Monarch Monitoring Project - 10/18/08

The Insect of the Week

The Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus)
Photo by Michael O'Brien

Hello everyone! It's time for another exciting "Insect of the week"! Meet the wheel bug! This alien-looking creature is one of the many types of assassin bugs that you might find in Cape May. When I say bug, I mean bug! Entomologists might yell at you if you call just any old insect a "bug." In taxonomy the word "bug" refers to anything in the order Hemiptera. The wheel bug, and many other things, fall into that order of classification. So, to review, here is the taxonomy of the wheel bug:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Reduviidae
Genus: Arilus
Species: Arilus cristatus

So as you can see all insects are not indeed bugs, but all bugs are insects. Phew! Glad we cleared that up. The wheel bug is actually one of the largest true bugs in the world! It falls in the family Reduviidae which includes all "assassin bugs". Believe me, they are called assassin bugs for a reason. This cryptic killer hides itself on leaves or flowers, and much like the praying mantid, strikes quickly when it's prey lands nearby. As illustrated by the photo below:


The wheel bug, and other assassin bugs in general, attack prey with their long beak-like mouth parts called a rostrum. They stab the prey with their rostrum, and inject an enzyme which paralyzes the unfortunate captive. The enzyme also dissolves the insides of the prey on contact and allows the wheel bug to suck out the insides of the victim. It's like something from a horror movie!

Photo by Michael O'Brien


Wheel bugs also have some gruesome habits when it comes to mating. Like the mantid, the female wheel bug will often attack and consume the male after mating. Once fertilized the female will lay her eggs and eventually she will die. The eggs will hatch into tiny nymphs. Assassin bugs, as well as all Hemipterans and many other insects, go through incomplete metamorphosis. This means that they have only three stages of life: the egg, the nymph, and the adult. The monarch, and many others, have four stages of life and go through complete metamorphosis.



Photo from BugGuide.net


The nymph (see above) is like a smaller version of the adult but it lacks wings. The nymph will eat continuously and, like the monarch caterpillar, undergo five different molts (or instars) before molting into an adult. There have been records of cannibalism in wheel bugs, and freshly hatched nymphs may attack and feed on each other. If you find a wheel bug in the wild be careful! Their bite is extremely painful, and the sore can last for several weeks. They also are capable of emitting a stinky smell from scent-sacs located on the back of their abdomen. So this is perhaps another insect you might want to leave alone!

Morning Flight 10-18-2008

Morning Flight: 10-15 NE wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 1
Eastern Phoebe- 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 16
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 1
American Robin- 195
American Pipit- 5
Cedar Waxwing- 40
Northern Parula- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 2084
Palm Warbler- 13
Blackpoll Warbler- 7
Chipping Sparrow- 1
Savannah Sparrow- 4
Dark-eyed Junco- 14
Eastern Meadowlark- 1
Rusty Blackbird- 67
Purple Finch- 14
Pine Siskin- 17
Blue-headed Vireo- 1

Total Birds: 2485

Sea Watch Count - 10/17/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Snow Goose - 19
Brant - 1,397
Canada Goose - 25
Wood Duck - 13
Gadwall - 6
American Wigeon - 2
American Black Duck - 57
Mallard - 10
Northern Pintail - 149
Green-winged Teal - 869
Lesser Scaup - 1
Surf Scoter - 1,942
White-winged Scoter - 11
Black Scoter - 3,398
dark-winged scoter - 415
Red-breasted Merganser - 6
Red-throated Loon - 30
Common Loon - 43
Northern Gannet - 367
Brown Pelican - 5
Double-crested Cormorant - 11,735
Great Cormorant - 2
Great Blue Heron - 1
Great Egret - 149
Snowy Egret - 163
Little Blue Heron - 1
Laughing Gull - 795
Bonaparte's Gull - 3
Common Tern - 1
Royal Tern - 37
American Oystercatcher - 81

Total: 21,733

Monarch: 27

Hawk Watch Count 10-17-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                9             27             39
Turkey Vulture              64            195            195
Osprey                      21            578            979
Bald Eagle                   8             88            235
Northern Harrier            11            269            426
Sharp-shinned Hawk         333           5344           9268
Cooper's Hawk              129           2450           3851
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          3             19             28
Broad-winged Hawk            4            376            515
Red-tailed Hawk              8             80            171
Rough-legged Hawk            0              1              1
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel            12            851           2858
Merlin                      13            478           1182
Peregrine Falcon            22            892           1356
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     637          11651          21111

View from the Platform 10-17-08

Location: Cape May Bird Observatory Hawk Watch Site
Number of species: 18

Brant X
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 4
Wood Duck 1
American Wigeon 19
Green-winged Teal 35
Common Loon 1
Northern Gannet X
Great Egret 3
Lesser Yellowlegs 23
Caspian Tern 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 45
Eastern Bluebird 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Pine Warbler X
Red-winged Blackbird 30

Morning Flight 10-17-2008

Morning Flight: 5-10 N wind, clear conditions
Counter: Dan Berard

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 1
Northern Flicker- 65
Eastern Phoebe- 3
Red-eyed Vireo- 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 14
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 73
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 13
American Robin- 3002
American Pipit- 17
Cedar Waxwing- 35
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 11061
Black-throated Green Warbler- 4
Palm Warbler- 61
Blackpoll Warbler- 18
American Redstart- 2
Warbler sp.- 193
Chipping Sparrow- 1
Dark-eyed Junco- 23
Dickcissel- 2
Bobolink- 21
Eastern Meadowlark- 6
Rusty Blackbird- 23
Purple Finch- 4
Pine Siskin- 1
Blue Jay- 89
White-breasted Nuthatch- 1

Total Birds: 14737

View from the Platform 10-16-08

Location: Cape May Bird Observatory Hawk Watch Site
Number of species: 25

Snow Goose 2
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 2
Gadwall 1
American Wigeon 14
Mallard X
Northern Shoveler 15
Northern Pintail 8
Green-winged Teal X
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Great Egret 3
American Coot 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 15
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Caspian Tern 1
Royal Tern 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Northern Flicker 4
Blue Jay 35
Northern Mockingbird 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 95
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 18
Eastern Meadowlark 1
House Sparrow X

Hawk Watch Count 10-16-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             18             30
Turkey Vulture               0            131            131
Osprey                      10            557            958
Bald Eagle                   0             80            227
Northern Harrier            15            258            415
Sharp-shinned Hawk         148           5011           8935
Cooper's Hawk               33           2321           3722
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          1             16             25
Broad-winged Hawk            0            372            511
Red-tailed Hawk              1             72            163
Rough-legged Hawk            0              1              1
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel            18            839           2846
Merlin                      14            465           1169
Peregrine Falcon            33            870           1334
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     273          11014          20474

