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

Hawkwatch 11/14-16/09

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 14, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             77            219
Turkey Vulture               0            612           1260
Osprey                       3             23           2585
Bald Eagle                   0             28            439
Northern Harrier             4            190            808
Sharp-shinned Hawk          25           1272          13318
Cooper's Hawk                1            206           5436
Northern Goshawk             0              3              6
Red-shouldered Hawk          0            284            362
Broad-winged Hawk            0             16            709
Red-tailed Hawk              2            721           1352
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             1            101           3991
Merlin                       1             21           1892
Peregrine Falcon             1             10           1183
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:                      38           3569          33567
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end   time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9 hours

Official Counter:        Pete Dunne



Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 15, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                6             83            225
Turkey Vulture              13            625           1273
Osprey                       0             23           2585
Bald Eagle                   1             29            440
Northern Harrier             4            194            812
Sharp-shinned Hawk          43           1315          13361
Cooper's Hawk                6            212           5442
Northern Goshawk             0              3              6
Red-shouldered Hawk          6            290            368
Broad-winged Hawk            0             16            709
Red-tailed Hawk             11            732           1363
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             1            102           3992
Merlin                       0             21           1892
Peregrine Falcon             1             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:                      92           3661          33659
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end   time: 15:45:00
Total observation time: 8.75 hours

Official Counter:        Pete Dunne



Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 16, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture               13             96            238
Turkey Vulture             152            777           1425
Osprey                       1             24           2586
Bald Eagle                   6             35            446
Northern Harrier            21            215            833
Sharp-shinned Hawk         157           1472          13518
Cooper's Hawk               27            239           5469
Northern Goshawk             0              3              6
Red-shouldered Hawk         64            354            432
Broad-winged Hawk            1             17            710
Red-tailed Hawk            241            973           1604
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel            13            115           4005
Merlin                       1             22           1893
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:                     697           4358          34356
----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

Sea Watch Monday November 16, 2009

White-winged Scoters, like the one above showed up in their best numbers in a week today

(photo copyright Doug Gochfeld)

It was an entertaining, if moderately slow, day at Avalon. Scoters and Red-throated Loon numbers picked back up slightly, and we had first of the season Black-legged Kittiwake (adult) and Common Goldeneye (female), as well as the second Lesser Black-backed Gull of the season (an adult). A Blue-winged Teal winging south with a handful of Scoters was also nice.
Non-waterbird highlights were 2 flyby Snow Buntings, a Barn Swallow, and at least 5 Purple Sandpipers. There were several Butterflys around, mostly Monarchs but with at least 1 Red Admiral thrown into the mix, and there was even an hour where there were triple the amount of Monarchs (3) as Black Scoters (<3) seen.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 11/16/09
Number of species: 45

Brant 12
Wood Duck 5
Mallard 4
Blue-winged Teal 1
Lesser Scaup 6
Aythya sp. 21
Common Eider 10
Surf Scoter 832
White-winged Scoter 15
Black Scoter 222
dark-winged scoter sp. 105
Long-tailed Duck 3
Bufflehead 29
Common Goldeneye 1
Red-breasted Merganser 13
Red-throated Loon 524
Common Loon 42
Northern Gannet 36
Double-crested Cormorant 429
Great Cormorant 1
Great Egret 19
Turkey Vulture 5
Bald Eagle 2
Northern Harrier 1
Sanderling 45
Purple Sandpiper 5
Dunlin 10
Black-legged Kittiwake 1
Bonaparte's Gull 4
Laughing Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 87
Herring Gull 61
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 9
Forster's Tern 2
Royal Tern 1
Rock Pigeon X
Barn Swallow 1
American Robin 1
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 12
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Snow Bunting 2
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird 1
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch, Sunday November 15, 2009

Today we had just enough birds fly by to break a half-million birds. It was not a fantastic day, having only 1,996 birds, but it was better than yesterday!

I predict that until this unusually warm weather ends, the flights are going to be relatively slow at the sea watch.

Here is what was seen today.

Brant (Atlantic) 7
American Black Duck 2
Greater Scaup 2
Ring-neck Duck 13
Common Eider 2
Surf Scoter 557
White-winged Scoter 2
Black Scoter 112
Dark-Winged 21
Long-tailed Duck 5
Red-breasted Merganser 19
Red-throated Loon 168
Common Loon 48
Northern Gannet 760
Double-crested Cormorant 106
Laughing Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 107
Herring Gull 3
Forsters Tern 65
American Oystercatcher 4

Sea Watch, Saturday November 14, 2009

Today was the first we day that less than a thousand birds were counted since October 3rd. We had only 858 birds fly by today and I suspect tomorrow will prove not to be much better given the warm weather.

