The seawatch was quite entertaining today, with a nice movement of birds as well as some surprises. Clear skies all day were a welcome sight, as were lines of Double-crested Cormorants and Canada Geese that greeted me after sunrise. Canada Goose totaled 544 birds, most of which came within the first hour of daylight. Double-crested cormorant numbers rose throughout the day, with a mid-afternoon surge. In total, 5496 cormorants were counted, along with a single Great Cormorant. Two hours of over 1300 cormorants each were a lot of fun. A few ducks were moving today: mostly Green-winged Teal and Northern Pintail. Highlights were a single Common Eider, and 22 Great Egrets and 3 Common Loons right at sunset.
Other highlights were non-waterbird migrants that came in off the water: Yellow-rumped Warblers, Palm Warblers, a Prairie Warbler, Song Sparrow, 2 Northern Flickers, and 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets. A single Yellow-billed Cuckoo winged off the water, as did 8 Red Bats! Very cool. A Red-breasted Nuthatch was calling from just down the street for most of the day. It was also neat to see a Northern Harrier flying south high out over the ocean. Finally, butterflies put in a strong showing, with lots of Monarchs, Common Buckeyes, a few Cloudless Sulphurs, and 1 Mourning Cloak.
A list of species detected follows, with counted migrants in bold:
6436 total migrants.
Location: Avalon Seawatch
Observation date: 10/2/10
Number of species: 55
Brant 1
Canada Goose 544
Gadwall 1
American Wigeon 2
American Black Duck 28
Northern Pintail 40
Green-winged Teal 185
Common Eider 1
Black Scoter 7
Common Loon 11
Northern Gannet 3
Brown Pelican 16
Double-crested Cormorant 5496
Great Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 26
Great Egret 22
Turkey Vulture 15
Osprey 10
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Black-bellied Plover X
Semipalmated Plover X
Killdeer X
American Oystercatcher X
Ruddy Turnstone X
Sanderling X
Semipalmated Sandpiper X
Least Sandpiper X
Pectoral Sandpiper X
Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher X
Laughing Gull 29
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull 6
Caspian Tern X
Common Tern 14
Forster's Tern X
Royal Tern 3
Black Skimmer X
Rock Pigeon X
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Northern Flicker 3
Tree Swallow X
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
American Robin 2
European Starling X
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Prairie Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 2
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal X
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow X
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