The last day of the season was quite busy! It was a nice warm day topping out around 52 degrees, with southeast and south winds that produced over 4000 birds! The best birds of the day were 3 Harlequin Ducks and a Red-necked Grebe, all heading south without landing. We also had good numbers of Common Eider (10) and White-winged Scoter (22).
Of course, the bulk of the birds were gannets, Red-throated Loons, and both scoters, with about 1000 birds for each. 52 Red-breasted Mergansers and 51 Long-tailed Ducks were nice sights throughout the day to keep the variety up a bit. Six Horned Grebe, both Greater and Lesser Scaup, and a single American Black Duck rounded out the waterbird diversity for the day.
Overall, I could not ask for a better last day of the season! A big thank you to everyone who came out to visit throughout the season! Remember that although our season ends today, the birds do not! Get out to the ocean and do some seawatching over the next few weeks as birds keep heading south!
TODAY: 4286
SEASON TOTAL: 664,303
Seawatch - Friday-Tuesday, December 15-19, 2017
My last full week was quite a bit better than the previous week, but certainly makes me miss the amazing days from October and November! Unlike last week, this week almost every day was over 1000 birds, and Sunday and Tuesday were each around 3000!
The bulk movement this week continues to be Northern Gannet, as expected for this time of year. Sunday was a bit different, as both Red-throated Loons and scoters each ended up being over 1000, which proved to be an excellent overall day due to the diversity. No rarities or unusual birds this week, but a few more Common Goldeneye, several Great Cormorants, and our first Common Mergansers of the season were notable sightings.
Besides the birds, there was a Harbor Seal hanging out around the jetty and inlet for at least two days this week.
Friday, December 22nd is our last day! Come out and say hello! It should be a pleasant, warm day given the time of year!
Totals:
Friday: 1313
Saturday: 932
Sunday: 3049
Monday: 1214
Tuesday: 2727
The bulk movement this week continues to be Northern Gannet, as expected for this time of year. Sunday was a bit different, as both Red-throated Loons and scoters each ended up being over 1000, which proved to be an excellent overall day due to the diversity. No rarities or unusual birds this week, but a few more Common Goldeneye, several Great Cormorants, and our first Common Mergansers of the season were notable sightings.
Besides the birds, there was a Harbor Seal hanging out around the jetty and inlet for at least two days this week.
Friday, December 22nd is our last day! Come out and say hello! It should be a pleasant, warm day given the time of year!
Totals:
Friday: 1313
Saturday: 932
Sunday: 3049
Monday: 1214
Tuesday: 2727
Seawatch - Friday-Tuesday, December 8-12, 2017
Another December week consisting of mostly north and west winds produced very slow days with only a few hundred birds. However, by Monday and Tuesday there was a considerable uptick in numbers, with nice push gannets both days, a relatively good number of scoters. Nothing unusual or exceptional this week, but there continues to be a good chance for alcids before the season ends on Friday, December 22nd!
Check out the numbers below, and click the day for the full totals!
Friday: 659
Saturday: 419
Sunday: 564
Monday: 1533
Tuesday: 1882
Check out the numbers below, and click the day for the full totals!
Friday: 659
Saturday: 419
Sunday: 564
Monday: 1533
Tuesday: 1882
Seawatch - Wednesday & Thursday, December 6-7, 2017
It seems like Seawatch is finally starting to slow down with only 3,000 bird counted on Wednesday and 1,200 on Thursday. Wednesday's highlights included a late (and far) Parasitic Jaeger, a single Snow Bunting, and 2 Great Cormorants foraging along the jetty. Thursday was much quieter but there was some pretty sweet Peregrine Falcon drama in the afternoon as two birds battled it out right over the jetty (presumably over a prey item that I didn't see). It looks like the weather is about to turn and actually feel like winter (cold, wind, and snow??) but we'll see what goodies may come our way at Avalon.
Wednesday's totals: http://www.trektellen.org/count/view/1747/20171206
Thursday's totals: http://www.trektellen.org/count/view/1747/20171207
Photo time!
Cheers!
Melissa
Wednesday's totals: http://www.trektellen.org/count/view/1747/20171206
Thursday's totals: http://www.trektellen.org/count/view/1747/20171207
Photo time!