Morning Flight 10-16-2008

Morning Flight: 5-10 NE wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 1
Northern Flicker- 18
Eastern Phoebe- 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 4
American Robin- 47
American Pipit- 2
Cedar Waxwing- 9
Northern Parula- 11
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 10375
Palm Warbler- 38
Blackpoll Warbler- 11
Warbler sp.- 3082
Chipping Sparrow- 2
Savannah Sparrow- 7
Dark-eyed Junco- 2
Indigo Bunting- 2
Dickcissel- 3
Bobolink- 1
Eastern Meadowlark- 7
Rusty Blackbird- 1

Total Birds: 13625

Non Morning Flight Birds: 2 Wood Ducks, 1 Great Cormorant, 9 Stilt Sandpipers

View from the Platform 10-15-08

Location: Cape May Bird Observatory Hawk Watch Site
Number of species: 27

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 2
Gadwall 3
Mallard X
Northern Pintail 4
Green-winged Teal 15
Greater Scaup 1
Ruddy Duck 1
Double-crested Cormorant 110
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Least Sandpiper 3
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Caspian Tern 1
Rock Pigeon X
Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 18
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 7
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Bobolink X
House Sparrow X

Hawk Watch Count 10-15-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             18             30
Turkey Vulture              17            131            131
Osprey                      21            547            948
Bald Eagle                   5             80            227
Northern Harrier            16            243            400
Sharp-shinned Hawk         225           4863           8787
Cooper's Hawk              102           2288           3689
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0             15             24
Broad-winged Hawk           10            372            511
Red-tailed Hawk              4             71            162
Rough-legged Hawk            0              1              1
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel            16            821           2828
Merlin                      12            451           1155
Peregrine Falcon            70            837           1301
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     498          10741          20201

Monarch Monitoring Project - 10/15/08

Well it's been another exciting week at the Monarch Monitoring Project! We have had high numbers on our daily census, bringing us to an average of 48.15 monarchs/hour! It was indeed a good week to see monarchs. Unfortunately this past week also brought some sadness to the monarch crew. Dick Walton and Patsy Eickelberg, the director of our project and one of our most wonderful volunteers (respectively), returned to Massachusettes after three fabulous weeks in Cape May. They will be missed greatly!!! Thankfully, Dick and Patsy didn't take all the monarchs with them when they left. Yesterday and today brought in some higher numbers, and we hope that this will continue throughout the week.

Today I would like to blog about monarch predators (and parasites)! Sure, monarchs are unattractive to some potential predators. The milkweed they consume as caterpillars makes them poisonous to most vertebrates (birds, bats, etc). Still, life isn't easy if you are a monarch. In this blog I will attempt to show you that:

It's not (always) easy being orange and black

Imagine that you are a monarch. You can glide lazily around Cape May in broad daylight. Birds don't want to eat you (you taste terrible), and you advertise this fact every second of every day with your magnificent orange and black coloration. Life is good. Or is it? You see a beautiful butterfly bush (Buddleja sp.) just dripping with delicious nectar. You head over and perch on a flower, ready to feast. Suddenly, without warning, something snatches you in its treacherous grasp! Oh no!! It's a praying mantid!! You are gobbled up with no hope of reaching Mexico.

Photo by Michael O'Brien

Aside from the rapacious grasp of mantids, monarchs have other predators to worry about too. Say instead of making it to that butterfly bush, you got tangled in a web along the way. Oh no! Out comes an orb weaver spider, and you are soon again lunch.


It's not just the monarch adults that have all the trouble either. Parasitic insects like the tachinid fly and certain types of wasps, lay their eggs on the monarch caterpillar. The caterpillar is helpless if a parasitic wasp selects it as a host (see below...poor guy).




The tachinid fly is a common monarch parasite. The fly will lay it's eggs on the monarch caterpillars and once they hatch the larvae will burrow inside the monarch. The fly larvae will feed off its host until it is ready to pupate. It will then emerge from the late instar caterpillar or the chrysalis killing the monarch and leaving a string-like structure in it's path. The tachinid will then pupate after emerging from the monarch. Below is a picture of a chrysalis that has been parasitized by a tachinid fly.


The last predator/parasite I wanted to mention is Ophryocystis elektroscirrha also known as OE. OE is a protozoa that parasitizes monarchs and it is very contagious. The female monarch passes it to her offspring directly, but it can also be spread from monarch to monarch interaction. OE causes many problems in monarchs, including a shorter life span, trouble emerging from the chrysalis, and difficulty flying. Luckily we don't have many OE cases in our east coast population, but we have come across a few this fall. Below is a photo of a monarch with OE, the spores are visible on the abdomen:


So as you can see, it's not easy being a monarch. Aside from a long arduous journey to Mexico, monarchs have lots of predators and parasites to deal with. Enough of them make it though, and enough monarchs are able to pass their genes on to the next generation. If anything, this should just remind us how amazing monarchs are. So I tip my hat to you Mr./Ms. Monarch, and wish you the best of luck!

Morning Flight 10-15-2008

Morning Flight: 0-5 W wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 1
Northern Flicker- 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 8
American Pipit- 2
Cedar Waxwing- 27
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 155
Warbler sp.- 5
Savannah Sparrow- 1
Dickcissel- 2
Bobolink- 1
Eastern Meadowlark- 4
Pine Siskin- 8
Blue Jay- 21

Total Birds: 234

Non-Morning Flight Birds: 3 Snowy Egrets, 1 Black-bellied Plover, 103 Black Scoters, 37 Surf Scoters

Sea Watch Count - 10/14/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Brant - 1
Wood Duck - 2
American Black Duck - 19
Green-winged Teal - 46
Greater Scaup - 8
Surf Scoter - 461
Black Scoter - 161
dark-winged scoter - 12
Red-throated Loon - 8
Common Loon - 17
Northern Gannet - 392
Brown Pelican - 5
Double-crested Cormorant - 1,856
Snowy Egret - 54
Little Blue Heron - 1
Laughing Gull - 814
Ring-billed Gull - 5
Common Tern - 4
Forster's Tern - 76
Royal Tern - 30
Pomarine Jaeger - 1
jaeger sp - 1

Total: 3,973

Monarch: 39

View from the Platform 10-14-08

Location: Cape May Bird Observatory Hawk Watch Site
Number of species: 32

Canada Goose-X
Mute Swan -2
Gadwall-6
American Wigeon-5
American Black Duck-2
Mallard-27
Northern Shoveler-7
Northern Pintail-11
Green-winged Teal-33
Ring-necked Duck-1
Greater Scaup-1
Ruddy Duck-1
Double-crested Cormorant-3000
Great Egret-1
Snowy Egret-2
Killdeer-2
Lesser Yellowlegs-15
Stilt Sandpiper-2
Laughing Gull-X
Great Black-backed Gull-X
Caspian Tern-1
Royal Tern-3
Belted Kingfisher-1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)-2
Blue Jay-60
crow sp.-X
Carolina Wren-1
Northern Mockingbird-1
Yellow-rumped Warbler-X
White-crowned Sparrow-1
Eastern Meadowlark-4
House Sparrow-30

