort, leading us to Week 7 and Week 8's Butterflies of the Week(s)!

Week 7's Butterfly of the Week: the Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)



ID Points: Medium-sized orange butterfly, with a silver colored question mark (though some would argue the Question Mark spotting appears more like a semi-colon or slightly misshapen bass clef symbol) spotting pattern on the underside of the hindwing. The perimeters of the wings appear bright blue. Distinguishable from the Eastern Comma by an additional horizontal black spot found on the subapical region of the forewing. The Question Marks currently found around the point are a part of the fall/winter brood.



Food plant: Members of the Elm Family, Nettles, and Hackberry

Range: Widespread throughout this region, and as far north as Southern Canada, and west as North Dakota.

Interesting Facts: The Question Mark is another migratory species that, in the past week or so, has been seen on the move across the Delaware Bay to the more southern regions of the coastal U.S. Currently, we are witnessing the fall-winter broods, which are significantly more orange than their spring counterparts that appear blacker in color at the base of their hindwings. It is the spring brood that is ultimately responsible for repopulating the Cape May region each season; though their arrival in the late spring is considerably less dramatic than the movement we are seeing currently.

Week 8's Butterfly of the Week: the Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)



ID Points: Generally appears smaller in size and lacks the subapical spot on the forewing like the Question Mark. The underside of the hindwing possesses the characteristic silver "comma" that, through binoculars, can be easily missed or mistaken as its' close relative. This species also has spring-summer and fall-winter broods with the same general black to orange hindwing patterning.



Food plant: Elms and Nettles

Range: Also widespread throughout this region, with similar distribution throughout the U.S. as the Question Mark, though less commonly found any further north of Maine.

Interesting Facts: Behaviorally speaking, they are strikingly similar to the Question Mark and it is common to find both species together in the same place. Such an example can be seen below in a fruit feeder set out on a lawn in West Cape May.



As Halloween approaches I'm finding myself wanting to stay longer here in Cape May. This town and all the wonderful people in it have truely worked their magic on me. I've been blessed to live in two countries outside the U.S. for work and school and had some wonderful job opportunities, but nothing in my life has been truely as rewarding as my experience here. I know that I will never forget the people that I have met here who have treated me like part of the big family that is the Cape May Bird Observatory/N.J. Audubon. Thank you all for the Wednesday night poker games, all of the amazing goodies at the potlucks, and for the guidance and patience many of you have given me as I've delved into the world of birding for the very first time this fall. A very special thanks goes to the members of Team Monarch: Dick Walton, Patsy Eickelberg, Louise Zemaitis, Michael O'Brien (thank you for all the pictures), Mark Garland and Paige Cunningham, Bill and Edie Schul, Cameron Cox, and Laura (thank you thank you thank you for your help on the dead-heading around the Point): I couldn't have had a better group of amazing people to work with if I tried.

Most importantly, thank you. Yes you, the readers of this blog, the individuals who came to our tagging demos, the individuals whose curiosity led them to come out and hear about our project's work, the individuals who refused to limit themselves to what they already knew - your support has been invaluable.



Though this year was a slower season, as most of us say, there's always another year and there's always tomorrow. May you all have a very safe and relaxing fall filled with life birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and everything else in between.

Cheers,

Claire

P.S. If anyone would like to reach me or keep in contact my e-mail is: ceiseton@gmail.com

Sea Watch Tuesday October 27, 2009

The first couple of hours at the Seawatch today were difficult to say the least. The rain and winds made the condition of the optics less than favorable and the visibility was very bad. However, after the rain stopped the visibility rapidly improved, and despite the salt spray it became rather pleasant. Common Eiders continue to put on a good showing, with a flock that built to 11 individuals by the end of the day sitting just of the main jetty. The early morning Gannet spectacle in the rain was a great show, and the day was finished off with a Dickcissel mixed in with the local House Sparrow flock next to the parking lot.


Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/27/09
Notes: NE Winds, rain for the first 3 hours.
Number of species: 41

Brant (Atlantic) 14
Wood Duck 11
American Wigeon 5
American Black Duck 11
Northern Pintail 32
Green-winged Teal 142
Greater Scaup 10
Lesser Scaup 1
Common Eider 14
Surf Scoter 3403
White-winged Scoter 2
Black Scoter 2534
dark-winged scoter sp. 652
Red-breasted Merganser 9
Red-throated Loon 45
Common Loon 1
Northern Gannet 574
Brown Pelican 2
Double-crested Cormorant 147
Great Cormorant 1
Osprey 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover 2
Semipalmated Plover 9
Sanderling 45
Dunlin 50
Laughing Gull 61
Herring Gull 17
Great Black-backed Gull 2
Forster's Tern 28
Royal Tern 55
Rock Pigeon X
Carolina Chickadee 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 1
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
White-throated Sparrow 1
Dickcissel 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 55

Sea Watch Monday October 26, 2009

photo copyright of France Dewaghe

A very good day up at Avalon, especially due to the diversity (30 species of migrating waterbirds). The highlight was a female King Eider and the 19 Common Eiders. Wood Ducks and Red-throated Loons also gave a good showing.


Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/26/09
Number of species: 47

Brant (Atlantic) 133
Wood Duck 196
American Wigeon 6
American Black Duck 25
American Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid) 1
Northern Shoveler 1
Northern Pintail 22
Green-winged Teal 63
Greater Scaup 9
Lesser Scaup 3
King Eider 1
Common Eider 20
Surf Scoter 4974
White-winged Scoter 12
Black Scoter 6779
dark-winged scoter sp. 465
Red-breasted Merganser 11
Red-throated Loon 183
Common Loon 14
Northern Gannet 5214
Brown Pelican 3
Double-crested Cormorant 5290
Great Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 6
Osprey 1
Black-bellied Plover X
Semipalmated Plover 3
American Oystercatcher 2
Sanderling 15
Dunlin 35
Laughing Gull 33
Ring-billed Gull 16
Herring Gull 3
Great Black-backed Gull 9
Caspian Tern 3
Forster's Tern 46
Royal Tern 51
Parasitic Jaeger 3
Rock Pigeon X
Tree Swallow X
Carolina Wren X
American Robin 1
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
American Pipit 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2
Song Sparrow 2
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
House Sparrow X

Morning Flight Monday October 29 2009

A bit slow this morning but there were a few interesting birds. We had seasonal high counts for both American Pipit and Purple Finch. We also had 2 Rusty Blackbirds, a Dickcissel, and numerous Gannets heading north back up the bay.

Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/26/09
Number of species: 76

Mallard 3
Surf Scoter 5
Black Scoter 45
Common Loon 1
Northern Gannet 120
Double-crested Cormorant 65
Great Blue Heron 6
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 5
Osprey 1
Northern Harrier 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 55
Cooper's Hawk 2
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Semipalmated Plover 5
Killdeer 3
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Sanderling 12
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 15
White-rumped Sandpiper 1
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 4
Laughing Gull 65
Ring-billed Gull 12
Herring Gull 40
Great Black-backed Gull 40
Forster's Tern 3
Royal Tern 7
Rock Pigeon 6
Mourning Dove 6
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 5
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 8
Fish Crow 2
Tree Swallow 85
Carolina Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 2
Carolina Wren 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
Eastern Bluebird 2
Hermit Thrush 3
American Robin 913
Gray Catbird 4
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 3
European Starling 12
American Pipit 55
Northern Parula 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 848
Palm Warbler 9
Blackpoll Warbler 4
Chipping Sparrow 8
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 8
Northern Cardinal 9
Indigo Bunting 1
Dickcissel 1
Red-winged Blackbird 400
Eastern Meadowlark 5
Rusty Blackbird 2
Common Grackle 8
Brown-headed Cowbird 15
Purple Finch 20
House Finch 6
American Goldfinch 35

Sea Watch Sunday, October 24, 2009

Today was not the big day, but we did have a good number of birds passing through; over 21,000.

We broke 600 Brown Pelicans today, and we had a Pied-billed Grebe, the second for the season and a tie for the all season record.

Here is a list of birds seen today.

Brant 209
American Black Duck 5
Wood Duck 5
Pintail 10
Green-winged Teal 32
Surf Scoter 3309
Black Scoter 2114
White-winged Scoter 4
dark-winged scoter sp. 3479
Long-tailed Duck 2
Red-throated Loon 108
Common Loon 38
Brown Pelican 10
Northern Gannet 4,193
Double-crested Cormorant 7436
Great Cormorant 2
Laughing Gull 143
Ring-billed Gull 38
Herring Gull 5
Great Black-backed Gull 5
Common Tern 4
Forster's Tern 139
Royal Tern 75
Parasitic Jaegar 1
American Oystercatcher 41
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Marbled Godwit 2

Hawk Watch Saturday October 24, 2009

A slow day at the Hawk Watch, with the highlight bird being a juvenile Common Tern, although the highlight event for most people was the offshore Northern Gannet show.
The south winds kept even the most generally common passerines down, even Yellow-rumpeds, and not much else was moving either. 3 Wilson's Snipe and a Red-throated Loon were the only even moderately interesting highlights. Tomorrow should be better.


Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 10/24/09
Number of species: 69

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Gadwall 12
American Wigeon 16
American Black Duck X
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal 1
Northern Shoveler 12
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 27
Ring-necked Duck 4
Greater Scaup 1
Surf Scoter X
Black Scoter X
Ruddy Duck 12
Red-throated Loon 1
Common Loon 1
Pied-billed Grebe 5
Northern Gannet 250
Double-crested Cormorant 65
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 1
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 7
Osprey 1
Northern Harrier 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 33
Cooper's Hawk 4
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Merlin 3
Peregrine Falcon 3
American Coot 15
Black-bellied Plover 1
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Wilson's Snipe 3
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Common Tern 1
Forster's Tern 20
Royal Tern 25
Black Skimmer 200
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove 8
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Northern Flicker X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 550
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren X
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
American Robin X
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
Yellow-rumped Warbler 40
Palm Warbler X
Common Yellowthroat X
Song Sparrow X
Swamp Sparrow X
White-throated Sparrow X
White-crowned Sparrow X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
House Finch X
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch Saturday, October 24, 2009

So today was not the big day.

We did have a few good sightings today. We had a Harlequin Duck, a Commone Eider, a Bonaparte's Gull, and two Common Terns.

We also had a Red-throated Loon and a Common Loon diving near the sea wall giving us a good view.

Here is a lost of bird seen today.

Brant 4
American Black Duck 4
Green-winged Teal 8
Common Eider 1
Surf Scoter 2448
Black Scoter 418
White-winged Scoter 5
dark-winged scoter sp. 265
Red-throated Loon 32
Common Loon 5
Brown Pelican 2
Northern Gannet 2152
Double-crested Cormorant 18
Great Cormorant 1
Laughing Gull 190
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull 18
Great Black-backed Gull 13
Forster's Tern 14
Royal Tern 119
Parasitic Jaegar 3
American Oystercatcher 25

Hawk Watch Friday October 23, 2009

The hawk flight became heavy right around 10:30 AM, and kept up for almost 2 hours before the strong East winds shut it down almost completely. Not much in the way f a buteo flight materialized but a close low Red-shouldered pleased the few people that were on the platform just before 3 PM. Currently there is a decent variety of Sparrows and Ducks viewable from the platform, which always a nice bonus. Saturday we should be inside the pavilion due to the projected rain (almost 100%).

Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 10/23/09
Notes: Light NE wind, becoming strong from the East by 12:00 PM.
Number of species: 70

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Gadwall 6
American Wigeon 12
Mallard 10
Blue-winged Teal 2
Northern Shoveler 8
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 27
Ring-necked Duck 4
Greater Scaup 1
Surf Scoter X
Black Scoter X
dark-winged scoter sp. 5000
Ruddy Duck 6
Common Loon 2
Pied-billed Grebe 5
Northern Gannet 500
Double-crested Cormorant 250
Great Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 4
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 34
Osprey 6
Northern Harrier 9
Sharp-shinned Hawk 237
Cooper's Hawk 69
Red-shouldered Hawk 4
Broad-winged Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 8
American Kestrel 10
Merlin 5
Peregrine Falcon 7
Common Moorhen 1
American Coot 15
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 15
Royal Tern 45
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 600
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren X
American Robin 50
Gray Catbird X
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
American Pipit 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) X
Palm Warbler X
Common Yellowthroat X
Savannah Sparrow X
Song Sparrow X
Swamp Sparrow 4
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Eastern Meadowlark 16
Common Grackle X
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

Morning Flight Friday October 23, 2009

A slowish flight for this time of year, with American Robins being the dominant bird. A close Rusty Blackbird was the passerine highlight, and a Northbound flyby Common Eider on the bay was a neat bird for the dike. Also continuing up there are good numbers and a nice variety of shorebirds, which today included 26 White-rumped Sandpipers and a Stilt Sandpiper.


Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/23/09
Notes: Light NE winds.
Number of species: 54

Brant (Atlantic) 2
Northern Shoveler 2
Common Eider 1
Surf Scoter 1
Black Scoter 350
Northern Gannet 8
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Great Blue Heron 24
Turkey Vulture 2
Bald Eagle 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3
American Kestrel 1
Semipalmated Plover 14
Killdeer 5
Lesser Yellowlegs 17
Semipalmated Sandpiper 12
Least Sandpiper 34
White-rumped Sandpiper 26
Stilt Sandpiper 1
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern X
Royal Tern 10
Black Skimmer 2
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 5
Blue Jay X
American Crow 98
Tree Swallow 8
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren X
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
American Robin 1555
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing 2
Northern Parula 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 707
Palm Warbler 13
Blackpoll Warbler 6
Common Yellowthroat 2
Field Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 5
Eastern Meadowlark 15
Rusty Blackbird 1
Purple Finch 1
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch, Friday, October 23, 2009

Today the morning started off with a beautiful sunrise over the calm waters and Gannets already moving and diving. As the day progressed the wind picked up and the sea started to turn.

The Surf Scoter were out in number today with 15,000 plus rallying to move south; a much greater number than the Black Scoter (~1500). The Gannets also had another big day with ~4600.

