Morning Flight Friday October 22, 2010

Birds, Birds, Birds. There were lots of them at the Dike this morning. The flight was comprised mostly of just two species, however there was enough other activity to keep it interesting. While American Robins and Yellow-rumped Warblers moved in decent numbers, and as expected for a strong WNW at this date, the Sparrows were the real story. Chipping Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos put in impressive showings, and a single Vesper Sparrow was the first recorded from the Dike this season. Pine Siskins also moved in decent numbers, and Nuthatches were notable only for their complete absence.

The air was filled with birds all morning. Even as the passerine flight started dying down, raptors rose up and streamed in from the north to take their place. A huge amount of Sharp-shinned Hawks, and good numbers of Northern Harriers and American Kestrels flew by, mirroring the excellent flight seen at other parts of the Island.

Complete eBird list with birds engaged in Re-directed Morning Flight Behavior in bold:

Location: Cape Island--Higbees Beach SWA--Dike
Observation date: 10/22/10
Number of species: 55

Canada Goose X
Surf Scoter X
Black Scoter X
Northern Gannet 5
Double-crested Cormorant X
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 30
Osprey 2
Bald Eagle 4
Northern Harrier 7
Sharp-shinned Hawk 450
Cooper's Hawk X
Broad-winged Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Kestrel 4
Merlin 3
Killdeer 66
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Royal Tern X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 3
Eastern Phoebe 2
vireo sp. 1
Blue Jay 1
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 2
Carolina Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3
kinglet sp. 4
American Robin 12711
European Starling 1
American Pipit 1
Cedar Waxwing 2
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 6447
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 25
Blackpoll Warbler 7
warbler sp. 537
Chipping Sparrow 46
Vesper Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 22
sparrow sp. 1
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird 550
Rusty Blackbird 8
Common Grackle X
blackbird sp. 3
Purple Finch 22
House Finch 4
Pine Siskin 54
American Goldfinch 85