Today (Saturday) marked another great day at Higbee Beach. ~1550 warblers of 21+ species flew out this morning; this total included >500 Northern Parula and good numbers of American Redstart, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Palm Warbler, and Black-and-white Warbler. The next few days look like a bit of a washout for morning flight, so enjoy some photos while you wait for more songbirds to arrive in the mid-Atlantic.
This photo shows the blurry flank streaks, abrupt color changes below, and white undertail coverts typical of a Blackpoll Warbler in flight.
Bay-breasted Warblers are tough to identify in morning flight, but close looks occasionally reveal the smooth colors of the underparts which typically blend together nicely.
Catharus (and Hylocichla/ Wood Thrush) thrushes are not usually part of the morning flight phenomenon at Cape May; however, this Gray-cheeked Thrush got up high from the woods of Higbee Beach and flew over the Cape May Canal this morning, making the most convincing display of this behavior by a member of the genus that I've ever seen.
Eastern Wood-Pewees are lanky and loose fliers, and are readily told in flight from their smaller, stubbier, and more frenetic cousins, the Empidonax flycatchers.
This photo shows the blurry flank streaks, abrupt color changes below, and white undertail coverts typical of a Blackpoll Warbler in flight.
Bay-breasted Warblers are tough to identify in morning flight, but close looks occasionally reveal the smooth colors of the underparts which typically blend together nicely.
Catharus (and Hylocichla/ Wood Thrush) thrushes are not usually part of the morning flight phenomenon at Cape May; however, this Gray-cheeked Thrush got up high from the woods of Higbee Beach and flew over the Cape May Canal this morning, making the most convincing display of this behavior by a member of the genus that I've ever seen.
Eastern Wood-Pewees are lanky and loose fliers, and are readily told in flight from their smaller, stubbier, and more frenetic cousins, the Empidonax flycatchers.
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