We also had a good waterbird diversity with King Eider, Red-breasted Mergansers, American Wigeon, Wood Duck, American Black Duck, Mallards, Northern Shoveler, Pintail, Great Scaup, Green-winged Teal, Brant, Pelicans, and both Loon species.

Below is a list of birds seen today:

Brant 3
American Black Duck 10
Wood Duck 4
Mallard 3
Northern Shoveler 1
Pintail 12
Green-winged Teal 212
King Eider 1
Surf Scoter 15,233
Black Scoter 1558
White-winged Scoter 7
dark-winged scoter sp. 265
Red-throated Loon 107
Common Loon 17
Brown Pelican 3
Northern Gannet 4,812
Double-crested Cormorant 2531
Great Cormorant 2
Laughing Gull 136
Ring-billed Gull 27
Herring Gull 59
Great Black-backed Gull 94
Forster's Tern 47
Royal Tern 44
Parasitic Jaegar 3

Now wether tomorrow will be the "Big Day," who can say?

Morning Flight Thursday October 22

Well, it finally happened! I had been hoping for a big Yellow-rumped flight and today was the day. Fortunately I had help, a huge thanks to Derek Lovitch and Michael O'Brien for helping me count. Our combined efforts netted 23,717 Yellow-rumped Warblers! It was a pretty incredible show. We also had a significant uptic in the number of White-rumped Sandpipers, the count today was 42, which may be a Cape Island high count. Other than Yellow-rumpeds, the passerine flight was pretty uninspired with very low diversity. The were quite a few Northern Gannets leaving the Bay and Michael spotted a Parasitic Jaeger chasing a Laughing Gull.

Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/22/09
Number of species: 83

Mallard 6
Surf Scoter 1
Black Scoter 300
Common Loon 3
Northern Gannet 42
Double-crested Cormorant 12
Great Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 15
Osprey 3
Bald Eagle 3
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 70
Cooper's Hawk 9
Broad-winged Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 5
Merlin 6
Semipalmated Plover 12
Lesser Yellowlegs 6
Semipalmated Sandpiper 8
Least Sandpiper 18
White-rumped Sandpiper 42 Perhaps a high count for Cape Is.
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 8
Laughing Gull 120
Ring-billed Gull 17
Herring Gull 40
Great Black-backed Gull 60
Forster's Tern 3
Royal Tern 3
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Rock Pigeon 65
Mourning Dove 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 9
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 30
American Crow 15
Fish Crow 60
Tree Swallow 500
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 4
House Wren 1
Winter Wren 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Eastern Bluebird 2
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 2595
Gray Catbird 6
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 3
European Starling 60
American Pipit 9
Cedar Waxwing 12
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 23717 Huge! Derek and Michael helped count. Southbound into light SW wind.
Palm Warbler 70
Blackpoll Warbler 16
Common Yellowthroat 4
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 92
Savannah Sparrow 17
Song Sparrow 6
Swamp Sparrow 12
White-throated Sparrow 8
Dark-eyed Junco 15
Northern Cardinal 8
Bobolink 1
Red-winged Blackbird 125
Eastern Meadowlark 12
Common Grackle 6
Purple Finch 4
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 24
House Sparrow 3

Seawatch, Thursday, October 22, 2009

Today was another sunny day and the birds were flying in some numbers. Gannets made up more than 80% of today's flight; scoters and cormorants were not flying in any great numbers.

The highlights of the day include our first Bonaparte's Gulls, our first Long-tailed Duck, and yet another sighting of a Parasitic Jaegar.

Below is a list of birds seen today,


Brant 9
American Black Duck 8
Green-winged Teal 42
Great Scaup 2
Lesser Scaup 1
Surf Scoter 180
Black Scoter 41
dark-winged scoter sp. 7
Red-throated Loon 26
Common Loon 12
Brown Pelican 3
Northern Gannet 4,812
Double-crested Cormorant 165
Laughing Gull 276
Ring-billed Gull 63
Herring Gull 134
Great Black-backed Gull 94
Caspian Tern 1
Common Tern 3
Forster's Tern 36
Royal Tern 88
Parasitic Jaegar 1
Black Skimmer 3

Hawk Watch Thursday October 22, 2009

Considering the predicted SW winds we had a better than expected day for the hawk count, tallying 528 migrating raptors. Lots of common passerines again, with the highest numbers being Yellow-rumpeds and Robins, as well as a smattering of American Pipits and Eastern Meadowlarks. Notable was the almost complete lack of buteos, despite the summerlike weather. There was also a nice movement of lines of Northern Gannets off the point.

Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 10/22/09
Number of species: 77

Brant (Atlantic) 8
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck X
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal 3
Northern Shoveler X
Northern Pintail 3
Green-winged Teal 27
Ring-necked Duck 4
Greater Scaup 1
Ruddy Duck 4
Common Loon 4
Pied-billed Grebe 6
Northern Gannet 150
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 2
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 5
Osprey 6
Bald Eagle 2
Northern Harrier 15
Sharp-shinned Hawk 335
Cooper's Hawk 95
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Broad-winged Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 25
Merlin 23
Peregrine Falcon 21
Common Moorhen 1
American Coot 15
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Pectoral Sandpiper 24
Wilson's Snipe 3
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 50
Royal Tern 150
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Chimney Swift 3
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 50
Blue Jay 200
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 2500
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
American Robin 1000
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling X
American Pipit 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2500
Chipping Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 5
Swamp Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird X
Eastern Meadowlark 6
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

Morning Flight Wednesday October 21 2009

A fairly average day. The White-rumped show continues with 23 seen today. Also we had three individual Vermivora warblers of three species.

Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/21/09
Number of species: 84

Canada Goose 23
Mallard 6
Black Scoter 180
Brown Pelican 1
Double-crested Cormorant 55
Great Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 14
Osprey 2
Bald Eagle 2
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 35
Cooper's Hawk 8
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 3
Merlin 2
Black-bellied Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 12
Killdeer 3
Lesser Yellowlegs 6
Sanderling 15
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5
Least Sandpiper 15
White-rumped Sandpiper 23
Laughing Gull 180
Ring-billed Gull 12
Herring Gull 45
Great Black-backed Gull 60
Forster's Tern 5
Royal Tern 8
Rock Pigeon 75
Mourning Dove 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 13
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 45
American Crow 12
Fish Crow 65
Tree Swallow 600
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 23
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 8
House Wren 1
Winter Wren 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 9
Eastern Bluebird 2
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 1032
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 4
European Starling 80
American Pipit 3
Cedar Waxwing 18
Tennessee Warbler 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1422
Palm Warbler 43
Blackpoll Warbler 52
Common Yellowthroat 3
Chipping Sparrow 8
Savannah Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 8
Dark-eyed Junco 9
Northern Cardinal 8
Dickcissel 1
Red-winged Blackbird 240
Eastern Meadowlark 18
Common Grackle 350
Brown-headed Cowbird 12
Purple Finch 5
House Finch 8
American Goldfinch 120
House Sparrow 6

