The front last night brought NW winds...and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. The first official day of the 2012 Morning Flight season got underway with an incredible flight of gnatcatchers, apparently the all-time Cape May high - 313 (!). A little bit of sleuthing turned up prior high counts of 210 on 19 August 1993 and 202 on 23 August 2011. And in typical gnatchatcher fashion, the flight picked up steam as the morning wore on. The four full count hours, with the first such hour beginning at sunrise (6:14 AM) progressed as follows: 0, 15, 98, and 173 (9:14 - 10:14 AM). We even stayed a bit longer, just to nudge the final tally over the 300 threshold. Otherwise, highlights include 1 Gull-billed Tern, 17 Black Terns (all north-bound), Yellow-throated Warbler (which narrowly missed being the first bird to fly out for the season), 2 early Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 Louisiana Waterthrushes, and an Orchard Oriole.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 12
Empidonax flycatcher - 4
Least Flycatcher - 1
Eastern Kingbird - 32
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 313
American Robin - 5
Northern Mockingbird - 4
Cedar Waxwing - 15
Yellow Warbler - 37
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 2
Black-throated Green Warbler - 1
Blackburnian Warbler - 5
Yellow-throated Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 2
Black-and-white Warbler - 7
American Redstart - 149
Worm-eating Warbler - 1
Northern Waterthrush - 11
Louisiana Waterthrush - 2
Canada Warbler - 1
warbler sp. - 80
Blue Grosbeak - 6
Indigo Bunting - 3
Bobolink - 45
Baltimore Oriole - 4
Orchard Oriole - 1
Total = 744
Canada Warbler (photo by Sam Galick)
Yellow Warbler (photo by Sam Galick)
