Morning Flight Monday August 30, 2010

It was a great day to be out in Cape May! In addition to a few unusual species (2 Summer Tanagers, Lark Sparrow, Baird's Sandpiper, and flyby Buff-breasted Sandpiper) for the Higbee Dike, there was a big flight of American Redstarts and Northern Waterthrushes with the highest counts for both species so far this fall. Interestingly, birders in the woods reported seeing lots of redstarts and waterthrushes, and Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper, and Lark Sparrow all showed up elsewhere on Cape Island today - it really seemed that the morning flight was the preview for an excellent day throughout the area. Eastern Kingbirds continue to stage in large numbers at Higbees Beach, and provide great entertainment as they hawk insects, storm around in big clouds, and bicker with each other constantly. Additionally, a whole bunch of great counters and interpretive naturalists showed up in Cape May to spend the rest of the fall. The hawkwatch officially begins on Wednesday, and the Seawatch begins in about 3 weeks. See you out there!

Eastern Kingbirds are everywhere! This seems to be an adult male (check out the unusual shape of the outer primaries). Higbees Beach (Tom Johnson).

A Lark Sparrow played hard to get at the dike today. This was not that bird, but instead was one in the dunes at the Meadows later in the morning. I think it is a young (hatching year) bird that has almost completed its molt - a few leftover streaks on the flanks suggest that, anyway. Generally, adult-plumaged Lark Sparrows are tough to precisely age in the fall.

Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 8/30/10
Notes: West winds overnight drifted lots of birds out over the Atlantic last night as shown on radar. This was the highest warbler count so far this season, with 919 individual warblers tallied. Species highlights were numerous today, with 2 Summer Tanagers, a Lark Sparrow, a Baird's Sandpiper, and a flyby Buff-breasted Sandpiper. This list only reflects birds that appeared to be engaged in morning flight behavior.
Number of species: 31

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris 14
Eastern Wood-Pewee - Contopus virens 1
Eastern Kingbird - Tyrannus tyrannus 250
Red-eyed Vireo - Vireo olivaceus 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis 10
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Polioptila caerulea 25
American Robin - Turdus migratorius 19
Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos 2
Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum 53
Tennessee Warbler - Vermivora peregrina 9
Northern Parula - Parula americana 12
Yellow Warbler - Dendroica petechia 41
Chestnut-sided Warbler - Dendroica pensylvanica 3
Magnolia Warbler - Dendroica magnolia 2
Cape May Warbler - Dendroica tigrina 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - Dendroica caerulescens 9
Black-throated Green Warbler - Dendroica virens 2
Blackburnian Warbler - Dendroica fusca 2
Pine Warbler - Dendroica pinus 1
Prairie Warbler - Dendroica discolor 4
Bay-breasted/Blackpoll Warbler - Dendroica castanea/striata 1
Black-and-white Warbler - Mniotilta varia 8
American Redstart - Setophaga ruticilla 594
Ovenbird - Seiurus aurocapilla 2
Northern Waterthrush - Seiurus noveboracensis 116
Wilson's Warbler - Wilsonia pusilla 2
warbler sp. - Parulinae sp. 110
Lark Sparrow - Chondestes grammacus 1
Summer Tanager - Piranga rubra 2
Blue Grosbeak - Passerina caerulea 1
Indigo Bunting - Passerina cyanea 1
Bobolink - Dolichonyx oryzivorus 315
Baltimore Oriole - Icterus galbula 7

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