Hawk Watch Count 10-14-2008

Official Observer: Dan Berard

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                3             18             30
Turkey Vulture              22            114            114
Osprey                      29            526            927
Bald Eagle                   2             75            222
Northern Harrier            16            227            384
Sharp-shinned Hawk         329           4638           8562
Cooper's Hawk               76           2186           3587
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          3             15             24
Broad-winged Hawk            7            362            501
Red-tailed Hawk             10             67            158
Rough-legged Hawk            0              1              1
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel            63            805           2812
Merlin                      23            439           1143
Peregrine Falcon            36            767           1231
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     619          10243          19703

Morning Flight 10-14-2008

Morning Flight: 5-10 SE wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-breasted Nuthatch- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 299
Black-throated Green Warbler- 3
Black and White Warbler- 1
American Redstart- 1
Warbler sp.- 385
Chipping Sparrow- 2
Savannah Sparrow- 4
Dark-eyed Junco- 1
Dickcissel- 2
Bobolink- 1
Eastern Meadowlark- 7
Pine Siskin- 2

Total Birds: 709

Non Morning Flight birds: 16 Boat-tailed Grackles, 3 Bald Eagles

Sea Watch Count - 10/13/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Brant - 1
Canada Goose - 11
Wood Duck - 17
American Black Duck - 22
Northern Pintail - 4
Green-winged Teal - 52
Surf Scoter - 736
Black Scoter - 311
dark-winged scoter - 67
Red-breasted Merganser - 4
Red-throated Loon - 2
Common Loon - 53
Northern Gannet - 149
Brown Pelican - 5
Double-crested Cormorant - 6,999
Great Cormorant - 1
Great Blue Heron - 1
Laughing Gull - 382
Bonaparte's Gull - 1
Ring-billed Gull - 34
American Oystercatcher - 2
Killdeer - 1

Total: 8,851

Monarch: 163

Non-waterbirds of note: Pine Siskin - 11

View from the Platform 10-13-08

Location: Cape May Bird Observatory Hawk Watch Site
Number of species: 28

Although the number of raptors was fairly low today, there was plenty of eye candy around the platform! The ever-increasing diversity of Bunker Pond's waterfowl now includes a ruddy duck, ring-necked duck, greater scaup, and more. An awesome flock of tree swallows, along with 2 stowaway barn swallows, made their presence known by continuously skimming the pond for a drink and swarming the bayberry bushes. There were 2 incidences of perched raptors throughout the day: morning visitors were able to watch a perched osprey eat a fish for breakfast while an immature bald eagle rested for about 45 minutes in the late afternoon. As I already said-AWESOME eye candy for birders!!

Canada Goose-X
Mute Swan-3
Gadwall-9
American Wigeon-63
American Black Duck-1
Mallard-43
Blue-winged Teal-2
Northern Shoveler-6
Northern Pintail-3
Green-winged Teal-52
Greater Scaup-1
Ruddy Duck-1
Great Egret-1
Snowy Egret-1
Killdeer-4
Herring Gull-X
Great Black-backed Gull-X
Caspian Tern-1
Belted Kingfisher-2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)-1
Tree Swallow-115
Barn Swallow-2
Carolina Wren-2
Northern Mockingbird-1
Yellow-rumped Warbler-4
Northern Cardinal-1
Eastern Meadowlark-4
House Sparrow-35

Hawk Watch Count 10-13-2008

Official Observer: Dan Berard

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             15             27
Turkey Vulture               0             92             92
Osprey                       0            497            898
Bald Eagle                   0             73            220
Northern Harrier             7            211            368
Sharp-shinned Hawk         187           4309           8233
Cooper's Hawk               44           2110           3511
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0             12             21
Broad-winged Hawk            5            355            494
Red-tailed Hawk              0             57            148
Rough-legged Hawk            0              1              1
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel            51            742           2749
Merlin                      21            416           1120
Peregrine Falcon            15            731           1195
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     330           9624          19084

Morning Flight 10-13-2008

Morning Flight: 0-5 W wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 1
American Robin- 780
Northern Parula- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 283
Blackpoll Warbler- 2
Warbler sp.- 164
Savannah Sparrow- 1
Eastern Meadowlark- 8

Total Birds: 1240

Non Morning Flight birds: 191 Crow Sp., 16 Wood Ducks

Sea Watch Count - 10/12/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Canada Goose - 8
Brant - 4
Wood Duck - 13
American Wigeon - 1
American Black Duck - 7
Mallard - 7
Northern Pintail - 73
Green-winged Teal - 626
Greater Scaup - 2
Surf Scoter - 1,949
White-winged Scoter - 3
Black Scoter - 1,875
dakr-winged scoter - 131
Red-breasted Merganser - 1
Red-throated Loon - 1
Common Loon - 23
Northern Gannet - 64
Brown Pelican - 4
Double-crested Cormorant - 5,229
Great Cormorant - 1
Great Blue Heron - 13
Laughing Gull - 240
Ring-billed Gull - 116
Common Tern - 1
Forster's Tern - 41
Royal Tern - 17
Parasitic Jaeger - 1
Hudsonian Godwit - 1

Total: 10,452

Monarch: 61

Hawk Watch Count 10-12-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             15             27
Turkey Vulture               0             92             92
Osprey                      13            497            898
Bald Eagle                   1             73            220
Northern Harrier             5            204            361
Sharp-shinned Hawk         194           4122           8046
Cooper's Hawk               78           2066           3467
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          2             12             21
Broad-winged Hawk            4            350            489
Red-tailed Hawk             10             57            148
Rough-legged Hawk            0              1              1
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel             6            691           2698
Merlin                      21            395           1099
Peregrine Falcon            42            716           1180
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     376           9294          18754

Morning Flight 10-12-2008

Morning Flight: 0-5 NE wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 1
Northern Flicker- 6
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 1
American Robin- 1011
American Pipit- 2
Cedar Waxwing- 10
Northern Parula- 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 577
Palm Warbler- 5
Blackpoll Warbler- 3
Warbler sp.- 253
Savannah Sparrow- 3
Eastern Meadowlark- 23
Brown Creeper- 1

Total Birds: 1899

Hawk Watch Count 10-11-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             15             27
Turkey Vulture               0             92             92
Osprey                      19            484            885
Bald Eagle                   3             72            219
Northern Harrier             8            199            356
Sharp-shinned Hawk         285           3928           7852
Cooper's Hawk              211           1988           3389
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          1             10             19
Broad-winged Hawk            3            346            485
Red-tailed Hawk             19             47            138
Rough-legged Hawk            0              1              1
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel            39            685           2692
Merlin                      20            374           1078
Peregrine Falcon            46            674           1138
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     654           8918          18378

Sea Watch Count 10/11/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Brant - 19

