It's funny what a difference a month, or in this case a day, makes sometimes. We know October as the month when the Sparrows, Phoebes and other later migrants come through, and when the cold really begins to set in, but it seems borderline ridiculous for it all that to happen at once right on October 1st, when the preceding day showed little evidence (except slightly cool morning temps) of this. Yet there I was on the Hawkwatch platform early this morning staring down gobs of Common Yellowthroats, Eastern Phoebes, and Savannah and Swamp Sparrows while bundled up (relativel speaking, of course) against the 45 degree temperature. The light NW winds were perfect for passerine migration, but I initially thought we might not get many raptors after the early returns from the day. Luckily, raptors started moving along several flight lines as soon as the sun started to heat everything up, and a pretty good movement devloped and stayed sustained throughout the day. We clicked 963 total raptors when all was said and counted. Also of note was a crowd pleasing American Bittern flying slowly in front of the platform in the gorgeous late afternoon light around 4:30 PM.
eBird list followed by Hawkcount data:
Location: Cape Island--Cape May Point SP--CMBO Hawk Watch
Observation date: 10/1/09
Number of species: 69
Canada Goose 200
American Wigeon 4
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 6
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 8
Double-crested Cormorant 600
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 5
Black Vulture 9
Turkey Vulture 35
Osprey 86
Bald Eagle 22
Northern Harrier 26
Sharp-shinned Hawk 350
Cooper's Hawk 274
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Broad-winged Hawk 17
Red-tailed Hawk 18
American Kestrel 77
Merlin 36
Peregrine Falcon 33
American Coot 8
Killdeer 9
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Caspian Tern 1
Forster's Tern 40
Royal Tern 5
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 8
Chimney Swift 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 35
Eastern Phoebe 6
Blue Jay 20
Fish Crow 15
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 8
Carolina Chickadee 2
Carolina Wren 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 5
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing 25
Northern Parula 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Magnolia Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2
Pine Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 2
Palm Warbler (Western) 15
Common Yellowthroat 40
Savannah Sparrow 20
Song Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 5
Northern Cardinal 1
Indigo Bunting 3
Dickcissel 1 Calling flyover
Bobolink 3
Red-winged Blackbird X
Eastern Meadowlark 1 Flyby
Common Grackle 4
American Goldfinch 55
House Sparrow X
Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 01, 2009
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 4 - 4 - 47
Turkey Vulture 26 - 26 - 94
Osprey 82 - 82 - 1728
Bald Eagle 20 - 20 - 215
Northern Harrier 26 - 26 - 182
Sharp-shinned Hawk 350 - 350 - 4162
Cooper's Hawk 274 - 274 - 1507
Northern Goshawk 0 - 0 - 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 2 - 2 - 8
Broad-winged Hawk 17 - 17 - 195
Red-tailed Hawk 16 - 16 - 195
Rough-legged Hawk 0 - 0 - 0
Golden Eagle 0 - 0 - 0
American Kestrel 77 - 77 - 2152
Merlin 36 - 36 - 870
Peregrine Falcon 33 - 33 - 295
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 1
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 1
Total: 963 963 11652
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Observation start time: 05:30:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 10.5 hours
Official Counter: Doug Gochfeld
Observers:
Weather:
NW Winds (variable 5-15)
Raptor Observations:
Non-raptor Observations:
American Bittern, Eastern Meadowlark, Dickcissel
