Morning Flight Tuesday August 31, 2010

This morning featured a flight much reduced from those of the past several days at the Higbee dike. However, 52 Red-breasted Nuthatches were pretty neat to see - good August numbers continue to indicate a big autumn flight for this species. A single juvenile Baird's Sandpiper flying around with other sandpipers may have been the same individual present yesterday.

Tree Swallow diving after a Red-breasted Nuthatch. Higbees Beach (Michael O'Brien).

Baird's Sandpiper (right) with a Semipalmated Sandpiper (left). Higbees Beach (Tom Johnson).

Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 8/31/10
Notes: Calm, warm, humid conditions led to a smaller flight than previous days. Flight highlights include a continued strong August showing by Red-breasted Nuthatches, with 52 individuals today. 177 individual warblers representing 14 species were recorded today. A Mourning Warbler popped up along the edge of the woods, and a Baird's Sandpiper continued on the dike mudflats, occasionally flying by and offering nice size and shape comparisons with other sandpipers. Only birds that appeared to be engaged in morning flight behavior are included on this eBird list.
Number of species: 26

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris 11
Eastern Wood-Pewee - Contopus virens 2
Eastern Kingbird - Tyrannus tyrannus 410
Red-eyed Vireo - Vireo olivaceus 4
Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis 52
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - Polioptila caerulea 20
American Robin - Turdus migratorius 3
Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum 37
Tennessee Warbler - Vermivora peregrina 1
Northern Parula - Parula americana 4
Yellow Warbler - Dendroica petechia 14
Chestnut-sided Warbler - Dendroica pensylvanica 1
Magnolia Warbler - Dendroica magnolia 2
Cape May Warbler - Dendroica tigrina 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler - Dendroica caerulescens 7
Blackburnian Warbler - Dendroica fusca 1
Prairie Warbler - Dendroica discolor 2
Bay-breasted/Blackpoll Warbler - Dendroica castanea/striata 2
Black-and-white Warbler - Mniotilta varia 4
American Redstart - Setophaga ruticilla 66
Ovenbird - Seiurus aurocapilla 1
Northern Waterthrush - Seiurus noveboracensis 44
warbler sp. - Parulinae sp. 34
Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina 1
Blue Grosbeak - Passerina caerulea 1
Indigo Bunting - Passerina cyanea 5
Bobolink - Dolichonyx oryzivorus 29
Baltimore Oriole - Icterus galbula 2

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