Avalon Seawatch, 30 November 2016

The fog today imposed horrible visibility, which made sea-watching nearly impossible.  With 100% cloud coverage and fog, the end of the jetty was barely visible.  The wind was very low and blew from the southeast for most of the day.  Only 46 birds were observed today with the peak species being black scoter and brant.  

Check out the table below to see the breakdown of bird species observed today:

Avalon Seawatch count for 11/30/2016
Species	Count today	Season total	Season maximum
			Count	Date(s)
Black Scoter	23	165244	15583	11/24/2016
Brant	16	2361	305	11/23/2016
Common Loon	1	1358	376	10/24/2016
Laughing Gull	1	19173	1592	11/1/2016
Ring-billed Gull	1	6124	1515	11/22/2016
Royal Tern	2	1437	240	11/1/2016
Surf Scoter	2	86372	10310	11/1/2016

Fun fact: the total number of birds seen so far this season at seawatch is nearly 690,000! Join us everyday, sunrise to sunset, between 8th and 9th street in Avalon.  

Hawkwatch, 27-29 November 2016

We're nearing the end of the season and what a stellar season it has been! November 27th and 28th provided us with good flights of Red-tailed Hawks and Red-shouldered Hawks, as well as few late season American Kestrels. Late November isn't typically part of the season where masses of raptors are seen, however the birds that are seen at the end of the season can be quite nice. A Northern Goshawk was icing on the cake for the past few days' flights. Red-tailed Hawks flew by showing off their own unique plumage, some more colored and heavily-marked than others. This time of year the Northern Harriers stream by often heading southwest, hugging low over the dunes as they do their best to avoid being detected by the hawkcounter. Sunday morning was an exceptionally special treat as nearly 6,000 Common Grackles and 2,000 Red-winged Blackbirds flew past the platform! One very late Broad-winged Hawk was also seen on Sunday.

Today's flight was quiet. A few Cave Swallows are still lingering and a few Greater Yellowlegs flew by. The strong south winds and intermittent rain put a pause to today's raptor migration.

Tomorrow marks the last official day of the 2016 Cape May Hawkwatch.  It would be great to see you at the hawkwatch! Should you stop on by, be sure to bring your rain jacket.

Cave Swallow.

Carolina Wren and White-throated Sparrow.

Common Grackles galore with a few Red-winged Blackbirds, from Sunday morning.

Dark-eyed Junco

Early morning frost atop the hawkwatch.

A tagged Monarch flying by!

Sometimes the local Northern Mockingbirds help us scan the skies.
Recently they have been fluffed up, staying warm.

Sunday's sightings.

Monday's sightings.

Today's sightings.

Avalon Seawatch, 27 November 2016

The seawatch today continued to show a slow flight of migrating seabirds.  The weather was mild and pleasant and the visibility was fantastic.  Bottlenose dolphins gave us a good show in the morning and they continued to be active throughout the day.  Black scoters flew by consistently all day in small flocks.  At the very end of the day we had a very nice push of red-throated loons.  In 5 minutes we had about 500 fly by, which doubled our count of red-throated loons for the whole day.

An exciting moment of the day was observing a group of 6 snow buntings hanging out on the jetty!  We have been seeing a small group of 3 snow buntings consistently for about 2 weeks, so it was exciting to see more of them around!

 The total number of birds counted today was 4,223 with red-throated loon, black scoter, and double-crested cormorants being the top species observed.  Below is the full set of data collected today.  Join us between 8th and 9th street in Avalon, everyday between sunrise and sunset.