Wood Duck - 10

Gadwall - 2

American Wigeon - 7

American Black Duck - 17

Mallard - 5

Northern Pintail - 77

Green-winged Teal - 237

Surf Scoter - 1,048

White-winged Scoter - 2

Black Scoter - 921

dark-winged scoter - 62

Red-throated Loon - 8

Common Loon - 41

Northern Gannet - 116

Brown Pelican - 10

Double-crested Cormorant - 9,247

Great Cormorant - 1

Great Blue Heron - 4

Great Egret - 68

Laughing Gull - 631

Ring-billed Gull - 172

Common Tern - 1

Forster's Tern - 162

Royal Tern - 18

Black Skimmer - 160

Parasitic Jaeger - 2

American Oystercatcher - 25

Total: 13,073

Monarch: 27

View from the Platform 10-11-08

Location: Cape May Bird Observatory Hawk Watch Site
Number of species: 25

Brant-5
Canada Goose-X
Mute Swan-4
Wood Duck-2
Gadwall-5
Mallard-X
Northern Shoveler-10
Northern Pintail-3
Green-winged Teal-X
Ruddy Duck-3
Double-crested Cormorant-87
Great Blue Heron-1
Great Egret-1
Great Black-backed Gull-1
Belted Kingfisher-1
Tree Swallow-X
European Starling-1
Yellow-rumped Warbler-2
Pine Warbler-2
Palm Warbler-2
Song Sparrow-1
White-throated Sparrow-1
White-crowned Sparrow-1
Indigo Bunting-1
House Sparrow-X

Morning Flight 10-11-2008

Morning Flight: 5-10 NE wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 2
Northern Flicker- 19
Eastern Wood-Pewee- 2
Eastern Phoebe- 4
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 23
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 3
American Robin- 1302
American Pipit- 12
Cedar Waxwing- 158
Tennessee Warbler- 2
Nashville Warbler- 12
Northern Parula- 24
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 5708
Black-throated Green Warbler- 4
Palm Warbler- 32
Blackpoll Warbler- 67
Black and White Warbler- 2
Warbler sp.- 3914
Scarlet Tanager- 1
Chipping Sparrow- 1
Savannah Sparrow- 29
Dark-eyed Junco- 10
Indigo Bunting- 2
Dickcissel- 1
Bobolink- 2
Eastern Meadowlark- 22
Rusty Blackbird- 5
Purple Finch- 7
Pine Siskin- 1
Blue Jay- 191

Total Birds: 11574

Non Morning Flight birds: 12 Wood Ducks, 14 Brants, 60 Black Scoters, 8 Boat-tailed Grackles

View from the Platform 10-10-08

This is our first "View from the Platform" blog and what exciting news we have to report for today! The day started off with blue skies, high clouds and north winds, pushing through a good amount of the usual suspects: Accipiters, Black and Turkey Vultures, Bald Eagles, and Peregrines. However, these fair winds blew in quite an unusual suspect as well; this morning we saw the first Rough-Legged Hawk of the season! It flew in relatively low and circled the hawk watch platform, giving everyone on the deck - around 25 people - a great look at this Arctic hawk.

The day finished out strong with the count at 565 hawks plus 35 non-raptor bird species including an American Coot and over 75 Double-Crested Cormorants! The only drawback to this great day was that Melissa, while performing her duties as hawk ID instructor, was in the classroom when the big news hit. Ironically, she was dutifully explaining how rare a Rough-Legged Hawk is to Cape May as it was flying overhead. However, we have high hopes that our already successful season will continue with many other exciting birds (and another Rough-Legged for Melissa)...so until then, keep a watchful eye to the sky!
Ashley Green



Location: Cape May Bird Observatory Hawk Watch Site
Number of species: 35
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 4
Gadwall 2
American Wigeon 7
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal 3
Northern Shoveler 7
Northern Pintail 5
Green-winged Teal X
Double-crested Cormorant 78
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 1
American Coot 1
Greater Yellowlegs 1
White-rumped Sandpiper 1
Laughing Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull X
Belted Kingfisher 1
Northern Flicker 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 45
Tree Swallow 200
Barn Swallow 1
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Palm Warbler 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Bobolink 1
Red-winged Blackbird 22
Eastern Meadowlark 2
House Sparrow X

Sea Watch Count 10/10/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Wood Duck - 8

American Wigeon - 1

American Black Duck - 3

Northern Pintail - 4

Green-winged Teal - 20

Surf Scoter - 129

Black Scoter - 93

Red-breasted Merganser - 1

Common Loon - 16

Northern Gannet - 102

Brown Pelican - 37

Double-crested Cormorant - 5,566

Great Blue Heron - 14

Laughing Gull - 162

Forster's Tern - 51

Black Skimmer - 31

American Oystercatcher - 72

Greater Yellowlegs - 2

Total: 6,312

Monarch: 66

Hawk Watch Count 10-10-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                7             15             27
Turkey Vulture              34             92             92
Osprey                      17            465            866
Bald Eagle                  10             69            216
Northern Harrier            19            191            348
Sharp-shinned Hawk         248           3643           7567
Cooper's Hawk              150           1777           3178
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              9             18
Broad-winged Hawk            6            343            482
Red-tailed Hawk              1             28            119
Rough-legged Hawk            1              1              1
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel            11            646           2653
Merlin                      16            354           1058
Peregrine Falcon            45            628           1092
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     565           8264          17724

Morning Flight 10-10-2008

Morning Flight: 5-10 NW wind, clear conditions
Counter: Dan Berard

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 9
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 1
Northern Flicker- 23
Eastern Wood-Pewee- 3
Eastern Phoebe- 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 15
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 7
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 7
American Robin- 46
Cedar Waxwing- 23
Tennessee Warbler- 1
Northern Parula- 4
Yellow Warbler- 1
Cape May Warbler- 5
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 11
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 655
Black-throated Green Warbler- 27
Palm Warbler- 86
Blackpoll Warbler- 2175
Black and White Warbler- 8
Warbler sp.- 64
Savannah Sparrow- 3
Indigo Bunting- 1
Bobolink- 45
Eastern Meadowlark- 3
Purple Finch- 3
Blue Jay- 445
Blue-headed Vireo- 6
Brown Creeper- 1

Total Birds: 3679

View from the Platform 10-9-08

Location: Cape May Bird Observatory Hawk Watch Site

Number of species: 25
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 2
Gadwall 5
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal 5
Northern Shoveler 15
Northern Pintail 3
Green-winged Teal 10
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Lesser Yellowlegs X
Pectoral Sandpiper 8
Laughing Gull X
Caspian Tern 1
Forster's Tern 1
Royal Tern 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Blue Jay X
crow sp. X
Tree Swallow X
Carolina Wren 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
Song Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 18
House Sparrow X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Hawk Watch Count 10-9-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              8             20
Turkey Vulture               0             58             58
Osprey                       4            448            849
Bald Eagle                   0             59            206
Northern Harrier             3            172            329
Sharp-shinned Hawk          68           3395           7319
Cooper's Hawk               20           1627           3028
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              9             18
Broad-winged Hawk            0            337            476
Red-tailed Hawk              0             27            118
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel             8            635           2642
Merlin                       1            338           1042
Peregrine Falcon            22            583           1047
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     126           7699          17159

