Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 03, 2013 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 4 4 4 Osprey 63 70 70 Bald Eagle 2 2 2 Northern Harrier 6 6 6 Sharp-shinned Hawk 5 5 5 Cooper's Hawk 4 4 4 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 1 1 1 Red-tailed Hawk 2 2 2 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 42 43 43 Merlin 2 3 3 Peregrine Falcon 1 1 1 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 0 0 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 132 141 141 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 05:15:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 10.75 hours Official Counter: Tom Magarian Observers: Weather: Calm and partly cloudy at the start. The front passed mid morning and the wind picked out of the NW at about 8mph, the day ended with the winds out of the NNW. Temps in the 80's. Raptor Observations: Non-raptor Observations: Say's Phoebe at the end of the day. Predictions: Hopefully light to moderate NW winds.
Hawk - Watch 3 September 2013
Morning Flight - 3 September 2013
The second highest count at Morning Flight so far was a surprise this morning! Bobolinks put in a fantastic show- all flying south directly overhead. At one point Mike Crewe said, "hey, what's that black one?" Thinking it was a still alternate Bobolink, I snapped a few photos of it and through my viewfinder I swore I saw white wing patches. I mentioned it but we got distracted with other things and I couldn't review the photos well with the bright sun on the screen. Looking at the them at home now, it appears I photographed a Yellow-headed Blackbird!
When I was leaving I almost stepped on something bright and red moving about on the ground- oh cool, a velvet ant!! The Mutillidae family is comprised of thousands of hairy ant-imitating wasps, in the field you could easily see it's antenna pulsing like other wasps' typical behavior. It crawled into the ground and thankfully after poking the hole like a chimp with a phragmite I was able to pull it out and photograph it before it went back into another hole.
The winds started out slightly from the SW but then continued westward and by the time I ended the count, it started switching to the NW- good migration conditions to come tomorrow morning! I have a feeling tomorrow will be a big day, perhaps the biggest of the season so far! If you have the time get out and about tomorrow, it'll be interesting for sure!! Maybe I'll see a few of you in the morning on the dike!
73° F
SW @ 0-5 MPH
Muggy conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 3
Eastern Kingbird - 2
Red-eyed Vireo - 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1
American Robin - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 6
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Yellow Warbler - 9
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 4
Magnolia Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 1
Blackpoll Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 5
American Redstart - 94
Northern Waterthrush - 10
warbler sp. - 37
Chipping Sparrow - 1
Blue Grosbeak - 1
Bobolink - 1,379
Baltimore Oriole - 1
Yellow-headed Blackbird - 1
Total: 1,564
When I was leaving I almost stepped on something bright and red moving about on the ground- oh cool, a velvet ant!! The Mutillidae family is comprised of thousands of hairy ant-imitating wasps, in the field you could easily see it's antenna pulsing like other wasps' typical behavior. It crawled into the ground and thankfully after poking the hole like a chimp with a phragmite I was able to pull it out and photograph it before it went back into another hole.
The winds started out slightly from the SW but then continued westward and by the time I ended the count, it started switching to the NW- good migration conditions to come tomorrow morning! I have a feeling tomorrow will be a big day, perhaps the biggest of the season so far! If you have the time get out and about tomorrow, it'll be interesting for sure!! Maybe I'll see a few of you in the morning on the dike!
73° F
SW @ 0-5 MPH
Muggy conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 3
Eastern Kingbird - 2
Red-eyed Vireo - 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1
American Robin - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 6
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Yellow Warbler - 9
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 4
Magnolia Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 1
Blackpoll Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 5
American Redstart - 94
Northern Waterthrush - 10
warbler sp. - 37
Chipping Sparrow - 1
Blue Grosbeak - 1
Bobolink - 1,379
Baltimore Oriole - 1
Yellow-headed Blackbird - 1
Total: 1,564
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| Bink! Fink! |
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| Fink! Bink! Flocks of Bobolinks flying South towards the point. |
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| Yellow-headed Blackbird in flight |
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| Chestnut-sided Warbler in flight |
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| Immature Green Heron |
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| And a velvet ant! |
Hawk - Watch 2 September 2013
Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Weather:
Overcast in the morning with sun coming out more in the afternoon. Hot! SW winds around 8mph in the morning shifting to NW in the afternoon.
