The lingering signs of last night’s wind and rain were obvious on the dike this morning, as cloudy skies shrouded us to all sides. Decent numbers of birds were up on the radar last night, but this is no guarantee for a good morning flight. Still, four previous morning flight counters plus some more birders joined me on the dike this morning to see what was in store.
All of that counting talent was overkill for today’s flight, since no species was particularly abundant. Precipitation to our north presumably grounded migrants before many could be pushed to Cape May to engage in morning flight. Overcast conditions can make for difficult, backlit viewing though, so the additional eyes and great company were very much welcome.
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| The light left something to be desired today. I don't think I'll ever tire of ad. male redstarts though! |
As per usual on these slow days, we maintained our handfuls of redstarts, Yellow Warblers, and Northern Waterthrushes, which were highlighted by lone Prairie, Chestnut-sided Warblers, and Prothonotary Warblers. 61 kingbirds remain a sign of the abundance on the horizon, while 5 Orchard Orioles (as with the Prothonotary) are a reminder to appreciate what we have before they depart entirely. Our two oddities of the morning were a much-awaited Lark Sparrow that came in chasing a blackbird before perching on the dike, and a Boat-tailed Grackle flying south with a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds! We see handfuls of Boat-tails in morning flight, but typically not until October.
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| Molty bunting torpedo! |
Moderate northeast winds tonight and in the morning-- if it's got north in the forecast, I'll take it!
As always, you can find the link to the official count on Trektellen here and the complete eBird checklist here.
Bring on Day 20!
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