Morning Flight 10-9-2008

Morning Flight: 5-10 SW wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Northern Parula- 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 2
Blackpoll Warbler- 2
Warbler sp.- 1
Eastern Meadowlark- 2

Total Birds: 9

Non Morning Flight birds: 40 Surf Scoters, 350 Black Scoters

Hawk Watch Count 10-8-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              8             20
Turkey Vulture               0             58             58
Osprey                       0            444            845
Bald Eagle                   0             59            206
Northern Harrier            11            169            326
Sharp-shinned Hawk          30           3327           7251
Cooper's Hawk               13           1607           3008
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              9             18
Broad-winged Hawk            0            337            476
Red-tailed Hawk              0             27            118
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel            33            627           2634
Merlin                       1            337           1041
Peregrine Falcon             2            561           1025
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                      90           7573          17033

Monarch Monitoring Project - 10/8/08

The Monarch Monitoring Project Presents the Insect of the Week:

PRAYING MANTID

Thanks Jon Kauffman for the photo

It's time for another exciting blog about the "Insect of the Week"! This week we are featuring the Praying Mantid. Praying mantids are common around Cape May, but may be easily overlooked because of their cryptic "leaf-like" appearance. There are three different species of mantids found here:

1. The European Mantid (Mantis religiosa)
2. The Chinese Mantid (Tenodera aridifolia)
3. The Carolina Mantid (Stagmomantis carolina) - our only native mantid

All three of these mantid have similar habits of feeding. They use their cryptic appearance to blend in with leaves and stems near flowers. Then when an unsuspecting bee, wasp, or butterfly visits the flower, the mantid will use it's raptorial front legs to quickly grab the insect. After it has the insect firmly in its grasp, it will begin to chow down (see below)!


Above is a photo I took of a Carolina mantid eating an American lady (Vanessa virginiensis). Although mantids often eat butterflies and other beloved insects, they can be extremely helpful at getting rid of unwanted pests. Both the European and the Chinese mantid were introduced in the early 1900s to control common garden pests. You can actually even buy the egg cases of the Chinese mantid at garden stores! Mantids are actually one of the few predators of the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexipus). Below is a picture of a Chinese mantid eating a monarch (hopefully the monarch wasn't tagged!).

Photo by Michael O'Brien

Mantids have also gained notoriety because of their strange and violent courtship process. After mating the female will often eat the male mantid. The females are usually bigger, and the male mantis has little hope of getting away if she decides that she's hungry. This after fertilization meal, gives the female an extra boost of nutrition and energy that she will use make an egg case (an ootheca in entomological terms). It seems like a bad deal for the male mantid, but he does pass his genes on before he is devoured. Evolutionarily he still wins!

Unfortunately I don't have enough room or time to talk about all the amazing aspects of mantids. To learn more consult your local library, there are many great books about mantids out there!

European mantids mating (RUN Mr. Mantid, RUN!)

Morning Flight 10-8-2008

Morning Flight: 0-5 SSW wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 1
Northern Flicker- 6
American Robin- 816
Northern Parula- 15
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 159
Black-throated Green Warbler- 4
Palm Warbler- 10
Blackpoll Warbler- 1
Black and White Warbler- 1
American Redstart- 1
Connecticut Warbler- 1
Warbler sp.- 23
Savannah Sparrow- 1

Total Birds: 1043

Non Morning Flight birds: 1 Common Loon, 35 Surf Scoters, 200 Black Scoters

Hawk Watch Count 10-7-2008

Official Observer: Dan Berard

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                8              8             20
Turkey Vulture              58             58             58
Osprey                      56            444            845
Bald Eagle                  16             59            206
Northern Harrier            24            158            315
Sharp-shinned Hawk         575           3297           7221
Cooper's Hawk              369           1594           2995
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          2              9             18
Broad-winged Hawk           24            337            476
Red-tailed Hawk              5             27            118
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 1              1              1
American Kestrel            70            594           2601
Merlin                      38            336           1040
Peregrine Falcon            22            559           1023
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                    1268           7483          16943

Sea Watch Count 10/7/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Brant - 30

Wood Duck - 31

Gadwall - 2

American Wigeon - 15

American Black Duck - 67

Mallard - 1

Northern Shoveler - 1

Northern Pintail - 178

Green-winged Teal - 872

scaup sp. - 30

Greater Scaup - 1

eider sp. - 1

Surf Scoter - 3,179

White-winged Scoter - 1

Black Scoter - 7,149

dark-winged scoter - 5,843

Red-throated Loon - 2

Common Loon - 24

Northern Gannet - 55

Double-crested Cormorant - 8,928

Great Cormorant - 3

Great Blue Heron - 10

Great Egret - 1

Snowy Egret - 108

Little Blue Heron - 17

Tricolored Heron - 19

Laughing Gull - 120

Forster's Tern - 109

Total: 26,797

Monarch: 186

Morning Flight 10-7-2008

Morning Flight: 0-5 NNE wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 4
Northern Flicker- 97
Eastern Wood-Pewee- 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 17
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher- 2
American Robin- 624
American Pipit- 17
Cedar Waxwing- 155
Tennessee Warbler- 1
Northern Parula- 18
Cape May Warbler- 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 923
Black-throated Green Warbler- 2
Palm Warbler- 30
Blackpoll Warbler- 27
American Redstart- 2
Connecticut Warbler- 1
Warbler sp.- 109
Savannah Sparrow- 4
Dark-eyed Junco- 2
Dickcissel- 2
Eastern Meadowlark- 2
Rusty Blackbird- 5

Total Birds: 2053

Non Morning Flight birds: 2 Bald Eagles, 2 Common Loon, 15 American Black Ducks, 13 Brants, 8 Surf Scoters, 66 Black Scoters

Sea Watch Count 10/6/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Brant - 111

Wood Duck - 3

American Wigeon - 4

American Black Duck - 6

Blue-winged Teal - 1

Northern Pintail - 171

Green-winged Teal - 215

Greater Scaup - 1

Surf Scoter - 347

White-winged Scoter - 1

Black Scoter - 1,597

dark-winged scoter - 43

Red-throated Loon - 2

Common Loon - 17

Northern Gannet - 13

Double-crested Cormorant - 2,383

Great Blue Heron - 114

Great Egret - 9

Laughing Gull - 685

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1

Forster's Tern - 273

Black Skimmer - 50

Parasitic Jaeger - 1

American Oystercatcher - 53

Total: 6,101

Monarch: 13

Hawk Watch Count 10-6-2008

Official Observer: Dan Berard

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0             12
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                     185            388            789
Bald Eagle                  17             43            190
Northern Harrier            85            134            291
Sharp-shinned Hawk         995           2722           6646
Cooper's Hawk              389           1225           2626
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          5              7             16
Broad-winged Hawk          159            313            452
Red-tailed Hawk             10             22            113
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            94            524           2531
Merlin                      77            298           1002
Peregrine Falcon           105            537           1001
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                    2121           6215          15675

Monarch Monitoring Project - 10/6/08

Greetings all! Well, the monarchs are finally arriving in Cape May. This past weeks census had the highest numbers to date with 77.33 monarchs/hour. North west winds at the beginning of the week funneled large numbers of monarchs through Cape May! Although the numbers are not as spectacular as previous years, we at the MMP still hope that more monarchs are coming! Aside from the monarchs, Cape May had some other interesting visitors this week...