Raptor Observations:
Non-raptor Observations:
Predictions:
Similar as today with some rain and hopefully the passage of a mild cold front.
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
| Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 02, 2013 | |||
| Species | Day's Count | Month Total | Season Total |
| Black Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turkey Vulture | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osprey | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Bald Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Harrier | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Goshawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golden Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| American Kestrel | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Merlin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Accipiter | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Buteo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Falcon | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Eagle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unknown Raptor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Observation start time: | 05:30:00 |
| Observation end time: | 16:00:00 |
| Total observation time: | 10.5 hours |
| Official Counter | Tom Magarian |
| Observers: |
Weather:
Overcast in the morning with sun coming out more in the afternoon. Hot! SW winds around 8mph in the morning shifting to NW in the afternoon.
Raptor Observations:
Non-raptor Observations:
Predictions:
Similar as today with some rain and hopefully the passage of a mild cold front.
Morning Flight - 2 September 2013
When is there going to be another cold front?! That was the hot topic for today and was a lot easier to ponder than the flight that was going on. We had four American Redstarts that felt good enough to get counted going north. We also had several small flocks of Bobolinks winging it south, but that was quickly squashed when a flock of 30+ went north...
The highlight of the morning was a Western Kingbird that flew over the dike and dove into the trees somewhere in Higbees to the south. It was later seen again by Linda and Harvey in the first field which gave them similar flying away looks but much closer.
75° F
SE @ 0-5 MPH
Muggy conditions
American Redstart - 4
Bobolink - 26
Western Kingbird - 1
Total: 31
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| Not yet... Downy Woodpecker... Not yet... |
 |
| Long-winged rowing with a deep belly is very similar to American Robin in flight style with this Western Kingbird. A square tail with white outer tail rectrices was better observed in the field rather than these photos. |
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| The Western Kingbird photographed much closer by Harvey Tomlinson in the first field of Higbees |
Hawk Watch - 1 September 2013
Hi all,
Another season began on Sunday atop the hawk watch platform at Cape May Point State Park. Though the weather was unfavorable (southerly winds with some hit-or-miss showers during the late afternoon), we still managed to record the first three birds of the season: one Merlin and two Ospreys.
Perhaps more interesting was the light but steady procession of shorebirds throughout the day, headlined by two American Golden-Plovers that blasted past at sunrise, and a strong total of 82 Pectoral Sandpipers-- including a single flock of 23 during the middle of the day.
The early morning hours played host to a small movement of Bobolinks, along with two Dickcissels and a smattering of expected warblers (Yellow, Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, etc.).
The day's complete list can be found here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15069715
Once we get everything squared away, readers will be able to find daily raptor counts on www.hawkcount.org, and we'll hope to get those reports rolling soon. Likewise, future reports from the hawkwatch will also include photos, so keep an eye out for that. Many thanks to everyone who stopped to say hello on the first day and helped welcome our new seasonal staff.
Here's to another great fall in Cape May!
-tom
Another season began on Sunday atop the hawk watch platform at Cape May Point State Park. Though the weather was unfavorable (southerly winds with some hit-or-miss showers during the late afternoon), we still managed to record the first three birds of the season: one Merlin and two Ospreys.
Perhaps more interesting was the light but steady procession of shorebirds throughout the day, headlined by two American Golden-Plovers that blasted past at sunrise, and a strong total of 82 Pectoral Sandpipers-- including a single flock of 23 during the middle of the day.
The early morning hours played host to a small movement of Bobolinks, along with two Dickcissels and a smattering of expected warblers (Yellow, Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, etc.).
The day's complete list can be found here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15069715
Once we get everything squared away, readers will be able to find daily raptor counts on www.hawkcount.org, and we'll hope to get those reports rolling soon. Likewise, future reports from the hawkwatch will also include photos, so keep an eye out for that. Many thanks to everyone who stopped to say hello on the first day and helped welcome our new seasonal staff.