Here is a list of birds seen today:

Brant 45
Ring-necked Duck 1
Wood Duck 1
Common Eider 2
Surf Scoter 336
White-winged 6
Black Scoter
Dark-winged 70
Long-tailed Duck 5
Bufflehead 3
Red-breasted Merganser 24
Red-throated Loon 21
Common Loon 36
Northern Gannet 3
Double-crested Cormorants
Laughing Gull 14
Ring-billed Gull 38
Herring Gull 24
Great-black Backed Gull 37
Royal Tern 1
American Oystercatcher 23

Sea Watch, Saturday November 14, 2009

Hawkwatch 11/13/09

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 13, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             77            219
Turkey Vulture               0            612           1260
Osprey                       0             20           2582
Bald Eagle                   0             28            439
Northern Harrier             0            186            804
Sharp-shinned Hawk           0           1247          13293
Cooper's Hawk                0            205           5435
Northern Goshawk             0              3              6
Red-shouldered Hawk          0            284            362
Broad-winged Hawk            0             16            709
Red-tailed Hawk              0            719           1350
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             1            100           3990
Merlin                       0             20           1891
Peregrine Falcon             0              9           1182
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:                       1           3531          33529
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:45:00
Observation end   time: 09:15:00
Total observation time: 2.5 hours

Official Counter:        Doug Gochfeld

Observers:

Weather:
35 MPH NE Winds, Light rain

Hawk Watch Friday November 13, 2009

Wind and Rain were of course the stories of the mornng, although we didn't go completely raptorless, as an American Kestrel came whipping through the dunes at ne point. After the abbreviated watch I was able to find one of the Eurasian Wigeons (the imature male) hunkered down on Lighthouse Pond as well. 2 relatively distant flyby Glossy Ibis (presumably Glossy, as I would guess they are the same two positively ID'd as such last week) were also an interesting sight for the date.

On non-Hawkwatch news, the area of the jetty at St. Peter's on Cape May point held a raft of 80 Common Eider, 52 Scoter (3 White-winged, 8 Surf), 1 Lesser Scaup, a White-rumped and 4 Purple Sandpipers, and 2 Snow Buntings flew by as well. The Swainson's Hawk continues at the Benaery along with multiple Fox Sparrows, lingering Common Yellowthroats, 4-5 Wilson's Snipe, and ~40 American Pipits.

Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 11/13/09
Number of species: 63

Canada Goose 8
Gadwall 75
American Wigeon 276
Eurasian Wigeon 1
American Black Duck 7
Mallard 10
Northern Shoveler 30
Ring-necked Duck 20
Greater Scaup 1
Lesser Scaup 1
Common Eider 8
Surf Scoter 6
Black Scoter 5
Long-tailed Duck 1
Hooded Merganser 3
Red-breasted Merganser 4
Red-throated Loon 7
Common Loon 1
Pied-billed Grebe 5
Northern Gannet 3
Double-crested Cormorant 15
Great Egret 1
Glossy Ibis 2
Black Vulture 5
Turkey Vulture 3
American Kestrel 1
American Coot 4
Black-bellied Plover 1
American Oystercatcher 1
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Sanderling 20
White-rumped Sandpiper 1
Dunlin 1
Bonaparte's Gull 10
Laughing Gull 5
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 10
Royal Tern 3
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Blue Jay 2
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 2
Carolina Wren 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Eastern Bluebird 10
American Robin X
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
American Pipit 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 20
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 5
Swamp Sparrow X
White-throated Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Northern Cardinal X
Dickcissel 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch, Friday November 13, 2009

Due to flooding, Seven Mile Island, on which Sea Watch is conducted, was closed off. No observations will be made today.

Sea Watch, Thursday November 12, 2009

Today was painfully slow, so much so that, factoring in the weather, only five hours of counting occurred today.

Here is what was seen:

Green-winged Teal 2
Common Eider 5
Surf Scoter 7
White-winged 2
Dark-winged 1005 (only thirty in the last hour of observation)
Red-breasted Merganser 4
Red-throated Loon 1
Common Loon 1
Northern Gannet 1
Laughing Gull 107
Ring-billed Gull 246
Herring Gull 25
Great-black Backed Gull 32
Lesser-black Backed Gull 1

Sea Watch, Wednesday November 11, 2009

Today seems to be the start of a encore performance of four days of wind and rain that was brought to us by a double Nor'easter weather event; however, this time Ida will be sponsoring this week's venue.