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| It's pretty fun having TWO Great Cormorants hanging out with you all day. |
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| These Peregrines seem happy enough... |
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| I spoke too soon! They DO NOT like each other! |
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| ATTACK MODE!!! |
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| They eventually departed ways with all feathers intact. |
Melissa
Seawatch - Friday-Tuesday, December 1-5, 2017
While the season is clearly winding down at this point, this past week had a series of slow but steady days, dominated, as expected, by Red-throated Loons and Northern Gannets with a smattering of scoters. The weekend had a small peak, hitting around 6000 birds Saturday and 5000 birds Sunday, while the rest of the week was around 2000 birds each day. Another 20 Common Eiders headed south this week, continuing a nice near-daily showing of this species. Long-tailed Ducks and Red-breasted Mergansers continue to come by in small numbers; we're still due for a more sizeable push of these species.
One fun sighting on Friday was a male American Kestrel that picked a small mammal off the jetty, then landed with it on the snow fencing to the south of the shack and preceded to pick it apart. A notable push of 240 Laughing Gulls occurred on Sunday, the biggest movement in well over a month. Despite strong south winds, Tuesday was the slowest day of the week, only highlighted by a Razorbill early in the morning.
In non-bird news, a Humpback Whale that was first seen on Wednesday continued through the weekend, relatively close in the inlet. A very late Monarch butterfly also headed south past the Seawatch on Monday.
Check out the totals below, and click the day to see the full breakdown:
Friday: 2435
Saturday: 6348
Sunday: 4870
Monday: 2232
Tuesday: 2229
One fun sighting on Friday was a male American Kestrel that picked a small mammal off the jetty, then landed with it on the snow fencing to the south of the shack and preceded to pick it apart. A notable push of 240 Laughing Gulls occurred on Sunday, the biggest movement in well over a month. Despite strong south winds, Tuesday was the slowest day of the week, only highlighted by a Razorbill early in the morning.
In non-bird news, a Humpback Whale that was first seen on Wednesday continued through the weekend, relatively close in the inlet. A very late Monarch butterfly also headed south past the Seawatch on Monday.
Check out the totals below, and click the day to see the full breakdown:
Friday: 2435
Saturday: 6348
Sunday: 4870
Monday: 2232
Tuesday: 2229
Seawatch - Wednesday & Thursday, November 29-30, 2017
The Avalon Seawatch closed out the month of November with incredibly pleasant, albeit unusually warm, weather and plenty of birds. Wednesday saw just under 10,000 birds but it was the mammals that stood out that day. There were still at least 6 Bottlenose Dolphins hunting just beyond the jetty as well as quite the cooperative Humpback Whale that made appearances throughout the day! The whale was seen again on Thursday but not nearly as much.
Thursday morning saw a BIG push of Red-throated Loons that became a slow and steady movement for the rest of the day (a total of 7,089), and we also had a season high-day for Northern Gannets (3,201). And although it was the end of November, we still had a great day of diversity including American Wigeon, Common Eider, Horned Grebe, Green-winged Teal, and a super late BROWN PELICAN.
In other exciting news, we officially broke the all-time season high count for Black Scoter on Thursday with a new record of 257,398!! The previous season high was 256,633 and with three full weeks left of the season, seems like we will only add to that new record. Check out the totals below, and make sure to check out the Seawatch in the upcoming weeks.
Seawatch totals: http://www.trektellen.nl/site/totals/1747/2017
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| A big flock of White-winged Scoters during the big Red-throated Loon push Thursday morning. |
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| Brant |
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| There are plenty of Common Eiders making their way this far south this year. |
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| American Wigeon trailing behind a small flock of Common Eider. |
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| Scoters right on the tail of this late Brown Pelican. |
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| HUMPBACK WHALE! |
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| White-winged Scoters flying high. |
Hawkwatch - Thursday, November 30, 2017
Today marks the last day of the 2017 Cape May Hawkwatch. It's been an exciting fall with many raptors and and incredible diversity of birds overall. We started the season out with a Mississippi Kite and wrapped up the season with four Rough-legged Hawks and a Swainson's Hawk (all quite rare for the hawkwatch).