Here's to another great fall in Cape May!
-tom
Morning Flight - 1 September 2013
Today there wasn't too much flying in way of Morning Flight- the only birds counted were a few small flocks of Bobolinks going south. It was fun holding out into the third hour where a Dickcissel was mixed in with a very small flock, calling heading south; perhaps getting itself counted at the Hawkwatch by Tom Reed! The highlight of the morning was watching a crow take down a cicada killer with it's prey!
74° F
S @ 0-5 MPH
Muggy conditions
Bobolink - 43
Dickcissel - 1
Total: 44
74° F
S @ 0-5 MPH
Muggy conditions
Bobolink - 43
Dickcissel - 1
Total: 44
Morning Flight - 31 August 2013
Unfortunately, continued poor migration conditions has forced to keep passerine migrants at bay for the day, though it seems we have something to look forward to this coming week with a cold front forecasted to come Wednesday/Thursday.
72° F
S @ 5-10 MPH
Muggy conditions
Total: 0
72° F
S @ 5-10 MPH
Muggy conditions
Total: 0
Morning Flight - 30 August 2013
Tom Magarian counting.
66° F
Variable @ 0 MPH
Muggy conditions
Eastern Kingbird - 30
Great-crested Flycatcher - 1
Yellow Warbler - 5
Black-and-white Warbler - 1
American Redstart - 28
Northern Waterthrush - 8
warbler sp. - 45
Blue Grosbeak - 1
Indigo Bunting - 5
Bobolink - 29
Baltimore Oriole - 6
Total: 159
66° F
Variable @ 0 MPH
Muggy conditions
Eastern Kingbird - 30
Great-crested Flycatcher - 1
Yellow Warbler - 5
Black-and-white Warbler - 1
American Redstart - 28
Northern Waterthrush - 8
warbler sp. - 45
Blue Grosbeak - 1
Indigo Bunting - 5
Bobolink - 29
Baltimore Oriole - 6
Total: 159
Morning Flight - 29 August 2013
More unfavorable conditions are soon to follow, this is my second day of no countable Morning Flight birds. The next few days don't look conducive for migrants to show up either.
73° F
NE @ 5-10 MPH
Muggy conditions
Total: 0
73° F
NE @ 5-10 MPH
Muggy conditions
Total: 0
Morning Flight - 28 August 2013
This morning's muggy conditions created quite an interesting morning up on the dike- most of the birds seen in flight were going south! Bobolinks put in a great with with several flocks of over 25 birds, fink'ing and bink'ing their flight calls. The mostly monotone gray skies were actually a welcome backdrop- it made picking up on the high flocks possible.
I wasn't so excited initial when I got up but when I was walking the dog I had several Veeries flight calling overhead in Green Creek, along with Redstarts, Northern Waterthrushes, and Black-and-white Warblers, all of which put in a show at the dike.
70° F
E @ 0-5 MPH
Extremely muggy conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 4
Eastern Kingbird - 8
Cedar Waxwing - 9
Yellow Warbler - 3
Black-and-white Warbler - 3
American Redstart - 18
Northern Waterthrush - 26
warbler sp. - 23
Bobolink - 420
Total: 514
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| A close flyby, the bird of the day! |
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| An American Redstart with a retained tail rectrice from it's last molt |
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| Northern Waterthrush seen in the brief morning sunshine |
Morning Flight - 27 August 2013
Continued west winds shut down any sort of migration today, this time not even a small group of self-encouraging American Redstarts could muster up the courage to even try... no birds were counted :-/.
72° F
WSW @ 10-15 MPH
Clear conditions
Total: 0
72° F
WSW @ 10-15 MPH
Clear conditions
Total: 0
Morning Flight - 26 August 2013
Not much flying with the strong SW winds at 10-15 mph. I only counted three birds, all of which were American Redstarts that were wheeling around in a flock but encouraged one another enough to pass the canal and continue north.