There was not a whole lot seen. Only 6,905 birds, a very very slow day when compared to other days. I had perhaps been expecting more Scoter movement, but only one hour's count broke 1,000 Scoters.

Today continued the trend of setting an ever higher record for Common Eider. Today we had 43 COEI bringing the year to date total to 321.

Here are the totals for today:


Brant (Atlantic) 9
Greater Scaup 11
Common Eider 11
Surf Scoter 318
White-winged Scoter 6
Black Scoter 241
Dark-Winged 5506
Long-tailed Duck 2
Bufflehead 1
Red-breasted Merganser 72
Red-throated Loon 169
Common Loon 12
Northern Gannet 144
Double-crested Cormorant 66
Laughing Gull 94
Ring-billed Gull 141
Herring Gull 25
Great Black-backed Gull 18
Common Tern 1

Hawkwatch 11/11/09

> Cape May 
> 
> 
> Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA 
> 
> 
> Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 11, 2009 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total 
> 
> 
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- 
> 
> 
> Black Vulture                0             77            219 
> 
> 
> Turkey Vulture               0            612           1260 
> 
> 
> Osprey                       0             20           2582 
> 
> 
> Bald Eagle                   0             28            439 
> 
> 
> Northern Harrier             1            186            804 
> 
> 
> Sharp-shinned Hawk           1           1247          13293 
> 
> 
> Cooper's Hawk                0            205           5435 
> 
> 
> Northern Goshawk             0              3              6 
> 
> 
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0            284            362 
> 
> 
> Broad-winged Hawk            0             16            709 
> 
> 
> Red-tailed Hawk              0            719           1350 
> 
> 
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0 
> 
> 
> Golden Eagle                 0              4              4 
> 
> 
> American Kestrel             0             99           3989 
> 
> 
> Merlin                       0             20           1891 
> 
> 
> Peregrine Falcon             0              9           1182 
> 
> 
> 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:                       2           3530          33528 
> 
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Observation start time: 06:30:00 
> 
> 
> Observation end   time: 09:15:00 
> 
> 
> Total observation time: 2.75 hours 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Official Counter:        Doug Gochfeld 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Observers: 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Weather: 
> 
> 
> 25 MPH NE Winds & Rain. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Raptor Observations: 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Non-raptor Observations: 
> 
> 
> 3 Parasitic Jaegers, 1,000+ Northern Gannets, American Pipit. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Predictions: 
> 
> 
> NE Winds (30-35 MPH) w/ Rain

Hawk Watch Wednesday November 11, 2009

There were some raptors at the Hawkwatch today. To be more specific there were 4. And only two which were actively migrating (There were also singles of Red-tailed Hawk and Turkey Vulture).
I did count 661 Northern Gannets in one scan, and a good number of them were moving E->W, so 1,000 individuals present would probably be conservative, 3 Parasitic Jaegers living up to their names were also nice. After the washout I explored the Cape May County Airport and found 351 Black-bellied Plovers, 24 Dunlin, 1 Killdeer, and a Merlin.

Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 11/11/09
Number of species: 39

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
American Wigeon X
Mallard X
Common Eider 1
Surf Scoter X
Black Scoter X
Red-throated Loon 45
Northern Gannet 1000
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Coot X
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 10
Royal Tern 3
Parasitic Jaeger 3
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 3
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow 5
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
American Pipit 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Savannah Sparrow X
Song Sparrow X
White-throated Sparrow 45
Red-winged Blackbird X
House Sparrow X

Hawkwatch 11/10/09

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 10, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             77            219
Turkey Vulture               0            612           1260
Osprey                       0             20           2582
Bald Eagle                   0             28            439
Northern Harrier             4            185            803
Sharp-shinned Hawk          20           1246          13292
Cooper's Hawk                2            205           5435
Northern Goshawk             0              3              6
Red-shouldered Hawk          1            284            362
Broad-winged Hawk            0             16            709
Red-tailed Hawk              1            719           1350
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             0             99           3989
Merlin                       0             20           1891
Peregrine Falcon             0              9           1182
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:                      28           3528          33526
----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

Observers:

Weather:
Calm and overcast

Raptor Observations:


