Avalon Seawatch - September 25, 2011

I'm a bit short on time tonight, but Sunday was quite similar to the past few days at the Seawatch. The day saw a nice push of Double-crested Cormorants during the late-morning and early-afternoon, with just a smattering of other early season migrants such as terns, gulls and pelicans. There was also a noticeable "morning flight" over the seawatch this morning with numerous passerines coming in off the water, highlighted by a Lark Sparrow that made several loops over the parking area before joining up with two Savannah Sparrows and ultimately heading south down the dunes. Seven species of warblers, including 6 Cape May Warblers, were a nice treat.

[Great Black-backed Gulls at the Seawatch have been unsuccessful in

pirating fish from Osprey so far this season- even when multiple gulls are
involved in the chase. Photo by Sam Galick; click to enlarge.]

The following list includes only those species counted today:

Northern Pintail 13
Northern Gannet 10
Brown Pelican 5
Double-crested Cormorant 345
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1
Laughing Gull 16
Herring Gull 14
Great Black-backed Gull 5
Common Tern 18
Forster's Tern 4
Royal Tern 1
Black Skimmer 10