***RARE BUTTERFLY ALERT***


Yesterday, October 5, 2008, a Queen butterfly (Danaus glippus) was seen by many on West Lake Drive in Cape May Point. This was a female queen (see picture above) determined by markings and the fact that the butterfly was laying eggs. This butterfly is an extremely rare visitor to Cape May! The range of the queen butterfly is the southern united states into Central and South America. To find one up here is a strange but wonderful occurrence.

The queen hasn't been sited today, but it still may very well be hanging around Cape May Point. Keep your eyes open and your cameras ready!

*DISCLAIMER: Some naturalists suspect that this particular butterfly did not arrive in Cape May naturally. They are often available in butterfly kits and it is possible that it was let go at a recent wedding on the point. True or not, it was still very exciting to see a queen butterfly*

Northern Short-tailed Shrew!


The MMP had another interesting visitor today, thought this one was in the phylum Mammalia! Behold (above) the northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda). This little critter was running amok on the streets of Cape May point today when Dick Walton bravely captured it in his net! When I say bravely, I mean bravely! This little guy looks cute but he is actually poisonous! The Norhtern short-tailed shrew is one of the few poisonous mammals that exist. It uses it's toxic saliva to kill prey much larger than itself. Not a mammal that you want to mess with!
This shrew is common in our area but they nest underground and is usually difficult to find. We at the Monarch Monitoring Project consider ourselves lucky that we got to spend some time with this exciting mammal. After a tiny meal of worms (provided by Dick Walton), this little guy was sent back into the world. We all wish him luck!

Photo by Michael O'Brien


Tomorrow I will be posting a new "Insect of the Week" segment. This week will feature the Praying Mantis!

Morning Flight 10-6-2008

Morning Flight: 5-10 E wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 3
Northern Flicker- 33
Eastern Phoebe- 1
Red-eyed Vireo- 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 4
American Robin- 42
American Pipit- 3
Cedar Waxwing- 29
Tennessee Warbler- 1
Northern Parula- 13
Magnolia Warbler- 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 9
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 1115
Black-throated Green Warbler- 2
Palm Warbler- 74
Blackpoll Warbler- 19
Black and White Warbler- 3
American Redstart- 2
Warbler sp.- 310
Scarlet Tanager- 1
Chipping Sparrow- 2
Savannah Sparrow- 4
Dark-eyed Junco- 1
Indigo Bunting- 9
Bobolink- 1
Purple Finch- 1

Total Birds: 1685

Non Morning Flight birds: 9 Brant, 11 Green-winged Teals, 5 Black Scoters, 3 Common Loons

Hawk Watch Count 10-5-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0             12
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      77            203            604
Bald Eagle                   2             26            173
Northern Harrier            15             49            206
Sharp-shinned Hawk         365           1727           5651
Cooper's Hawk              228            836           2237
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              2             11
Broad-winged Hawk           10            154            293
Red-tailed Hawk              2             12            103
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            46            430           2437
Merlin                      65            221            925
Peregrine Falcon           178            432            896
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     988           4094          13554

Sea Watch Count 10/5/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Brant - 95

Canada Goose - 1

Blue-winged Teal - 14

Northern Shoveler - 8

Northern Pintail - 207

Green-winged Teal - 75

dabbler sp. - 1

Surf Scoter - 176

Black Scoter - 68

dark-winged scoter - 22

Red-breasted Merganser - 1

Red-throated Loon - 2

Common Loon - 4

Northern Gannet - 4

Brown Pelican - 40

Double-crested Cormorant - 3,939

Great Blue Heron - 21

Great Egret - 8

Laughing Gull - 231

Parasitic Jaeger - 1

American Oystercatcher - 73

Total: 4,991

Monarch: 164

Morning Flight 10-5-2008

Morning Flight: 0-5 S wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 2
Northern Flicker- 12
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 1
American Robin- 164
Northern Parula- 2
Cape May Warbler- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 26
Palm Warbler- 23
Blackpoll Warbler- 2
Warbler sp.- 27
Bobolink- 8
Eastern Meadowlark- 3

Total Birds: 272

Non Morning Flight birds: 1 Brant, 1 Parasitic Jaeger

Hawk Watch Count 10-4-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0             12
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      67            126            527
Bald Eagle                   3             24            171
Northern Harrier            16             34            191
Sharp-shinned Hawk         463           1362           5286
Cooper's Hawk              261            608           2009
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          2              2             11
Broad-winged Hawk           43            144            283
Red-tailed Hawk              7             10            101
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            33            384           2391
Merlin                      51            156            860
Peregrine Falcon           119            254            718
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              2
Swallow-tailed Kite          1              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                    1066           3106          12566

Sea Watch Count 10/4/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Brant - 39

Canada Goose - 40

goose sp. - 11

Wood Duck - 1

American Black Duck - 2

Northern Pintail - 88

Green-winged Teal - 20

dabbler sp. - 1

Surf Scoter - 13

Black Scoter - 13

Red-throated Loon - 1

Common Loon - 11

Northern Gannet - 6

Brown Pelican - 12

Double-crested Cormorant - 3,799

Great Blue Heron - 118

Laughing Gull - 1,355

Black Skimmer - 19

American Oystercatcher - 16

Total: 5,565

Monarch: 131

Morning Flight 10-4-2008

Morning Flight: 0-5 NE wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 5
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 3
Northern Flicker- 30
Eastern Phoebe- 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher- 2
American Robin- 775
American Pipit- 1
Cedar Waxwing- 42
Northern Parula- 24
Yellow Warbler- 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler- 1
Magnolia Warbler- 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 18
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 136
Black-throated Green Warbler- 15
Blackburnian Warbler- 1
Palm Warbler- 66
Blackpoll Warbler- 38
Black and White Warbler- 1
American Redstart- 2
Warbler sp.- 230
Chipping Sparrow- 2
Savannah Sparrow- 9
Rose-breasted Grosbeak- 1
Indigo Bunting- 3
Dickcissel- 1
Bobolink- 3
Baltimore Oriole- 1
Blue Jay- 29