Non-raptor Observations:
Cave Swallow

Predictions:
Strong NE Winds and Rain

Sea Watch Tuesday November 10, 2009

Gannets and Gulls were the name of the game today at the Seawatch. Red-throated Loons still put on a good show, but dabbling ducks and scoters were notably absent. If the data we have is correct then the single day Northern Gannet record got broken by about 30%. 2 Blue-winged Teals and a flock of 11 Common Eiders (8 of which were adult males) were the waterfowl highlights, and a group of 7 Snow Buntings coming off the water and continuing south were my first of the season.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 11/10/09
Number of species: 42

Snow Goose 1
Brant (Atlantic) 9
American Black Duck 2
Blue-winged Teal 2
Greater Scaup 11
Lesser Scaup 16
Common Eider 11
Surf Scoter 406
White-winged Scoter 3
Black Scoter 592
Long-tailed Duck 8
Bufflehead 5
Red-breasted Merganser 2
Red-throated Loon 1172
Common Loon 6
Horned Grebe 1
Northern Gannet 9437
Double-crested Cormorant 452
Great Cormorant 3
Northern Harrier 1
Black-bellied Plover 1
Killdeer 1
Sanderling 25
Purple Sandpiper 7
Dunlin 75
Bonaparte's Gull 93
Laughing Gull 1053
Ring-billed Gull 487
Herring Gull 139
Great Black-backed Gull 49
Forster's Tern 37
Royal Tern 11
Parasitic Jaeger 3
American Robin 3
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling X
American Pipit 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 15
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Snow Bunting 7
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch Monday November 9, 2009

Avalon was almost completely socked in with fog and haze for the first couple of hours this morning, making for "interesting" conditions for watching the water, although all the silhouette viewing was very instructive. The highlight for me as watching a Greater Snow Goose barrel by on the ocean while not doing a very good job blending into a mixed Scoter flock.

Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 11/9/09
Notes: Low Visibility, especially early (<1 mile for the first 2 hours).
Number of species: 39

Snow Goose 1
Brant 5
Wood Duck 12
Gadwall 16
American Wigeon 3
American Black Duck 32
Northern Pintail 2
Green-winged Teal 10
Greater Scaup 12
Lesser Scaup 2
Common Eider 3
Surf Scoter 1546
Black Scoter 4636
dark-winged scoter sp. 520
Long-tailed Duck 7
Bufflehead 7
Hooded Merganser 7
Red-breasted Merganser 23
Red-throated Loon 1416
Common Loon 8
Northern Gannet 2287
Double-crested Cormorant 302
Great Cormorant 2
Semipalmated Plover 3
Sanderling 8
Purple Sandpiper 4
Dunlin 2
Bonaparte's Gull 8
Laughing Gull 195
Ring-billed Gull 162
Herring Gull 48
Great Black-backed Gull 39
Royal Tern 8
Rock Pigeon X
European Starling X
Song Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Red-winged Blackbird 15
House Finch 2
House Sparrow X

Hawk Watch Totals: November 7-9, 2009

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 09, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture               14             77            219
Turkey Vulture              78            612           1260
Osprey                       0             20           2582
Bald Eagle                   0             28            439
Northern Harrier            16            181            799
Sharp-shinned Hawk          99           1226          13272
Cooper's Hawk               17            203           5433
Northern Goshawk             0              3              6
Red-shouldered Hawk         12            283            361
Broad-winged Hawk            0             16            709
Red-tailed Hawk             66            718           1349
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             4             99           3989
Merlin                       1             20           1891
Peregrine Falcon             0              9           1182
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:                     307           3500          33498
----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Official Counter:        Pete Dunne

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 08, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture               10             63            205
Turkey Vulture              42            534           1182
Osprey                       0             20           2582
Bald Eagle                   0             28            439
Northern Harrier            15            165            783
Sharp-shinned Hawk         119           1127          13173
Cooper's Hawk               23            186           5416
Northern Goshawk             1              3              6
Red-shouldered Hawk          8            271            349
Broad-winged Hawk            0             16            709
Red-tailed Hawk             47            652           1283
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              4              4
American Kestrel             5             95           3985
Merlin                       0             19           1890
Peregrine Falcon             0              9           1182
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              1              1              1

Total:                     271           3193          33191
----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Official Counter:        Pete Dunne

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 07, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture               13             53            195
Turkey Vulture             164            492           1140
Osprey                       2             20           2582
Bald Eagle                   4             28            439
Northern Harrier            12            150            768
Sharp-shinned Hawk          48           1008          13054
Cooper's Hawk               22            163           5393
Northern Goshawk             0              2              5
Red-shouldered Hawk         19            263            341
Broad-winged Hawk            1             16            709
Red-tailed Hawk             78            605           1236
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 1              4              4
American Kestrel             4             90           3980
Merlin                       3             19           1890
Peregrine Falcon             1              9           1182
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:                     372           2922          32920
----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Official Counter:        Pete Dunne

Sea Watch, Sunday November 8, 2009

The day started out warmer then the 30 degrees that was forecasted early this morning, so the layers quickly came off.