64° F
SW @ 10-15 MPH
Clear conditions
American Redstart - 3
Total: 3
64° F
SW @ 10-15 MPH
Clear conditions
American Redstart - 3
Total: 3
Morning Flight - 25 August 2013
I was surprised by the lack of birds today. I thought we'd have a least a halfway decent flight, but nothing really surfaced other than left over drips of the open faucet from yesterday's flight. We did have the season's first Connecticut Warbler fly over, a few juvenile Northern Mockingbirds which are vey striking, so I can't complain too much!
In the constantly annoying department Juvenile Laughing Gulls are still begging insistently to their adult parents gleaning cicadas from cicada killer wasps without much success. Yet the babies still think it's worthwhile to drive their parents (and me) nuts. The only way to ease the sound of the never-ending begging is to imagine if you could talk Laughing Gull, what would they be saying? I tend to think it goes something like this:
http://youtu.be/cNkp4QF3we8
56° F
NNE @ 0-5 MPH
Clear conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 6
Empidonax sp. - 1
Eastern Kingbird - 52
Red-eyed Vireo - 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 6
Cedar Waxwing - 6
Northern Parula - 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1
Cape May Warbler - 2
Prairie Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 4
American Redstart - 15
Northern Waterthrush - 9
Connecticut Warbler - 1
Bobolink - 41
Baltimore Oriole - 1
Total: 152
In the constantly annoying department Juvenile Laughing Gulls are still begging insistently to their adult parents gleaning cicadas from cicada killer wasps without much success. Yet the babies still think it's worthwhile to drive their parents (and me) nuts. The only way to ease the sound of the never-ending begging is to imagine if you could talk Laughing Gull, what would they be saying? I tend to think it goes something like this:
http://youtu.be/cNkp4QF3we8
56° F
NNE @ 0-5 MPH
Clear conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 6
Empidonax sp. - 1
Eastern Kingbird - 52
Red-eyed Vireo - 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 6
Cedar Waxwing - 6
Northern Parula - 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1
Cape May Warbler - 2
Prairie Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 4
American Redstart - 15
Northern Waterthrush - 9
Connecticut Warbler - 1
Bobolink - 41
Baltimore Oriole - 1
Total: 152
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| Juvenile Northern Mockingbird |
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| Indigo Bunting |
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| Adult male Indigo Bunting |
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| Juvenile Laughing Gull |
Morning Flight - 24 August 2013
Today's flight was almost on par with the prediction- 964 American Redstarts flew by!! There was a good number of people up on the dike today, and it surely felt like fall was finally here. I was happy to be overwhelmed but at the same time sad to miss a couple birds that had me wonder, "what was that?..." In the third hour after everyone left I was able to photograph a Yellow-throated Warbler flying by. I'll let the birds speak for themselves!
61° F
NNE @ 5-10 MPH
Clear conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 5
Empidonax sp. - 12
Eastern Kingbird - 775
Red-eyed Vireo - 12
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 15
American Robin - 9
Northern Mockingbird - 4
Cedar Waxwing - 62
Blue-winged Warbler - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 3
Northern Parula - 1
Yellow Warbler - 33
Magnolia Warbler - 3
Cape May Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 5
Blackburnian Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 2
Black-and-white Warbler - 51
American Redstart - 964
Worm-eating Warbler - 3
Ovenbird - 5
Northern Waterthrush - 42
Canada Warbler - 1
warbler sp. - 559
Dickcissel - 2
Bobolink - 57
Baltimore Oriole - 23
Yellow-throated Warbler - 1
Total: 2,651
61° F
NNE @ 5-10 MPH
Clear conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 5
Empidonax sp. - 12
Eastern Kingbird - 775
Red-eyed Vireo - 12
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 15
American Robin - 9
Northern Mockingbird - 4
Cedar Waxwing - 62
Blue-winged Warbler - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 3
Northern Parula - 1
Yellow Warbler - 33
Magnolia Warbler - 3
Cape May Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 5
Blackburnian Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 2
Black-and-white Warbler - 51
American Redstart - 964
Worm-eating Warbler - 3
Ovenbird - 5
Northern Waterthrush - 42
Canada Warbler - 1
warbler sp. - 559
Dickcissel - 2
Bobolink - 57
Baltimore Oriole - 23
Yellow-throated Warbler - 1
Total: 2,651
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| Male American Redstart |
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| Baltimore Orioles |
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| Blackburnian Warbler |
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| Blue-winged Warbler |
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| Empidonax Flycatcher |
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| Yellow-throated Warbler |
Morning Flight - 23 August 2013
Today's flight was quite enjoyable and I commend the early risers that joined me predawn at the bottom of the dike with excitement (I usually enjoy the sunrise by myself early in the season!). American Redstarts again took top honors for best show- many small flocks getting up together and flying out making their flight calls sound like a bunch of sneakers on a gym floor at times. A Scarlet Tanager flew by giving it's chew-ee flight call, and Worm-eating Warblers continue to be in attendance. Single or double tallies of Tennessee, Magnolia, Cape May, Blackburnian and Prairie helped the diversity greatly, and kept our eyes keen for something a bit different.