Total Birds: 1448

Non Morning Flight birds: 3 Wood Ducks, 1 Green-winged Teal

Sea Watch Count 10/3/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Brant - 11

Wood Duck - 3

American Black Duck - 14

Northern Pintail - 13

Green-winged Teal - 86

dabbler sp. - 9

Surf Scoter - 7

Black Scoter - 2

Common Loon - 4

Northern Gannet - 14

Double-crested Cormorant - 557

Great Blue Heron - 47

Great Egret - 7

Little Blue Heron - 1

Glossy Ibis - 1

Laughing Gull - 18

Common Tern - 8

Forster's Tern - 108

American Golden Plover - 1

Total: 912

Monarch: 67

Hawk Watch Count 10-3-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0             12
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      14             59            460
Bald Eagle                   6             21            168
Northern Harrier             5             18            175
Sharp-shinned Hawk         327            899           4823
Cooper's Hawk              107            347           1748
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              9
Broad-winged Hawk           44            101            240
Red-tailed Hawk              1              3             94
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            87            351           2358
Merlin                      22            105            809
Peregrine Falcon            33            135            599
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             1              1              2
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     647           2040          11500

Morning Flight 10-3-2008

Morning Flight: 5-10 NW wind, clear conditions
Counter: Dan Berard

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 10
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 2
Northern Flicker- 46
Eastern Wood-Pewee- 2
Eastern Phoebe- 1
Red-eyed Vireo- 4
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 6
American Robin- 1
Cedar Waxwing- 22
Nashville Warbler- 1
Northern Parula- 27
Yellow Warbler- 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler- 3
Magnolia Warbler- 7
Cape May Warbler- 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 20
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 12
Black-throated Green Warbler- 37
Prairie Warbler- 1
Palm Warbler- 25
Blackpoll Warbler- 24
Black and White Warbler- 5
American Redstart- 8
Connecticut Warbler- 1
Warbler sp.- 24
Scarlet Tanager- 1
Savannah Sparrow- 1
Blue Grosbeak- 2
Dickcissel- 1
Rusty Blackbird- 1
Western Kingbird- 1
Common Yellowthroat- 1

Total Birds: 303

Hawk Watch Count 10-2-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0             12
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      19             45            446
Bald Eagle                  11             15            162
Northern Harrier            10             13            170
Sharp-shinned Hawk         263            572           4496
Cooper's Hawk               73            240           1641
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              9
Broad-winged Hawk            7             57            196
Red-tailed Hawk              0              2             93
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel           250            264           2271
Merlin                      57             83            787
Peregrine Falcon            28            102            566
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     718           1393          10853

Morning Flight 10-2-2008

Morning Flight: 15-30 NNW wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Northern Flicker- 4
Cedar Waxwing- 36
Northern Parula- 10
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 1
Blackpoll Warbler- 32
Warbler sp.- 77

Total Birds: 161

Non Morning Flight birds: 1 Shearwater sp., 2 American Golden Plovers

Hawk Watch Count 10-1-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0             12
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      26             26            427
Bald Eagle                   4              4            151
Northern Harrier             3              3            160
Sharp-shinned Hawk         309            309           4233
Cooper's Hawk              167            167           1568
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              9
Broad-winged Hawk           50             50            189
Red-tailed Hawk              2              2             93
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            14             14           2021
Merlin                      26             26            730
Peregrine Falcon            74             74            538
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              1
Mississippi Kite             0              0              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              0              2

Total:                     675            675          10135

Morning Flight 10-1-2008

Morning Flight: 5-10 WSW wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 2
Northern Flicker- 26
American Robin- 264
Northern Parula- 5
Magnolia Warbler- 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 5
Blackpoll Warbler- 19
Warbler sp.- 9
Indigo Bunting- 1
Bobolink- 5

Total Birds: 341

Non Morning Flight birds: 6 Black Skimmers, 1 Parasitic Jaeger

Monarch Monitoring Project - 9/30/08

THE MONARCHS ARE HERE!

Finally (after much waiting and looking towards to sky) the monarchs are arriving in Cape May in bulk. Today's surveys had the highest number of monarchs recorded all year! On his 9:00 survey run, Dick Walton counted more than 40 monarchs. The MMP was also able to tag in large numbers today. I personally tagged exactly 100 butterflies! It was an exciting personal achievement, and it gives us all hope that monarch numbers will continue to increase!



Check back soon for the official numbers from the weekly census. I just wanted to let everyone know that the monarchs have arrived, and they are most certainly welcome!



Photo by Michael O'Brien

Hawk Watch Count 9-30-2008

Official Observer: Dan Berard

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             12             12
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      56            401            401
Bald Eagle                   5            147            147
Northern Harrier             9            157            157
Sharp-shinned Hawk         463           3924           3924
Cooper's Hawk              232           1401           1401
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          3              9              9
Broad-winged Hawk           56            139            139
Red-tailed Hawk             18             91             91
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            84           2007           2007
Merlin                      48            704            704
Peregrine Falcon           143            464            464
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              1              1
Mississippi Kite             0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              1              2              2

Total:                    1118           9460           9460

Sea Watch Count 9/30/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Brant - 14

Wood Duck - 14

American Wigeon - 1

American Black Duck - 8

Northern Pintail - 1

Green-winged Teal - 93

dabbler sp. - 24

Surf Scoter - 7

Black Scoter - 31

dark-winged scoter - 15

Common Loon - 4

Northern Gannet - 7

Brown Pelican - 1

Double-crested Cormorant - 906

Great Blue Heron - 15

Laughing Gull - 13

Common Tern - 68

Forster's Tern - 59

Black Skimmer - 13

Parasitic Jaeger - 2

Red Knot - 30

Killdeer - 1

Total: 1327

Monarch: 61

Non waterbirds of note: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Morning Flight 9-30-2008

Morning Flight: 5-10 NNW wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 9
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker- 24
Northern Flicker- 590
Eastern Phoebe- 2
Red-eyed Vireo- 7
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet- 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 3
American Robin- 790
Cedar Waxwing- 18
Nashville Warbler- 5
Northern Parula- 65
Magnolia Warbler- 4
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 21
Yellow-rumped Warbler- 184
Black-throated Green Warbler- 2
Palm Warbler- 217
Blackpoll Warbler- 82
Black and White Warbler- 6
American Redstart- 6
Connecticut Warbler- 2
Warbler sp.- 481
Scarlet Tanager- 13
Savannah Sparrow- 4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak- 5
Blue Grosbeak- 3
Indigo Bunting- 17
Dickcissel- 3
Bobolink- 49
Baltimore Oriole- 6
Blue Jay- 37
Downy Woodpecker- 2
White-breasted Nuthatch- 1

