Cave Swallows may have been the most notable non-raptor, as we had 28 fly by the platform. Of course, the Lark Sparrow that materialized near the parking lot (first at the bathrooms, then on the big lawn) was probably a more unexpected species given the date. The biggest movement of birds on the day (BY FAR) was put on by Ring-billed Gulls, which were barreling by in huge numbers in the morning and stayed strong (probably >100/hour) throughout the rest of the day. 3 Atlantic Brant landing on Bunker Pond early in the day made for a sight that is not commonly seen there, and a flyover Western Sandpiper was the first I've seen here in a while (close to a month, if not longer).
Location: Cape Island--CMPSP--Hawkwatch Platform (CMBO hawkwatch)
Observation date: 11/8/10
Number of species: 71
Snow Goose 11
Brant (Atlantic) 3
Canada Goose 470
Mute Swan 5
Wood Duck 52
Gadwall X
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck X
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler X
Northern Pintail 4
Green-winged Teal X
Ring-necked Duck 5
Surf Scoter X
Black Scoter X
Hooded Merganser 5
Ruddy Duck X
Pied-billed Grebe 5
Northern Gannet X
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 4
Black Vulture 33
Turkey Vulture 47
Osprey 3
Bald Eagle 5
Northern Harrier 74
Sharp-shinned Hawk 45
Cooper's Hawk 7
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 24
Golden Eagle 1
American Kestrel 17
Merlin 5
Peregrine Falcon 4
American Coot X
Western Sandpiper 1
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull 1200
Herring Gull 200
Great Black-backed Gull X
Royal Tern X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Belted Kingfisher 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow 76
Cave Swallow 28
Eastern Bluebird 4
American Robin X
Northern Mockingbird X
European Starling X
American Pipit 35
Cedar Waxwing 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) X
Chipping Sparrow 2
Lark Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 2
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 8
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Rusty Blackbird 1
Brown-headed Cowbird X
Purple Finch 3
House Finch 15
Pine Siskin 30
American Goldfinch 300
House Sparrow X
Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 08, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 33 140 316
Turkey Vulture 47 842 1932
Osprey 3 22 4552
Bald Eagle 5 54 463
Northern Harrier 74 460 2091
Sharp-shinned Hawk 45 1294 19101
Cooper's Hawk 7 272 3957
Northern Goshawk 0 9 11
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 183 297
Broad-winged Hawk 0 9 1216
Red-tailed Hawk 24 797 1379
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 1 13 21
American Kestrel 17 55 5616
Merlin 5 53 2226
Peregrine Falcon 4 14 1383
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 266 4217 44562
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 06:30:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.5 hours
Official Counter: Doug Gochfeld
Observers:
Weather:
STRONG NW/NNW winds, partly-to-mostly cloudy all day.
Raptor Observations:
Disappointing flight given the wind/sky forecast, especially in terms of
Buteos and Eagles. One juvenile Golden Eagle passed by between 2:00 and
3:00 PM.
Non-raptor Observations:
Lark Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, 11 Snow Geese, Western Sandpiper
(flyover), 28 Cave Swallows. Good numbers of Pine Siskin, American Pipit,
and American Goldfinch. HUGE movement of Ring-billed Gulls.
Predictions:
~15 MPH NW and mostly clear skies. Could be good, although it's unclear to
me how the poor weather to our NE will affect the flight (I could see it
having either a positive impact on migration, or adversely affecting it).
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