Hawk Watch Wednesday October 21, 2009

The most notable event this morning was probably the constant stream of American Robins going west by the platform through the first couple of hours, but the raptors were pretty good too. Northern Harriers put forth a nice showing, and the 7 Red-shouldered Hawks were a treat for many, and especially nice due to the fact that 5 of them were adults. There was also a nice westbound Royal Tern movement just offshore, and Micahel O'Brien pointed out 3 Pine Siskins winging by.

eBird list follows:
Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 10/21/09
Notes: Light NW winds shifting to SW in the afternoon. No clouds. Anywhere.
Number of species: 79

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck X
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal 3
Northern Shoveler X
Green-winged Teal X
Ring-necked Duck 4
Greater Scaup 1
Surf Scoter X
Black Scoter X
Ruddy Duck 4
Common Loon 3
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 1
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 20
Bald Eagle 7
Northern Harrier 45
Sharp-shinned Hawk 386
Cooper's Hawk 164
Red-shouldered Hawk 7
Broad-winged Hawk 29
Red-tailed Hawk 55
American Kestrel 23
Merlin 6
Peregrine Falcon 14
Common Moorhen 1
American Coot 14
Black-bellied Plover 2
Killdeer 2
Wilson's Snipe 2
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Caspian Tern 1
Forster's Tern 100
Royal Tern 40
Parasitic Jaeger 2
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
Blue Jay 100
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 500
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 8
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren X
Golden-crowned Kinglet 20
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin 1000
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
American Pipit 15
Cedar Waxwing 12
Cape May Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 250
Palm Warbler X
Common Yellowthroat 1
Song Sparrow 3
Swamp Sparrow 8
White-throated Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal X
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
Eastern Meadowlark 8
Common Grackle X
Pine Siskin 3
American Goldfinch 100
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch Wednesday, October 21, 2009

It was a nice sunny day at Avalon. Although it seemed like a slow day the total tally had today's count at almost 11,000 birds; how did I survive those first days of less than a hundred birds?

Today was the first day in which the North Gannet count broke 1,000 birds and also today we had a disproprtionate number of Black Scoter coming through in comparison to the usually equally populous Surf Scoter.

Below is a list of today's birds.

Brant 8
American Black Duck 11
Green-winged Teal 38
Ring-necked Duck 2
Common Eider 1
Surf Scoter 501
White-winged Scoter 1
Black Scoter 4,624
dark-winged scoter sp. 438
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Red-throated Loon 47
Common Loon 8
Northern Gannet 1803
Double-crested Cormorant 3264
Great Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 2
Laughing Gull 44
Ring-billed Gull 7
Herring Gull 23
Great Black-backed Gull 31
Caspian Tern 2
Forster's Tern 24
Royal Tern 9

Morning Flight Tuesday October 20th 2009

We were expecting a tremendous flight of Yellow-rumps, but instead we had a fairly small number of Yellow-rumps but great light and good diversity. Highlights included a very late Connecticut Warbler, 22 White-rumped Sandpipers, a Vespers Sparrow, and a Orange-crowned Warbler that we failed to see during the day but Michael O'Brien found a photo of when view his shots from the morning.

After an internet debacle over the past few weeks we are way behind on blog postings. I will try to enter some of the old totals so everyone can catch up.

Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/20/09
Number of species: 101

Brant 1
Canada Goose 18
Blue-winged Teal 2
Northern Shoveler 6
Common Loon 14
Double-crested Cormorant 115
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 3
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 15
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 55
Cooper's Hawk 12
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 3
Merlin 1
Black-bellied Plover 2
Semipalmated Plover 12
Killdeer 4
Lesser Yellowlegs 9
Sanderling 30
Semipalmated Sandpiper 3
Least Sandpiper 14
White-rumped Sandpiper 22 Great count! All Juvs, a few beginning to molt mantle feathers. Some size variation between heavier chested individual and those that looked more like BASA.
Pectoral Sandpiper 6
Dunlin 8
Laughing Gull 65
Ring-billed Gull 4
Herring Gull 35
Great Black-backed Gull 60
Forster's Tern 5
Royal Tern 2
Rock Pigeon 35
Mourning Dove 8
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 5
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 29
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue-headed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 35
American Crow 80
Fish Crow 12
Tree Swallow 400
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee 4
Red-breasted Nuthatch 10
Brown Creeper 2
Carolina Wren 6
House Wren 2
Winter Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 40
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 177
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 644
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 3
European Starling 300
American Pipit 15
Cedar Waxwing 53
Orange-crowned Warbler 1 Michael found a photo of one after the dike.
Nashville Warbler 4
Northern Parula 10
Yellow Warbler 1 Late.
Cape May Warbler 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1800 Southbound
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2124 Northbound
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 52
Blackpoll Warbler 27
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Connecticut Warbler 1 Quite late for the dike
Common Yellowthroat 8
Scarlet Tanager 1
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 12
Field Sparrow 1
Vesper Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 7
Song Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 20
White-throated Sparrow 25
White-crowned Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco 23
Northern Cardinal 8
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 1
Dickcissel 2
Red-winged Blackbird 550
Eastern Meadowlark 11
Rusty Blackbird 2
Common Grackle 6
Brown-headed Cowbird 12
Baltimore Oriole 1
Purple Finch 7
House Finch 8
American Goldfinch 45

Sea Watch Tuesday October 20, 2009

photos copyright Doug Gochfeld This Bald Eagle grabbed a bit more than it could handle and had to drop this fish shortly afterwards...probably in favor of finding an Osprey to pillage

Yet another Brown Pelican in what has been a record setting season for them at the Avalon Seawatch

Another interesting day at Avalon (when is a day up there ever uninteresting?), from another good moving day for Gannets to a nice early off-the-water flight of passerines (mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers, but also a few American Pipits, Kinglets, and Palm Warblers). We also had some rare-for-the-seawatch waterbirds, including 3 Little Blue Herons, 8 Tricolored Herons, and a Blue-winged Teal. Later in the day a female Common Eider cooperatively sat on the water just off the seawall impressing the few visitors that were present.

eBird list follows with migrant waterbirds in bold:

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/20/09
Number of species: 67

Brant 16
Canada Goose 9
Wood Duck 30
American Wigeon 8
American Black Duck 6
Northern Pintail 11
Green-winged Teal 42
Common Eider 4
Surf Scoter 1200
White-winged Scoter 1
Black Scoter 815
dark-winged scoter sp. 47
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Red-throated Loon 13
Common Loon 47
Northern Gannet 796
Brown Pelican 12
Double-crested Cormorant 2319
Great Cormorant 4
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 68
Snowy Egret 9
Little Blue Heron 3
Tricolored Heron 8
Turkey Vulture 10
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 4
Northern Harrier 1
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover 8
Semipalmated Plover 5
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Sanderling 65
Least Sandpiper 1
White-rumped Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 12
Laughing Gull 31
Ring-billed Gull 12
Herring Gull 20
Great Black-backed Gull 34
Caspian Tern 2
Common Tern 1
Forster's Tern 83
Royal Tern 36
Rock Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Tree Swallow 750
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling X
American Pipit 4
Cedar Waxwing 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 95
Palm Warbler 5
Savannah Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Northern Cardinal 4
Indigo Bunting 1
Boat-tailed Grackle 6
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch Monday October 19, 2009

