Morning Flight - Monday, August 27, 2018

Expectations for this morning were low given last night’s forecast, but there ended up being a fun flight at Higbee this morning (albeit short on warblers). 193 Barn Swallows and 462 Bobolinks (both southbound) comprised the bulk of the abundance in today’s flight, but there has also been a notable movement of hummingbirds occurring across Cape May Point from yesterday into today. Tom Reed has recorded 54 westbound hummers as of 10:00 AM this morning, and he tallied 39 yesterday.

I had a respectable 12 north and 13 southbound individuals, which is about double the numbers that I had been having for both directions (and I suspect the overlap is limited but it’s hard to know). To that end, hummingbird movement at Higbee so far this season has been less obvious than at the Meadows. I suspect this is because there’s a lot of hummingbird feeders and good habitat between the Meadows and Higbee which would prompt them to refuel, and also because hummingbirds also don’t have much of an issue crossing the Delaware Bay if the winds are light (they are trans-Gulf migrants after all), so perhaps some merely continued south. As I’ve said before, Higbee isn’t the only place to see morning flight in Cape May, and Tom Reed’s count at the Meadows continues to provide valuable comparative data for how birds are moving around Cape May Point.

With the big movers covered, it’s time for the highlight roundup: a calling Upland Sandpiper over the bay, a local Yellow-billed Cuckoo pummelling a tent caterpillar, a southbound Hairy Woodpecker, a couple of dueling Prairie Warblers, a single northbound Red-breasted Nuthatch made for some good entertainment this morning as they made their migratory journeys in their own unique ways.

As always, you can find the link to the official count on Trektellen here and the complete eBird checklist here. Photos from the morning can be found below.

Bring on Day 28!

I don't think I've ever seen Upland Sandpiper and Red-breasted Nuthatch on the same day before?
Cape May convergence continues. 

Keep it coming, you little nuggets!

Undulation never gets old.