Total Birds: 2664

Non Morning Flight birds: 1 Common Nighthawk, 1 Caspian Tern

Sea Watch Count 9/29/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

American Black Duck - 2

Northern Pintail - 10

Green-winged Teal - 5

Surf Scoter - 4

Black Scoter - 9

Northern Gannet - 1

Brown Pelican - 9

Double-crested Cormorant - 1,068

Great Blue Heron - 2

Great Egret - 4

Snowy Egret - 9

Laughing Gull - 215

Common Tern - 6

Forster's Tern - 11

Black Skimmer - 90

Parasitic Jaeger - 2

jaeger sp. - 2

American Oystercatcher - 78

Total: 1,527

Monarch: 61

Hawk Watch Count 9-29-2008

Official Observer: Dan Berard

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             12             12
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                       7            345            345
Bald Eagle                   4            142            142
Northern Harrier            19            148            148
Sharp-shinned Hawk        1079           3461           3461
Cooper's Hawk              299           1169           1169
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          2              6              6
Broad-winged Hawk           25             83             83
Red-tailed Hawk              3             73             73
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel           439           1923           1923
Merlin                      68            656            656
Peregrine Falcon            71            321            321
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              1              1
Mississippi Kite             1              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                    2017           8342           8342

Monarch Monitoring Project - 9/29/08

The Monarch Monitoring Project Presents:

The Insect of the Week!

Hello all! Here at the MMP we love insects. Aside from the fabulous and amazing monarch butterfly, there are so many other interesting insect residents and visitors here in Cape May. We thought it would be fun (and educational) to chose one insect every week to learn more about. All you amateur entomologists out there rejoice! Insects play such an important part in the environment around us. They are pollinators, decomposer, helpful predators, and even indicators of ecosystem health. Insects outnumber humans on this planet 200 million to 1! They deserve our respect and admiration. This is why we bring you the insect of the week:


Cloudless Sulfur (Phoebis sennae)

Perhaps you have seen a big yellow butterfly cruising around Cape May? This is the Cloudless Sulfur! The picture above is a female cloudless sulfur. She can be distinguished from the male by the spots on her wings and the slight black/brown edging outlining the wings. Cloudless sulfurs prefer certain host plants, somewhat like the monarch butterfly. Depending on the region the host plant may be the partridge pea (Chamaecrista cinerea) or a type of senna (Senna sp.).

(Photo from Dale Clark of the Dallas Country Lepidopterists Society)

Larave of the cloudless sulfur can be green (as above) or yellow. Caterpillars will build a tent-like structure on it's host plant to hide from predators while they feed. The chrysalis of the cloudless sulfur is a pale green color similar to that of a monarch.

(Photo from Dale Clark of the Dallas Country Lepidopterists Society)

Cloudless sulfurs range from South America up to parts of Canada, but are most common in warmer areas. During summer months they will move northward in search of food sources and ideal reproduction habitat. Once the weather becomes colder Cloudless sulfurs return south. Those seen in Cape May now are moving through, much like the monarch (though they probably aren't going quite as far!). The best place to spot this wonderful butterfly is in open areas or fields when the sun is shining. Here is the taxonomic placement of the Cloudless sulfur:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Athropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera (butterflies/moths)
Family: Pieridae (sulfurs)
Genus: Phoebis
Species: Phoebis sennae

Morning Flight 9-29-2008

Morning Flight: 5-10 NNW wind, clear conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Ruby-throated Hummingbird- 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker- 1
Northern Flicker- 4
Eastern Phoebe- 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch- 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet- 1
American Robin- 153
Cedar Waxwing- 31
Northern Parula- 66
Yellow Warbler- 1
Magnolia Warbler- 2
Cape May Warbler- 4
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 13
Black-throated Green Warbler- 6
Palm Warbler- 124
Bay-breasted Warbler- 2
Blackpoll Warbler- 48
"Baypoll" Warbler- 1
Black and White Warbler- 2
American Redstart- 9
Northern Waterthrush- 1
Warbler sp.- 484
Indigo Bunting- 1
Bobolink- 1
Eastern Meadowlark- 1
Spizella sp.- 1
Yellow-headed Blackbird- 1
Blue Jay- 365

Total Birds: 1326

Non Morning Flight birds: 1 Black Skimmer, 2 Northern Pintails

Sea Watch Count 9/28/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Surf Scoter - 1

Northern Gannet - 3

Brown Pelican - 18

Double-crested Cormorant - 20

Great Blue Heron - 1

Great Egret - 9

Snowy Egret - 116

Little Blue Heron - 7

Tricolored Heron - 3

Glossy Ibis - 8

Common Tern - 7

Forster's Tern - 2

Black Skimmer - 9

Parasitic Jaeger - 1

jaeger sp. - 2

Total: 207

Monarch - 24

Hawk Watch Count 9-28-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             12             12
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      10            338            338
Bald Eagle                   2            138            138
Northern Harrier             3            129            129
Sharp-shinned Hawk          46           2382           2382
Cooper's Hawk                8            870            870
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              4              4
Broad-winged Hawk            1             58             58
Red-tailed Hawk              0             70             70
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel             0           1484           1484
Merlin                       7            588            588
Peregrine Falcon            21            250            250
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                      98           6325           6325

Morning Flight 9-28-2008

Morning Flight: 0-5 SSW wind, foggy conditions
Counter: Sam Galick

Red-eyed Vireo- 1
Northern Parula- 1
Yellow Warbler- 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 1
Blackpoll Warbler- 2
Black and White Warbler- 1
American Redstart- 2
Warbler sp.- 2
Dickcissel- 1
Baltimore Oriole- 10
Yellow-throated Warbler- 1
Lark Sparrow- 1

Total Birds: 24

Non Morning Flight birds: 11 Black Skimmers, 4 Caspian Terns

Sea Watch Count 9/27/08

Counter: Sean Fitzgerald

Black Scoter - 1

dark-winged scoter - 1

Northern Gannet - 2

Brown Pelican - 17

Double-crested Cormorant - 35

Laughing Gull - 34

Common Tern - 1

Forster's Tern - 13

Parasitic Jaeger - 3

Total: 107

Monarch - 5

Hawk Watch Count 9-27-2008

Official Observer: Seth Cutright

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             12             12
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                       3            328            328
Bald Eagle                   2            136            136
Northern Harrier             4            126            126
Sharp-shinned Hawk         106           2336           2336
Cooper's Hawk               18            862            862
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              4              4
Broad-winged Hawk            3             57             57
Red-tailed Hawk              2             70             70
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel             3           1484           1484
Merlin                       3            581            581
Peregrine Falcon            17            229            229
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              1              1
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              1

Total:                     161           6227           6227

Morning Flight 9-27-2008

Morning Flight: 0-5 SE wind, clear conditions
Counter: Dan Berard

American Robin- 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler- 2
Palm Warbler- 2
American Redstart- 1

Total Birds: 6