Well, we beat the Brown Pelican annual record today...but that's only because every Brown Pelican from here on out is a new record; we actually set the new high last week. The seawatch total for today was 13,397, highlighted by good numbers of Northern Gannets moving all day and a nice late-day Egret flight. Tricolored Heron was the first for the watch this season, and we also had the high-day for Gannets so far this season.

eBird list follows with count birds in bold.
Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/19/09
Number of species: 56

Brant 116
Canada Goose 2
American Wigeon 1
American Black Duck 22
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 10
Common Eider 3
Surf Scoter 988
White-winged Scoter 3
Black Scoter 623
dark-winged scoter sp. 239
Red-breasted Merganser 1
Red-throated Loon 11
Common Loon 18
Northern Gannet 776
Brown Pelican 48
Double-crested Cormorant 10168
Great Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 12
Great Egret 195
Snowy Egret 17
Tricolored Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 14
Osprey 2
Bald Eagle 7
Northern Harrier 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 3
Black-bellied Plover 12
Semipalmated Plover 1
American Oystercatcher 60
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Sanderling 350
Dunlin 40
Laughing Gull 9
Ring-billed Gull 37
Herring Gull 13
Great Black-backed Gull 21
Forster's Tern 24
Caspian Tern 2
Royal Tern 33
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Blue Jay 1
Tree Swallow 200
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling X
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 8
Boat-tailed Grackle 3
American Goldfinch 4
House Sparrow X

Seawatch Sunday, October 18, 2009

With a 90% chance of rain I was expecting yet another character building day of wind, sea spray, cold, and rain. We had the latter three, but there was hardly any rain today!

Despite getting a break in the weather the scoter decided they would not move in large numbers today; and it seemed the other birds were of the same mind.

Here is a list of birds seen today.

Snow Goose 1
Brant 16
American Black Duck 25
Green-Wing Teal 3
Great Scaup 2
Surf Scoter 322
Black Scoter 1304
Dark-winged Scoter 178
Red-throated Loon 18
Common Loon 5
North Gannet 35
Double-crested Cormorant 5,611
Great Blue Heron 38
Great Egret 3
Laughing Gull 12
Herring Gull 32
Ring-billed Gull 4
Royal Tern 4

Seawatch Saturday, October 17, 2009

Well it has been a while since I have been last able to post.

Francis, our beloved Laughing Gull companion, has not been seen of late, and it is thought that he joined his compatriots in this season's great migration.

The last few days have been a little wet and windy up at Sea Watch and we have had two big scoter days; Thursday we had over 17,000 scoter move through, and today we had over 22,000 scoter move through.

The diversity of species seen the last few days has been nill. Here is a species list of birds seen today.


Brant 6
Wood Duck 1
Black Duck 3
Green-Wing Teal 77
Great Scaup 3
Lesse Scaup 1
Common Eider 1
Surf Scoter 6,559
Black Scoter 8,900
Dark-winged Scoter 7,332
Red-throated Loon 12
Common Loon 6
Double-crested Cormorant 3,552
Laughing Gull 49
Herring Gull 32
Ring-billed Gull 13
Forsters Tern 12
Royal Tern 15


We also had a big flight of Cormorants, but obviously we did not see it here at Avalon because the little buggers were migrating inland today for the most part. Its been estimated that there were about 35,000 DCCO that flew over Cape May.

And on a final note we have counted 144,876 birds since starting the Sea Watch a little less then a month ago.

Hawk Watch Saturday October 17, 2009

This morning the Cape May Hawkwatch was more like the Cormorant Watch. Double-crested Cormorants were pouring by in tremendous numbers, and when all was said and done we estimated at least 35,500 individuals. There was also an appreciable movement of Scoters offshore and the first noticeable push of Loons.
A few Harriers and Falcons were moving throughout the truncated count day, and there was a spurt of Accipiters right before the rain came, but other than that raptors were thin. Non-raptor highlights were an American Bittern, 2 Tricolored Herons, 3 Wilson's Snipe, as well as a single female-type Common Eider sitting cooperatively in the water just off Cape May Point State Park.

eBird list follows:
Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 10/17/09
Notes: Strong NE Winds, with rain starting at 11:30 AM..
Number of species: 83

Brant (Atlantic) 30
Canada Goose 75
Mute Swan 5
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 4
American Wigeon 8
American Black Duck 25
Mallard 12
Blue-winged Teal 2
Northern Shoveler 8
Northern Pintail 3
Green-winged Teal 18
Ring-necked Duck 4
Common Eider 1
Surf Scoter X
Black Scoter X
Ruddy Duck 6
Red-throated Loon 28
Common Loon 35
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Northern Gannet 8
Double-crested Cormorant 35500
Great Cormorant 4
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 35
Great Egret 8
Snowy Egret 1
Tricolored Heron 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 2
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 12
Osprey 17
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 9
Sharp-shinned Hawk 25
Cooper's Hawk 12
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 6
Merlin 8
Peregrine Falcon 11
American Coot 12
Black-bellied Plover 8
Semipalmated Plover 15
Killdeer 4
American Oystercatcher 2
Greater Yellowlegs 8
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Sanderling 350
Dunlin 20
Stilt Sandpiper 1
Wilson's Snipe 3
Laughing Gull 40
Ring-billed Gull 10
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull 300
Forster's Tern 25
Royal Tern 15
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 2
Blue Jay 5
Tree Swallow 400
Carolina Wren 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling X
American Pipit 3
Cedar Waxwing 50
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 75
Palm Warbler 8
Common Yellowthroat 2
Savannah Sparrow 6
Song Sparrow 3
Swamp Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 5
Northern Cardinal X
Bobolink 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
American Goldfinch 12
House Sparrow X

Hawk Watch Friday October 16, 2009

Finally we have internet back up at the seasonal staff house, after about 10 days down. The hawk watch was pretty interesting today, although it wasn't really related to the raptor movement. Earlier in the day a Hudsonian Godwit (found by Pete Dunne) treated those who were quick to a close view as it flew over the South Pavilion. Other birds present at times through the day were 5-6 Parasitic Jaegers, 2 Northern Gannets, an American Bittern, Cape May Warbler, American Pipits, and 4 Glossy Ibis
(I'm sure I'm missing something). We also watched two Laughing Gulls grab an unfortunate Warbler-sized passerine in the afternon after what was almost certainly an arduous and nearly succesful journey by the victim. Also great were 4 extremely cooperative White-crowned Sparrows found by Michael O'Brien at the south edge of the parking lot, which had multipled to 6 (2 adults, 4 juveniles) by 4:00 PM.