The first hour was a little chaotic with a strong push of both Gannets and Red-throated loon; 1294 and 827 respectively. It is no surprise that we had set a new season high for each of these species today; NOGA = 5,426 RTLO = 3,523.

Other than those two species, there was not a great movement of other species. We had a few sightings of Bonaparte's Gull, Parasitic Jaegar (one almost over the jetty!), a Brown Pelican, a Green Heron, and 2 Snow Geese that came close down the bar.

Before I post the listing for the day I want to give a shout out to the family from New York that stayed at the Sea Watch for the whole day; from near sunrise to close to sunset. You guys are awesome to make the trip to have your son experience the Sea Watch even when it was as slow as it was today.

Now here is a list of birds seen today:


Brant (Atlantic) 16
American Black Duck 14
Northern Shoveler 3
Green-winged Teal 3
Ruddy Duck 1
Greater Scaup 8
Lesser Scaup 3
Scaup sp. 10
Surf Scoter 1160
White-winged Scoter 3
Black Scoter 513
dark-winged scoter sp. 120
Long-tailed Duck 3
Buffelhead 2
Red-breasted Merganser 2
Red-throated Loon 3523
Common Loon 127
Horned Grebe 3
Northern Gannet 5426
Double-crested Cormorant 272
Green Heron 1
Laughing Gull 192
Bonaparte's Gull 20
Ring-billed Gull 144
Herring Gull 98
Great Black-backed Gull 100
Forster's Tern 43
Royal Tern 21
Parasitic Jaegar 4
American Oystercatcher 5

Sea Watch, Saturday November 7, 2009

Today was a beautiful day at the Sea Watch. The strong movement of scoters of the previous two days died down a bit today with only 10,000+ birds. Instead today we had a good movement of dabblers, especially Green Winged Teal, Black ducks, and Wood Ducks. We also had a good movement of Red-throated Loon and Northern Gannets.

Here is a list of birds seen today:

Brant (Atlantic) 82
Wood Duck 109
American Black Duck 226
Gadwall 2
Mallard 32
American Wigeon 14
Northern Pintail 47
Blue-winged Teal 5
Green-winged Teal 1050
Greater Scaup 60
Lesser Scaup 45
Ring-necked Duck 4
Scaup sp. 86
Common Eider 35
Surf Scoter 2464
White-winged Scoter 28
Black Scoter 5671
dark-winged scoter sp. 2669
Long-tailed Duck 9
Buffelhead 13
Hooded Merganser 8
Red-breasted Merganser 20
Red-throated Loon 2865
Common Loon 31
Northern Gannet 4616
Double-crested Cormorant 1072
Great Egret 10
Laughing Gull 19
Bonaparte's Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 399
Herring Gull 129
Great Black-backed Gull 46
Forster's Tern 277
Royal Tern 18

Hawkwatch 11/06/09

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 06, 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture               14             40            182
Turkey Vulture             111            328            976
Osprey                       4             18           2580
Bald Eagle                  12             24            435
Northern Harrier            41            138            756
Sharp-shinned Hawk         257            960          13006
Cooper's Hawk               14            141           5371
Northern Goshawk             1              2              5
Red-shouldered Hawk        143            244            322
Broad-winged Hawk            2             15            708
Red-tailed Hawk            302            527           1158
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 1              3              3
American Kestrel            37             86           3976
Merlin                       6             16           1887
Peregrine Falcon             0              8           1181
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:                     945           2550          32548
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:15:00
Observation end   time: 16:45:00
Total observation time: 10.5 hours

Official Counter:        Doug Gochfeld

Observers:

Weather:
15-25 MPH NW Winds, clear sky.

Raptor Observations:
Juvenile Northern Goshawk 12:17 PM
Juvenile Golden Eagle 2:30 PM

Non-raptor Observations:
Hudsonian Godwit, 3 Wilson's Snipe, American Woodcock, AMerican Bittern, 2
Cave Swallows, Bank Swallow, 3 Common Eider, 7 Semipalmated Plover.

