The nocturnal migration was spectacular, and the visible migration during the days on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was nothing short of stunning. Over 100,000 songbirds were counted from two points on Cape Island on Friday, and 60,000 were at the Higbee Dike on Saturday. Huge numbers of American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, House Finch, Red-winged Blackbird, American Goldfinch, and many other species were involved. The House Finch flight might be the biggest on record here, with over 10,000 birds counted (most of which headed west right across the bay to Delaware and beyond).
Cattle Egrets continued to zip around Cape May at regular intervals this weekend - a recent big movement of the species into the inland northeast is perhaps related to the birds here now. 
Which one of these is not like the others? A tiny Cackling Goose (second from the right here) passed over the Higbee Dike on Friday morning with Canada Geese. Lots of visitors got to see the goose and enjoy the superb Zeiss-sponsored bagel breakfast/ optics demonstration (thanks again to Rich Moncrief and Steve Ingraham from Carl Zeiss Optical!).
While I was waiting for the Henslow's Sparrow to pop out of the grass at Higbee Beach, Roger and Kathy Horn found an Ash-throated Flycatcher less than a hundred yards away from where I was standing. The slim build, pale gray and yellow underparts, and undertail pattern (dark webs hooking around the tip of the rufous part) are good ID points and help separate this vagrant from other Myiarchus species.
Golden Eagles were seen on Cape Island on each of the last three days! This juvenile bird was trapped, banded, and released - in this photo it is seen beating a hasty departure from an admiring crowd in Cape May Point State Park.
Making a strong showing for October on Friday with 40 individuals, Cave Swallows are decidedly "in"; this now-classic late fall vagrant used to be a major rarity in the northeast, but with expanding populations of the Mexican subspecies pelodoma and a growing understanding of fall dispersal in the species, we now expect to see at least a few each year in Cape May.
If I could pick only one species to highlight, this was THE one that was just incredible on Saturday at Cape May - Hermit Thrushes were everywhere! On my predawn drive north through the woods at Higbee Beach, my headlights illuminated over 100 Hermit Thrushes on the dirt track, and I saw hundreds more in the fields later in the day. Wow!
Cattle Egrets continued to zip around Cape May at regular intervals this weekend - a recent big movement of the species into the inland northeast is perhaps related to the birds here now. 
Which one of these is not like the others? A tiny Cackling Goose (second from the right here) passed over the Higbee Dike on Friday morning with Canada Geese. Lots of visitors got to see the goose and enjoy the superb Zeiss-sponsored bagel breakfast/ optics demonstration (thanks again to Rich Moncrief and Steve Ingraham from Carl Zeiss Optical!).
While I was waiting for the Henslow's Sparrow to pop out of the grass at Higbee Beach, Roger and Kathy Horn found an Ash-throated Flycatcher less than a hundred yards away from where I was standing. The slim build, pale gray and yellow underparts, and undertail pattern (dark webs hooking around the tip of the rufous part) are good ID points and help separate this vagrant from other Myiarchus species.
Golden Eagles were seen on Cape Island on each of the last three days! This juvenile bird was trapped, banded, and released - in this photo it is seen beating a hasty departure from an admiring crowd in Cape May Point State Park.
Making a strong showing for October on Friday with 40 individuals, Cave Swallows are decidedly "in"; this now-classic late fall vagrant used to be a major rarity in the northeast, but with expanding populations of the Mexican subspecies pelodoma and a growing understanding of fall dispersal in the species, we now expect to see at least a few each year in Cape May.
If I could pick only one species to highlight, this was THE one that was just incredible on Saturday at Cape May - Hermit Thrushes were everywhere! On my predawn drive north through the woods at Higbee Beach, my headlights illuminated over 100 Hermit Thrushes on the dirt track, and I saw hundreds more in the fields later in the day. Wow!
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