Hawkcount data will be posted a bit later.
Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 10/16/09
Notes: Light Rain, NE winds
Number of species: 70

Brant (Atlantic) 35
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Gadwall 4
American Wigeon 10
Mallard 12
Blue-winged Teal 2
Northern Shoveler 4
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 15
Ring-necked Duck 3
Surf Scoter 40
Black Scoter 500
Red-throated Loon 3
Pied-billed Grebe 6
Northern Gannet 2
Double-crested Cormorant 100
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 8
Osprey 7
Northern Harrier 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
American Kestrel 4
Merlin 9
Peregrine Falcon 3
American Coot 10
Killdeer 8
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Sanderling 15
Dunlin 30
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Caspian Tern 2
Common Tern 1
Forster's Tern 40
Royal Tern 20
Black Skimmer 3
Parasitic Jaeger 5
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 400
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Cliff Swallow 6
Carolina Wren 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 30
Palm Warbler (Western) 3
Palm Warbler (Yellow) 5
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 5
Swamp Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 6
Northern Cardinal X

Morning Flight Friday October 16, 2009

Not as bad a flight as it could have been. It was almost purely Yellow-rumpeds and Blackpolls, but they were flying relatively low due to the high winds, so it wasn't a complete loss.

Canada Goose 1
Mallard 2
Northern Shoveler 8
Common Loon 3
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Blue Heron 3
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 3
Peregrine Falcon 1
Semipalmated Plover 6
Killdeer 2
Greater Yellowlegs 6
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 4
Laughing Gull 20
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull 35
Forster's Tern X
Royal Tern X
Rock Pigeon X
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 20
crow sp. X
Cliff Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 2
Carolina Wren 8
American Robin 3
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing 1
Northern Parula 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 195
Palm Warbler 19
Blackpoll Warbler 57
Common Yellowthroat 1
Swamp Sparrow 3
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Bobolink 1
Red-winged Blackbird 2
House Sparrow X

Hawk Watch Tuesday October 13, 2009

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                6             64             96
Turkey Vulture              36            324            404
Osprey                      50            626           2462
Bald Eagle                  17            148            353
Northern Harrier             9            185            358
Sharp-shinned Hawk         357           4132           8502
Cooper's Hawk              204           2594           4167
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          2              4             10
Broad-winged Hawk            5            409            604
Red-tailed Hawk             14            124            317
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            94            956           3435
Merlin                      77            525           1532
Peregrine Falcon            75            719           1042
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

Total:                     946          10810          23284

Observation start time: 06:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 11 hours

Official Counter: Pete Dunne

Hawk Watch Monday, October 12 2009

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             58             90
Turkey Vulture               0            288            368
Osprey                      31            576           2412
Bald Eagle                   2            131            336
Northern Harrier             7            176            349
Sharp-shinned Hawk         188           3775           8145
Cooper's Hawk               76           2390           3963
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              2              8
Broad-winged Hawk            4            404            599
Red-tailed Hawk              4            110            303
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel             4            862           3341
Merlin                      16            448           1455
Peregrine Falcon            10            644            967
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

Total:                     342           9864          22338

Observation start time: 05:45:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 10.25 hours
Official Counter: Pete Dunne

Hawk Watch Monday October 5, 2009

Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 05, 2009

Species - Day's Count - Month Total - Season Total

Black Vulture - 11 - 30 - 62
Turkey Vulture - 25- 74 - 154
Osprey - 81 - 225 - 2061
Bald Eagle - 34 - 63 - 268
Northern Harrier - 27 - 61 - 234
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 810 - 1631 - 6001
Cooper's Hawk - 294 - 854 - 2427
Northern Goshawk -0 - 0 - 0
Red-shouldered Hawk - 0 - 2 - 8
Broad-winged Hawk - 53 - 97 - 292
Red-tailed Hawk - 15 - 39 - 232 -
Rough-legged Hawk - 0 - 0 - 0 -
Golden Eagle - 0 - 0 - 0 -
American Kestrel - 247 - 450 - 2929
Merlin - 62 - 163 - 1170
Peregrine Falcon - 49 - 301- 624
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 -
Total: 1708 - 3990 - 16464

Observation start time: 05:45:00 - Observation end time: 16:30:00
Total observation time: 10.75 hours
Official Counter: Pete Dunne

Monarch Monitoring Project Week 6

Week 6 was another great one with a season high of 97.23 monarchs/hour! On the 10th, residents on Alexander Avenue may have heard me squealing like a 3 year old as I spent a good part of the morning tagging up a storm as Monarchs gathered on Eupatorium and Seaside Goldenrod. That day,we went from a census count of 113 monarchs at 9 AM to 8 monarchs by 3PM that afternoon, which goes to show how quickly things can change.

It's hard to believe that the Monarch season is coming to a close in the matter of a couple of weeks. This means that we have arrived at our last week of official tagging demonstrations *tear*. If you haven't had the opportunity to see us in action at the State Park, please stop on by to catch one of our final 4 demos (this Wednesday and Friday-Sunday at 2PM). The Monarch team will also be making appearances during Autumn Weekend.

Hopefully you have already registered for all of the exciting festivities in store for this year's 63rd annual Autumn Weekend, but there will still be other events in case you missed the October 5th deadline. All information, events, and special workshops happening that week can be found at this link:

http://www.birdcapemay.org/autumn.shtml

This past Sunday, Cape May Point had a very special visitor found by the Monarch Team and it only makes sense that this exceptionally beautiful butterfly should be...

Week 6's Butterfly of the Week: The Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe)




This picture was snapped by Michael O'Brien, who took time out from the record breaking Big Sit (with a grand total of 146 species counted!) this weekend at the Hawkwatch to get this shot.

Identification Points: Average Wingspan of 1.65" Deep orange above with diagonal brown markings on the hindwing (seen from below); Antennae are black as opposed to bright pink found in Orange Sulfurs.

Habitat: Wet meadows, open fields, and road sides

Host Plants: Sennas and chamaecristas; Specifics include: Wild Senna, Wild Sensitive Plant, and Partridge Pea.

Interesting Facts: The Sleepy Orange is another tropical butterfly species (just like our Monarchs). This butterfly resides year-round in the Deep South and colonizes areas rarely further north than North Carolina each year, making this appearance in Cape May on October 11th a very rare sighting. The Sleepy Orange flies considerably closer to the ground than the Orange Sulfur with much weaker wingbeats - if you catch a glimpse of this butterfly, you will undoubtedly be looking down at it. The Sleepy Orange is also often called a "Rambling Orange."

This week, we have a special treat for everyone: Several members of the community have spent parts (or all) of some recent afternoons sitting and waiting for the emergence of a Monarch from its chrysalis. All their patience paid off and Michael O' Brien was there to capture the rare sequence. Enjoy!

Monarch Monitoring Project Week 5

Greetings All!

Week 5 has been by far our most successful week with 88.12 monarchs/hour! Although the numbers aren't quite as good as they were this time last year, it's truely exciting to see the small hundreds of Monarchs coasting the dunes while out tagging. It's hard to say what Week 6 will bring, but Team Monarch is hopeful for another repeat performance of this week.



A very special thanks to Arthur Nelson for this picture of one of our tagged Monarchs!

As for my additional segments, they may not be posted till later this week or until I can be sure that my facts are straight (so as not to misrepresent/mispost the work that people have done to contribute to my posts) - whichever comes first. My apologies for any inconvenience.


