Today was our first day of relief from howling east winds following the past few days. Cooper's Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks swirled to the north as Peregrine Falcons and Merlin were seen overhead and along the dunes to the south. Osprey came through from all directions. It was an exciting day to be at the Cape May Hawkwatch where there was rarely a quiet time throughout the skies.
On numerous occasions today Peregrine Falcons and Merlin flew quite close to the platform, shearing gracefully through the calm skies with ease. The still air also made for smooth seas that allowed us to see quite far over the bay, picking out the occasional Peregrine Falcon and Osprey looking to migrate over the water. Numerous Common Loons were observed among the lines of Black Scoters and Surf Scoters. Although not a raptor, a highly unexpected Pacific Loon was found among a group of four Common Loons. Pete Dunne mentioned that this Pacific Loon observation is the first sighting of this species ever documented from the Cape May Hawkwatch platform! Raptor numbers are increasing day by day as the season progresses, and our Peregrine Falcon seasonal count surpassed 1,000 birds today! Tomorrow marks the halfway point for the hawkcounting season here in Cape May. It always goes by too fast. The friendly naturalists will be here through the end of this month, and the hawk count goes through the end of November. Stop on by the hawkwatch and see what birds are out and about!
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| A gorgeous Cooper's Hawk soars overhead. |
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| Peregrine Falcon showing off its elongated wings of sleek proportions. |
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| Wilson's Snipe |
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| Great Blue Heron searching for a meal over Bunker Pond. |
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Today this Northern Mockingbird was imitating Purple Martins, Black-bellied Plovers,
Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, and even a Dickcissel! |
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| Today's totals. Click on the image to see a larger view of today's count. |
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