Morning Flight - Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Humid and unsettled conditions continued across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast last night, in connection with an area of low pressure that has been affecting the region's weather for a few days. One could be confident in predicting that this morning's songbird movement past Higbee Beach would not be one for the books; however, as attested to in previous days' entries, there is always something interesting waiting in the wings.

A majority of the birds deemed to be active migrants this morning were Yellow Warblers and American Redstarts; not a surprise given the date. A smattering of other warblers included Northern Waterthrush, Prairie, Black-throated Green, and Prothonotary. Non-count birds included a flock of 8 Brown Pelicans chugging south over the bay, fair shorebird numbers and diversity (including Pectoral and 3 Stilt sandpipers), one Blue-winged Teal, and a building southward movement of Barn Swallows.

[We saw multiple Prairie Warblers this morning; this one was a bit 
indecisive about which way to go. Photo © Tom Reed.]

[An Orchard Oriole zips past the dike; almost all of these 
will depart Cape May by Labor Day. Photo © Tom Reed.]

The aforementioned area of low pressure will finally drift away from us tonight, bringing a front along as it goes. Winds have gone around to the west and will continue from that direction for the next 24 hours or so. We're hopeful that the favorable winds and high pressure will bring some birds our way over the next couple days. As always, today's full list can be found here, and count totals can be found here. Stay tuned for more!

[Prothonotary Warbler cutting through the muggy August air. Photo © Tom Reed.]