Till then, Happy Friday everyone :)

Morning Flight Wednesday October 7 2009

There was a brief shining moment where it looked like it might be a good morning followed by disaster. I stood atop the Dike just as dawn broke and the sun reached though a gap in the clouds creating the illusion of a brilliant orange crack in a solid gray shroud. For that one moment the light was so bright that I had to turn my head away only to immediately pick up a female Peregrine winging lazily across the sky right in front of me. But the clouds closed ranks, the Peregrine flew away, the rain began, and I got shut out on migrating passerines. In fact if given the choice between counting this morning over again, after the sunrise moment, or battering my head against a brick wall, I would have to spent a few seconds considering the pro's and con's of each possibility before making my decision. Tomorrow should be a bit better.

Morning Flight Tuesday October 6 2009

Tuesday brought a second day of solid movement at the dike. Clearly we are into the later part of fall but with enough remnants of the warmer months to keep the diversity high. While there were 19 species of warblers, today was the first day that Yellow-rumpeds absolutely dominated. There was an excellent raptor flight including a kettle of 32 Broad-wings that formed directly over the Dike. We also had a fantastic look at a Connecticut Warbler, perhaps the last of the season, and 9 Red-breasted Nuthatches.

Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/6/09
Number of species: 105

Canada Goose 15
Mallard 2
Blue-winged Teal 5
Northern Shoveler 5
Green-winged Teal 4
Surf Scoter 8
Black Scoter 6
Double-crested Cormorant 35
Great Blue Heron 9
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 3
Black Vulture 6
Turkey Vulture 12
Osprey 5
Bald Eagle 4
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 80
Cooper's Hawk 15
Broad-winged Hawk 32
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 2
Merlin 4
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 3
Killdeer 2
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Least Sandpiper 3
Laughing Gull 55
Ring-billed Gull 6
Herring Gull 25
Great Black-backed Gull 45
Caspian Tern 1
Forster's Tern 8
Royal Tern 4
Rock Pigeon 35
Mourning Dove 15
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 39
Eastern Phoebe 3
Red-eyed Vireo 6
Blue Jay 35
American Crow 140
Fish Crow 3
Tree Swallow 150
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 9
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2
Gray-cheeked Thrush 1
Swainson's Thrush 1
Wood Thrush 1
American Robin 400
Gray Catbird 8
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 3
European Starling 175
American Pipit 2
Cedar Waxwing 81
Tennessee Warbler 7
Nashville Warbler 4
Northern Parula 73
Yellow Warbler 3
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Magnolia Warbler 2
Cape May Warbler 3
Black-throated Blue Warbler 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 1686
Black-throated Green Warbler 23
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Pine Warbler 2
Palm Warbler 245
Bay-breasted Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 28
Black-and-white Warbler 5
American Redstart 5
Connecticut Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 8
Scarlet Tanager 9
Chipping Sparrow 4
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 1
Northern Cardinal 12
Indigo Bunting 20
Dickcissel 2
Bobolink 3
Red-winged Blackbird 35
Eastern Meadowlark 7
Common Grackle 2
Boat-tailed Grackle 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 18
Baltimore Oriole 2
Purple Finch 1
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 45
House Sparrow 8

Morning Flight Monday October 5

Finally! A huge and somewhat unexpected flight! I thought the wind would be too strong for a big movement of passerines but was quickly proven wrong. As expected for this time of year, Palms and Yellow-rumpeds were the dominate species. The overall diversity was fairly good though and 20 species of warblers were observed. The total number of individual warblers was 1750 including 921 unidentified warblers. Early on I got a call from Doug, who was counting at the Seawatch, about a goose that was flying with 4 Canada Geese that he believed was a Cackling Goose. Forty-five minutes later a Cackling Goose with 4 Canada Geese appeared! Number 210 for the Dike species list this fall!

Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/5/09
Number of species: 94

Cackling Goose 1
Canada Goose 30
Wood Duck 5
Mallard 4
Blue-winged Teal 6
Northern Shoveler 5
Green-winged Teal 4
Black Scoter 1
Double-crested Cormorant 15
Snowy Egret 3
Black Vulture 6
Turkey Vulture 15
Osprey 3
Bald Eagle 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 65
Cooper's Hawk 12
Broad-winged Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 3
Merlin 4
Peregrine Falcon 1
Semipalmated Plover 3
Killdeer 47
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Least Sandpiper 4
Laughing Gull 55
Herring Gull 15
Great Black-backed Gull 35
Caspian Tern 1
Forster's Tern 6
Royal Tern 4
Rock Pigeon 8
Mourning Dove 3
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 76
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Eastern Phoebe 3
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 15
American Crow 30
Fish Crow 12
Tree Swallow 200
Carolina Chickadee 4
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 3
House Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 8
Gray Catbird 6
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 2
European Starling 95
Cedar Waxwing 250
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Tennessee Warbler 8
Nashville Warbler 8
Northern Parula 71
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Magnolia Warbler 5
Cape May Warbler 4
Black-throated Blue Warbler 42
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 250
Black-throated Green Warbler 7
Blackburnian Warbler 2
Pine Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 363
Bay-breasted Warbler 3
Blackpoll Warbler 41
Black-and-white Warbler 8
American Redstart 11
Northern Waterthrush 2
Connecticut Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 6
Scarlet Tanager 9
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 3
Savannah Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 8
Indigo Bunting 17
Bobolink 5
Red-winged Blackbird 95
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Common Grackle 4
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 8

Hawk Watch Sunday October 4, 2009

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 04, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 15 - 19 - 51
Turkey Vulture 12 - 49 - 129
Osprey 45 - 144 - 1980
Bald Eagle 8 - 29 - 234
Northern Harrier 4 - 34 - 207
Sharp-shinned Hawk 200 - 821 - 5191
Cooper's Hawk 158 - 560 - 2133
Northern Goshawk 0 - 0 - 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 - 2 - 8
Broad-winged Hawk 21 - 44 - 239
Red-tailed Hawk 6 - 24 - 217
Rough-legged Hawk 0 - 0 - 0
Golden Eagle 0 - 0 - 0
American Kestrel 123 - 203 - 2682
Merlin 53 - 101 - 1108
Peregrine Falcon 118 - 252 - 575
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

Total: 763 2282 14756
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 05:45:00
Observation end time: 18:00:00
Total observation time: 12.25 hours

Official Counter: Pete Dunne

Observers:

Weather:
Fog early, clearing by Noon.

Sea Watch Monday October 5, 2009

Today was the best day of the season so far at the Avalon Seawatch, both in terms of sheer numbers and diversity. 19 species of migrant waterbird were counted, including 7 dabbling duck species, and over 3,000 Cormorants.
The highlight bird of the day was a single Cackling Goose that flew over in the company of 4 Canada Geese. This was especially notable because that same (presumably) group was seen roughly 45 minutes later flying over the dike at Higbee's Beach, which is interesting in that it crossed over from the ocean side to the bay side of the peninsula at some point in between. The end of the day was highlighted by a good Heron & Egret flight that included almost 250 individuals over the last 1.5 hours. It was also the first day Laughing Gulls were noticeably moving in any kind of numbers.
Non-data sheet highlights were 2 Eastern Meadowlarks coming in off the ocean separately, 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, 7 Peregrine Falcons, 1 White-rumped Sandpiper and 5 Dunlin.
3,964 individuals were counted.

eBird list below, with migrant waterbirds in bold.
Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/5/09
Number of species: 55