The forecast for tomorrow is still the same from yesterday- tomorrow will be a great day I hope! Hope you have time to join me and witness everything fly by! With anticipation of a good morning tomorrow, I must get some rest. I've got all my clickers lined up and labeled with early season alpha codes.
Ready. Set. Go!
70° F
NNW @ 5-10 MPH
Clear conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 12
Empidonax sp. - 3
Eastern Kingbird - 141
Red-eyed Vireo - 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 61
Cedar Waxwing - 44
Tennessee Warbler - 2
Yellow Warbler - 17
Magnolia Warbler - 1
Cape May Warbler - 1
Blackburnian Warbler - 2
Prairie Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 16
American Redstart - 192
Worm-eating Warbler - 3
Northern Waterthrush - 9
warbler sp. - 68
Scarlet Tanager - 1
Bobolink - 45
Baltimore Oriole - 3
Total: 627
The forecast for tomorrow is still the same from yesterday- tomorrow will be a great day I hope! Hope you have time to join me and witness everything fly by! With anticipation of a good morning tomorrow, I must get some rest. I've got all my clickers lined up and labeled with early season alpha codes.
Ready. Set. Go!
70° F
NNW @ 5-10 MPH
Clear conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 12
Empidonax sp. - 3
Eastern Kingbird - 141
Red-eyed Vireo - 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 61
Cedar Waxwing - 44
Tennessee Warbler - 2
Yellow Warbler - 17
Magnolia Warbler - 1
Cape May Warbler - 1
Blackburnian Warbler - 2
Prairie Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 16
American Redstart - 192
Worm-eating Warbler - 3
Northern Waterthrush - 9
warbler sp. - 68
Scarlet Tanager - 1
Bobolink - 45
Baltimore Oriole - 3
Total: 627
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| Good Blue-gray Gnatcatcher days are known to peak late in the morning, and today was not an exception- 43 of the 61 Gnatcatchers engaged in Morning Flight in the third hour of the survey. |
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| Prairie Warblers continue to be show offs at the dike, slowly winging their way north close to the dike making easy photographic opportunities! |
 |
| Red-eyed Vireos are just starting in, later on in September and October we'll have good numbers of these. |
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| Blackburnian Warblers continue to be distant at the dike, though it doesn't hinder their beauty! |
Morning Flight - 22 August 2013
Today's flight was, well, non-existent. A light shower predawn with intermittent drizzle during the count did not produce any sort of passerine movement. While there wasn't a flight, I was able to appreciate and be entertained by the meteorological events in front of me that I cherished as a kid growing up watching John Bolaris on NBC 10 out of Philadelphia (I once wanted to be a meteorologist just like him before I really got into birding!). Through a brief break in the clouds the sun produced a magnificent rainbow with the first ferry in the foreground bound for Delaware. That quickly faded as the sun rose and hid behind the clouds, but it was very nice to live in the moment of the 3-4 minutes it was there. The clouds were fantastic and ever-changing throughout the morning.
I'm very excited for this coming weekend, particularly Saturday which if the forecast stays true, could produce and excellent flight at the dike. The current forecast are for the winds to go NW by 10AM tomorrow morning, switch to N then NNE by dawn which can produce a huge flight. Coupled with the fact that we haven't really had a good movement in several days, this could be a big one (dare I say/want 1k+ American Redstarts on Saturday?!).