Sea Watch, Friday November 6, 2009

The day started off chilly as I arrived early to prepare for a potential big day. Well, it was a good number day (the largest of the season so far), but it was not a "big day." Since today was not a big day I am beginning accept that there might not be a big day this season at all, and that the big day is being split into several smaller day.

The weather called for high winds out of the NW, and it came, which pushed a lot of the birds far out to sea.

It was a good number day with over 22,000 scoter moving through, and over 1,000 Red-throated Loons. We had another sighting of a Harlequin Duck and a King Eider today, and we had our first Mute Swans (everyones' favorite bird) of the season. Of further note, today we broke the Sea Watch Common Eider record in a season with coming 71 individuals counted today putting our seasonal count of COEI to 229 birds.

Here is a list of bird seen today:

Brant (Atlantic) 26
Wood Duck 36
American Black Duck 10
Northern Pintail 8
Green-winged Teal 144
Lesser Scaup 3
Scaup sp. 28
King Eider 1
Common Eider 71
Harlequin 1
Surf Scoter 4090
White-winged Scoter 28
Black Scoter 8803
dark-winged scoter sp. 11359
Long-tailed Duck 12
Buffelhead 11
Red-breasted Merganser 12
Red-throated Loon 1463
Common Loon 14
Northern Gannet 1096
Double-crested Cormorant 868
Great Egret 23
Snowy Egret 2
Laughing Gull 83
Ring-billed Gull 59
Herring Gull 27
Great Black-backed Gull 3
Forster's Tern 67
Royal Tern 7
American Oystercatcher 6
Mute Swan 4
Horned Grebe 1

Hawk Watch Friday November 6, 2009

Yet another bad photo of a good bird: this the Golden Eagle that appeared north of the platform at around 2:30 this afternoon (photo copyright Doug Gochfeld)

The strong Northwest winds made for yet another extremely interesting day at the Hawkwatch (as they've all been recently). The hawk flight was great, with well over 400 Buteos (447 to be exact), good numbers of Kestrels, Harriers, and Sharp-shinned Hawks and single juveniles of Northern Goshawk and Golden Eagle.
Not only was the raptor flight very good, but I observed 86 species of bird from the platform today, pretty good for having only 2 species of Warbler. Among the highlights were a (presumably THE) Hudsonian Godwit flying on almost the exact reverse path of the one from yesterday, 3 Wilson's Snipe, an American Bittern, 2 Cave Swallows, a Bank Swallow, and 3 Common Eiders flying by on Ocean. The Northern Gannet show this morning almost on-shore at times was simply spectacular, and the day was ended with a Cooper's Hawk screaming along after an American Woodcock over the State Park Parking Lot.

eBird list:
Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 11/6/09
Notes: Strong (15-25 MPH sustained) NW Winds. Clear sky. Huge Gannet show
early.
Number of species: 86

Brant 1 Juvenile on Bunker Pond
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 6
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck X
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X
Northern Pintail 5
Green-winged Teal 35
Ring-necked Duck 8
Common Eider 3
Surf Scoter X
Black Scoter X
dark-winged scoter sp. X
Hooded Merganser 4
Ruddy Duck 40
Red-throated Loon 1
Common Loon 12
Pied-billed Grebe 6
Northern Gannet 580
Double-crested Cormorant X
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 10
Great Egret 2
Black Vulture 14
Turkey Vulture 111
Osprey 4
Bald Eagle 12
Northern Harrier 41
Sharp-shinned Hawk 257
Cooper's Hawk 14
Northern Goshawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 143
Broad-winged Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 312
Golden Eagle 1
American Kestrel 37
Merlin 6
American Coot 35
Semipalmated Plover 7
Killdeer 4
Hudsonian Godwit 1
Wilson's Snipe 3
American Woodcock 1 Being chased across the parking lot by a Cooper's
Hawk in the late afternon
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern X
Royal Tern X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 50
Bank Swallow 1
Cave Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 8
Carolina Chickadee X
Red-breasted Nuthatch X
Carolina Wren X
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet X
Eastern Bluebird 65
American Robin 7500
Gray Catbird X
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
American Pipit 10
Cedar Waxwing X
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Palm Warbler 4
Song Sparrow 15
Swamp Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird 7000
Rusty Blackbird 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Purple Finch 1
House Finch X
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X