Brant 2
Cackling Goose 1
Canada Goose 18
Wood Duck 36
American Wigeon 6
American Black Duck 10
Northern Pintail 34
Green-winged Teal 84
Dabbling duck sp. 39
Surf Scoter 9
Black Scoter 19
dark-winged scoter sp. 8
Red-throated Loon 1
Common Loon 9
Northern Gannet 79
Brown Pelican 3
Double-crested Cormorant 3193
Great Blue Heron 64
Great Egret 55
Snowy Egret 132
Little Blue Heron 12 (Townsends Inlet heron roost)
Tricolored Heron 3 (Townsends Inlet heron roost)
Turkey Vulture 15
Osprey 10
Bald Eagle 3
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 7
Semipalmated Plover 1
American Oystercatcher 11
Sanderling 250
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 2
White-rumped Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 5
Laughing Gull 162
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull 55
Caspian Tern 10
Forster's Tern 225
Royal Tern 8
Rock Pigeon X
Chimney Swift 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 6
Eastern Phoebe 1
Tree Swallow 450
Barn Swallow 2
Carolina Wren 1
European Starling X
Palm Warbler 5
Northern Cardinal 1
Indigo Bunting 1
Eastern Meadowlark 2
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 10

Sea Watch Sunday, October 4, 2009

We had a turn around after two slow days; today we broke the 1,000 bird mark. To top it off we had a Pied-billed Grebe and Western Willet.

Below is a list of birds seen.

Location: Avalon Sea Watch
Observation date: 10/4/09
Number of species: 14
American Black Duck 6
Surf Scoter 33
Black Scoter 6
dark-winged scoter sp. 3
Red-throated Loon 2
Common Loon 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Northern Gannet 54
Brown Pelican 3
Double-crested Cormorant 924
Great Egret 1
Willet (Western) 1
Laughing Gull 24
Black Skimmer 32
Parasitic Jaeger 4

Monarch Monitoring Project Week 4

With unfavorable weather conditions came unfavorable numbers for our migrating Monarchs as Week 4 finished with an average of 23.28 Monarchs/hour. Despite the lower numbers there has been no shortage of butterflies to tag, so Team Monarch continues on.

Week 5 has been a huge improvement and I anticipate a much better report ahead, but in the meantime we move to....

Week 4's Butterfly of the Week!

While out and about, Michael O'Brien stumbled upon a rare find in the form of the Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes):





Appearance: Wingspan 3 3/8-5 1/2 inches; Dark from above with yellow banding forming a triangle across the Forewing and Hindwing; Yellow spots on the tails of the hindwings is a distinguishing mark.

Larval Food: Ornamental Citrus, torchwood, lime, and hoptree

Habitat: Semi-open to open areas, meadows, and river courses

Interesting Facts: This species is almost always found in association with citrus plants with the larvae feeding on the foliage. The species is common in the Southern Coastal U.S. making it a very uncommon one here in Cape May. Adults engage in 2 flights year-round southward.

Butterflies aren't the only critters wandering through the Cape these days...

Michael was also kind enough to do a dragonfly count on the Point on September 24th and found 9 different species total! Here were the results as a percent of the approximately 100 dragonflies/minute he saw between 1:15 and 3 PM that afternoon(~12,000 dragonflies total!):

Carolina Saddlebags-60%
Blue Dasher-12%
Black Saddlebags-9%
Green Darner-8%
Wandering Glider-5%
Spot-winged Glider-5%
Swamp Darner-0.75%
Twelve-spotted Skimmer-0.25%
And...our ninth species was a Great Blue Skimmer, the first one seen engaged in a migratory movement!

Today was a great day to spot Monarchs engaging in some small roosting. If you're on the hunt for a few of these roost areas, some great spots to look first can be found amongst the Ivy near the corner of Cambridge and Coral Avenue and out on the Goldenrod scattered along the dunes of Sunset Beach. Happy hunting!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Morning Flight Saturday October 3 and Sunday October 4

Saturday was a bit of a train wreck. The ratio of mosquito bites received to birds counted was about 3 to 1. I counted 2 Parulas, 1 Blackpoll, 1 unidentified, and 2 Indigo Buntings. We've had better days.

Like today! Sunday was certainly an improvement over Saturday, though the flight was not huge. We had the second and third Red-breasted Nuthatches of the season. In case you are wondering, that does not bode well for the nuthatch numbers for the winter and reports from farther north are similar. Otherwise we had a good diversity of warblers and overall quite a pleasant morning until an impenetrable bank of fog rolling in at the end of the third hour.

Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/4/09
Number of species: 81

Blue-winged Teal 6
Northern Shoveler 5
Green-winged Teal 4
Double-crested Cormorant 12
Snowy Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 3
Osprey 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 8
Cooper's Hawk 4
American Kestrel 2
Merlin 3
Peregrine Falcon 2
Black-bellied Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 3
Killdeer 5
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 9
Laughing Gull 45
Ring-billed Gull 3
Herring Gull 6
Great Black-backed Gull 35
Caspian Tern 2
Forster's Tern 7
Royal Tern 3
Black Skimmer 4
Rock Pigeon 8
Mourning Dove 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 8
Eastern Phoebe 3
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 4
Blue Jay 28
American Crow 15
Fish Crow 1
Tree Swallow 15
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 6
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 3
European Starling 16
Cedar Waxwing 4
Northern Parula 17
Magnolia Warbler 1
Cape May Warbler 6
Black-throated Blue Warbler 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 62
Black-throated Green Warbler 11
Blackburnian Warbler 2
Pine Warbler 2
Palm Warbler 46
Bay-breasted Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 24
Black-and-white Warbler 1
American Redstart 8
Ovenbird 1
Connecticut Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 1
Chipping Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 8
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 8
Dickcissel 1
Bobolink 4
Red-winged Blackbird 18
Common Grackle 5
Brown-headed Cowbird 4
American Goldfinch 6

Sea Watch Saturday, October 3, 2009

Up at Sea Watch we were thankful for the rain already having move through the area, but on the down side hardly anything was moving, not even the cormorants.

However it seems today was the first day of Northern Gannets beginning to really move in large numbers.

Below is a lost of birds seen today.

Location: Avalon Sea Watch
Observation date: 10/3/09
Number of species: 9
Brant 4
Green-winged Teal 1
Surf Scoter 17
Black Scoter 11
Common Loon 3
Northern Gannet 39
Double-crested Cormorant 95
Laughing Gull 18
Parasitic Jaeger 2

Sea Watch Friday, October 2, 2009

Today was a windy day up at Avalon, and like much of the other counters working here, I did not have a whole lot of birds migrating through.

However, we did have two sightings of Parasitic Jaegars and a sighting of a pair of Greater Scaup, the first of the season. Below is the list of birds seen.

Location: Avalon Sea Watch
Observation date: 10/2/09
Number of species: 15
Blue-winged Teal 31
Northern Pintail 18
Green-winged Teal 1
Duck Sp. 12
Greater Scaup 2
Surf Scoter 11
Black Scoter 9
Red-throated Loon 4
Common Loon 3
Northern Gannet 10
Double-crested Cormorant 542
Great Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 13
Laughing Gull 7
Common Tern 1
Black Skimmer 4