Morning Flight - 29 August 2012

Where to begin?  Firstly, today's flight was an excellent one!  After a 10-day stretch without a noteworthy front, last night's winds were finally conducive for migration.  And the birds responded.  The day was full of highlights and the flight as a whole was very enjoyable.  Compared to the recent dribs and drabs, today's flight stood out in stark relief.  All told, more than 2500+ birds were tallied and nearly a thousand warblers (949).  American Redstarts comprised half of that figure (473) but warbler diversity was certainly in evidence today, with at least 24 species (!) and a photo-documented "Brewster's Warbler."

Despite this, the warblers were outshined today by a massive late August flight of Red-breasted Nuthatches (374); only 28 were counted from here during the prior two weeks.  This is the highest count since the Morning Flight officially began nearly a decade ago (the prior high count was 276 on a more expected date of 12 October 2010).  However, The Birds of Cape May (Sibley 1997) mention two other round number counts which exceed today's number: 500 on 28 September 1995 and 400 on 21 September 1981.  In contrast to these late September and October flights, the early date of today's passage makes it all the more exceptional.  Is it possible that numbers will continue to build for this species?

A number of other notable species made appearances today: Olive-sided Flycatcher, Hooded Warbler, Summer Tanager, 2 Lark Sparrows (!), and 4 Purple Finches.  The large number of Baltimore Orioles (174), which included a flock of 76 birds, also deserves mentioning.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to today's count!

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 12
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher - 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 2
Empidonax flycatcher - 2
Eastern Kingbird - 20
Philadelphia Vireo - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 37
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 374
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 17
American Robin - 5
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 829
Blue-winged Warbler - 1
"winged-warbler" sp. (Golden-winged/Brewster's) - 1
"Brewster's" Warbler - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 5
Nashville Warbler - 4
Northern Parula - 18
Yellow Warbler - 45
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 15
Magnolia Warbler - 10
Cape May Warbler - 12
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 49
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Black-throated Green Warbler - 6
Blackburnian Warbler - 2
Pine Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 3
Blackpoll Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 33
American Redstart - 473
Worm-eating Warbler - 1
Ovenbird - 2
Northern Waterthrush - 39
Louisiana Waterthrush - 1
Wilson's Warbler - 1
Hooded Warbler - 1
Canada Warbler - 1
warbler sp. - 222
Scarlet Tanager - 3
Summer Tanager - 1
Lark Sparrow - 2
Blue Grosbeak - 1
Indigo Bunting - 5
Dickcissel - 2
Bobolink - 254
Baltimore Oriole - 174
Purple Finch - 4

Total = 2691

Morning flight aside, there was still one more highlight for the day.  Two Upland Sandpipers dropped in for a brief stay at the ephemeral mudflats atop the dredge spoils.

Red-breasted Nuthatch (Photo by Tom Johnson)

"Brewster's Warbler" (Photo by Tony Leukering)

Black-throated Blue Warbler (Photo by Tom Johnson)

Lark Sparrow (Photo by Tony Leukering)

Baltimore Oriole (Photo by Tony Leukering)