As the season progressed beyond the first week of the count, we could see the flow of raptors change as waves of adult birds followed the earlier waves of juvenile birds. Each raptor species peaks in different timeframes. Most recently we've been experiencing waves of the larger late-season birds like Red-shouldered Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Bald Eagles, and more! Migration is all about a chain reaction of food availability. When the prey items on the lower portion of the foodchain become scarce or migrate south, the predator items follow. The timing of each raptor species coincides with their food. The American Kestrels follow dragonflies and the smaller birds. Sharp-shinned Hawks' numbers are at their most impressive count when warblers are migrating through in diverse and densely-formed flocks. Every day at the Cape May Hawkwatch is a treat, and every day is different than the day before.
We've had some stellar days of raptor migration this fall, including an exceptionally noteworthy flight of American Kestrels (largest season total since 2003, largest day count since 1999)! A total of 1,936 American Kestrels were tallied at the Cape May Hawkwatch on September 28th of this fall. To see a severely declining raptor zip through with such intensity gave us all goosebumps. I teared up a little while counting them. Sheer migration magic of such a beautiful species, and once again, a species of concern. The flight was fast-paced as they raced south with the strong north winds. Their populations are plummeting throughout much of the country, and they are just one of the indicator species that connects our actions in the environment with their survival as a species.
How can we help the American Kestrels and other animals in the environment? A big yet simple step is to plant native plants around our homes. Make your neighbors aware of how special it is to see dragonflies and butterflies in their yards (not to mention an increase in birds), and how native plants require little care once planted. These personal stopover sites provide homes to migrating songbirds and insects, as well as the wildlife that lives there year round. It's a big world out there, and year after year natural areas are becoming more infringed with populated areas. Providing a home to birds in your yard makes a bigger difference than you may realize. We're all in this game of survival, together. It was fantastic to watch SO. MANY. BIRDS. with you from the Cape May Hawkwatch this fall. Please be good stewards of the land, and enjoy the birds!
Good birding,
-Erik
As the season progressed beyond the first week of the count, we could see the flow of raptors change as waves of adult birds followed the earlier waves of juvenile birds. Each raptor species peaks in different timeframes. Most recently we've been experiencing waves of the larger late-season birds like Red-shouldered Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, Bald Eagles, and more! Migration is all about a chain reaction of food availability. When the prey items on the lower portion of the foodchain become scarce or migrate south, the predator items follow. The timing of each raptor species coincides with their food. The American Kestrels follow dragonflies and the smaller birds. Sharp-shinned Hawks' numbers are at their most impressive count when warblers are migrating through in diverse and densely-formed flocks. Every day at the Cape May Hawkwatch is a treat, and every day is different than the day before.
We've had some stellar days of raptor migration this fall, including an exceptionally noteworthy flight of American Kestrels (largest season total since 2003, largest day count since 1999)! A total of 1,936 American Kestrels were tallied at the Cape May Hawkwatch on September 28th of this fall. To see a severely declining raptor zip through with such intensity gave us all goosebumps. I teared up a little while counting them. Sheer migration magic of such a beautiful species, and once again, a species of concern. The flight was fast-paced as they raced south with the strong north winds. Their populations are plummeting throughout much of the country, and they are just one of the indicator species that connects our actions in the environment with their survival as a species.
How can we help the American Kestrels and other animals in the environment? A big yet simple step is to plant native plants around our homes. Make your neighbors aware of how special it is to see dragonflies and butterflies in their yards (not to mention an increase in birds), and how native plants require little care once planted. These personal stopover sites provide homes to migrating songbirds and insects, as well as the wildlife that lives there year round. It's a big world out there, and year after year natural areas are becoming more infringed with populated areas. Providing a home to birds in your yard makes a bigger difference than you may realize. We're all in this game of survival, together. It was fantastic to watch SO. MANY. BIRDS. with you from the Cape May Hawkwatch this fall. Please be good stewards of the land, and enjoy the birds!
Good birding,
-Erik
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| Little shuffle between a Cooper's Hawk (below) and Northern Harrier (above) shortly after sunrise. |
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| Eurasian Wigeon (left) and American Wigeon (right) |
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| Great Black-backed Gull |
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| Two Double-crested Cormorants and a Great Cormorant (right) flying by. |
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| Wrapping up the season. Here's today's count totals. Click the image to see a larger view. |