Avalon Seawatch count for 11/27/2016
Species	Count today	Season total	Season maximum
			Count	Date(s)
American Oystercatcher	1	292	49	10/24/2016
Black Duck	17	1197	246	10/24/2016
Black Scoter	1203	158788	15583	11/24/2016
Brant	47	2330	305	11/23/2016
Bufflehead	1	3335	1803	11/21/2016
Common Eider	3	58	9	11/19/2016
Common Loon	1	1344	376	10/24/2016
Double-crested Cormorant	206	141470	10151	10/11/2016
Great Black-backed Gull	1	702	48	10/21/2016
Greater Scaup	2	584	101	11/5/2016
Green-winged Teal (American)	1	7212	1758	10/27/2016
Long-tailed Duck	1	260	144	11/22/2016
Northern Gannet	17	46852	6143	11/24/2016
Red-breasted Merganser	8	333	101	11/24/2016
Red-throated Loon	1363	47640	7293	11/24/2016
Ring-billed Gull	29	5762	1515	11/22/2016
scoter sp.	200	34403	6858	11/7/2016
Surf Scoter	479	84207	10310	11/1/2016
Surf/Black Scoter	643	29487	4115	11/1/2016

Hawkwatch, November 26 2016

We had a fantastic day scanning the skies from the hawkwatch. Late November is part of the migration when counts are not typically huge but can be pleasantly good, and northwest winds brought many birds through the skies to our delight. Ninety raptors were tallied today, including a juvenile Northern Goshawk! Earlier in the morning not one, not two, but fourteen Sandhill Cranes were seen overhead. Sandhill Cranes are typically seen in migration west of here through the Great Lakes and into the prairies. The howling west winds from earlier in the week may have pushed them here. Fourteen Sandhill Cranes is the largest concentration of this species ever documented at the Cape May Hawkwatch. You never know what is going to show up! Tomorrow's forecast is the second day in a row of northwest winds and sunny skies. There is a chance it could be another great day. See you at the hawkwatch.

Fourteen Sandhill Cranes!

Juvenile Northern Goshawk.

Brant.

Cave Swallow in the evening light.

Cedar Waxwings.

Iceland Gull.

Northern Harrier checking out the edges of Bunker Pond.

Swing and a miss. The Northern Harrier takes a breather in the water alongside a potential meal.

First raptor of the day, an adult male Northern Harrier.

Each of us can do our own part in making the world a better place. Please properly dispose of waste fishing line. This Ring-billed Gull picked at its leg while flying past the hawkwatch with fishing line and a hook caught on its leg.

Birds seen today.

Avalon Seawatch, 26 November 2016

The day at Avalon started out cloudy and mild.  Visibility offshore was great, however inshore the visibility was poor.  Winds blew from the NNW pushing birds out to sea further, which made observing them challenging.  The total count for the day was 3,471 birds of 20 different species.  The most common birds seen today were black scoter, double-crested cormorant and red-throated loon. Dolphins and a group of 3 snow buntings continue to be present daily.

Notable observations include a group of 18 oystercatchers flying south, and an Icelandic gull!  The Icelandic gull cooperatively hung out on the beach right in front of the jetty.  This type of gull breeds in the arctic and generally winters along the coast of the New England states; annually a few of these gulls make their way to south to New Jersey.

Join us between 8th and 9th street in Avalon, sunrise to sunset everyday.  Below is the full data collected today at seawatch:

Avalon Seawatch count for 11/26/2016
Species	Count today	Season total	Season maximum
			Count	Date(s)
American Oystercatcher	18	291	49	10/24/2016
Black Scoter	1185	157585	15583	11/24/2016
Bonaparte's Gull	1	1758	795	11/14/2016
Brant	65	2283	305	11/23/2016
Double-crested Cormorant	489	141264	10151	10/11/2016
Great Black-backed Gull	5	701	48	10/21/2016
Great Blue Heron	4	394	213	10/24/2016
Greater Scaup	2	582	101	11/5/2016
Herring Gull	2	1444	197	11/24/2016
Hooded Merganser	2	161	80	11/22/2016
Iceland Gull	1	1	1	11/26/2016
Laughing Gull	26	19133	1592	11/1/2016
Northern Gannet	25	46835	6143	11/24/2016
Red-breasted Merganser	2	325	101	11/24/2016
Red-throated Loon	779	46277	7293	11/24/2016
Ring-billed Gull	84	5733	1515	11/22/2016
Royal Tern	5	1435	240	11/1/2016
scoter sp.	18	34203	6858	11/7/2016
Surf Scoter	411	83728	10310	11/1/2016
Surf/Black Scoter	347	28844	4115	11/1/2016