Highlights were many today and had it not been for the appearance of a Say's Phoebe at the state park, I think Red-bellied Woodpecker would claim "bird of the day" honors. According to eBird and The Birds of Cape May (Sibley 1997), the 35 Red-bellied Woodpeckers this morning at Higbee Beach would have set an apparent all-time Cape May high count...but Tom Reed posted a jaw-dropping 94 from the hawk watch!! From his own perch in the Villas, Jim Dowdell recorded an impressive 25 Red-bellied Woodpeckers in northbound morning flight. Obviously, these birds are seriously on the move. This year's 71 from Morning Flight is second only to 91 in 2004, but it seems only a matter of time before that mark will be surpassed.
The season's one-and-only Yellow-throated Vireo flew past Higbee this morning, at a date that is already quite late for this uncommon species. During the Morning Flight's nine-year tenure, this species has only been reported twice in 2011. However, even its rarity was bested by Morning Flight's first-ever Mourning Warbler (!), a late date for another early migrant. During a hectic first hour, this individual landed in the vegetation between Tom Johnson and me, so close that all we could do was stare at it naked-eye. Like Kentucky Warbler - another 2012 first for Morning Flight - Mourning Warblers are not known to engage in regular morning flight at Cape May.
Other highlights include the first Golden-crowned Kinglets and Pine Siskins in morning flight this fall. In fact, today's 11 Pine Siskins are more than were tallied during four entire seasons (2003, 2006, 2009, and 2011). Black-throated Blue Warblers (88), Connecticut Warblers (7), and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (12) all made their best showings for the year. This makes 10 Connecticut Warblers for the weekend and bumps the season total up to an above-average 22 (the season high count of 31 was set in 2011). Oh yeh, and a Clay-colored Sparrow landed nearby for the final punctuation to an impressive morning.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 35
Yellow-belled Sapsucker - 9
Northern Flicker - 369
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 5
Eastern Phoebe - 10
Yellow-throated Vireo - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 36
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 76
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 17
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1
American Robin - 2
Swainson's Thrush - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 132
Tennessee Warbler - 6
Nashville Warbler - 2
Northern Parula - 228
Yellow Warbler - 4
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 3
Magnolia Warbler - 7
Cape May Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 88
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 55
Black-throated Green Warbler - 8
Blackburnian Warbler - 2
Pine Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 2
Palm Warbler - 284
Bay-breasted Warbler - 2
Blackpoll Warbler - 78
Black-and-white Warbler - 24
American Redstart - 48
Ovenbird - 4
Northern Waterthrush - 5
Mourning Warbler - 1
Connecticut Warbler - 7
Wilson's Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 8
warbler sp. - 1540
Scarlet Tanager - 8
Savannah Sparrow - 2
Clay-colored Sparrow - 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 12
Indigo Bunting - 17
Bobolink - 1
Purple Finch - 4
Pine Siskin - 11
Total = 3224
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| Northern Flicker (Photo by Sam Galick) |
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| Yellow-throated Vireo (Photo by Sam Galick) |
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| Connecticut Warbler (Photo by Tom Johnson) |
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| Clay-colored Sparrow (Photo by Sam Galick) |
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| Say's Phoebe - not at Morning Flight, but an obliging rarity that spent the day at Cape May Point State Park (Photo by Cameron Rutt) |