But for now... here are the mega totals from today! ;-)
72° F
W @ 5-10 MPH
Muggy conditions with drizzle
Total: 0...zip. zlich. zoo da.
I'm very excited for this coming weekend, particularly Saturday which if the forecast stays true, could produce and excellent flight at the dike. The current forecast are for the winds to go NW by 10AM tomorrow morning, switch to N then NNE by dawn which can produce a huge flight. Coupled with the fact that we haven't really had a good movement in several days, this could be a big one (dare I say/want 1k+ American Redstarts on Saturday?!).
But for now... here are the mega totals from today! ;-)
72° F
W @ 5-10 MPH
Muggy conditions with drizzle
Total: 0...zip. zlich. zoo da.
 |
| Good structural characteristics of a Northern Waterthrush(left) and an American Redstart(right). The Northern Waterthrush is heavy chested, broad tailed, and generally stocky. While the American Redstart is more streamlined, with a proportionally longer tail, and a bit smaller in overall size. Of course, being the bigger bird the Waterthrush bullies and chases the Redstart back into the bush dashing any of my hopes in counting at least one bird in Morning Flight today. |
Morning Flight - 21 August 2013
To give our Morning Flight Counter, Sam, a day free from the constant effort of focusing on every possible bird that flies by the dike, I filled-in to count. Muggy and still conditions at dawn were atypical of the weather conditions since the count began on the 15th of August. The flight was very light but still discernible as migration behavior.
Within 10 minutes after a spectacularly hazy and red rising sun (sunspots nicely viewed through a scope) the highlights of Prothonotary Warbler and Dickcissel had passed by. Then a male Black-throated Blue Warbler came at waist-height, atop the dike, and attempted to fly between me and the other two chaps up there this morning, Matt Garvey and Sam Galick. Wait, isn't today your day off, Sam!?! Well, he just can't get enough Morning Flight in his life. That's a wonderful problem to have!
Glen Davis
Within 10 minutes after a spectacularly hazy and red rising sun (sunspots nicely viewed through a scope) the highlights of Prothonotary Warbler and Dickcissel had passed by. Then a male Black-throated Blue Warbler came at waist-height, atop the dike, and attempted to fly between me and the other two chaps up there this morning, Matt Garvey and Sam Galick. Wait, isn't today your day off, Sam!?! Well, he just can't get enough Morning Flight in his life. That's a wonderful problem to have!
Glen Davis
68° F
W @ 0-5 MPH
Muggy conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 5
American Robin - 5
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Blue-winged Warbler - 1
Yellow Warbler - 12
Magnolia Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 2
American Redstart - 6
Prothonotary Warbler - 1
Northern Waterthrush - 8
warbler sp. - 2
Dickcissel - 1
Bobolink - 33 southbound
Baltimore Oriole - 1
Louisiana/Northern Waterthrush - 1
Total: 82
A full eBird checklist is here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/
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| Today was an impromptu bring your doggy to the dike day- on the right we have Sam's Border Collie, Captain, and Matt Garvey's Rat Terrier, Sydney! |
.JPG) |
| Matt Garvey (left) and Sam Galick(right) waiting for birds to exit |
 |
| Bobolink winging it south |
Morning Flight - 20 August 2013
Another very manageable and fun flight this morning, where twelve species of warblers were tallied. There was a nice Dickcissel that did a circle or two before moving on giving us some great looks. The forecast looks interesting with some west and north components to it- enough for some birds to fly in the coming days!
68° F
W @ 0-5 MPH
Clear conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 12
Red-eyed Vireo - 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 7
American Robin - 6
Blue-winged Warbler - 1
Yellow Warbler - 17
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 2
Blackburnian Warbler - 2
Prairie Warbler - 1
"Baypoll" Warbler - 2
Black-and-white Warbler - 21
American Redstart - 163
Prothonotary Warbler - 1
Worm-eating Warbler - 4
Northern Waterthrush - 19
Canada Warbler - 2
warbler sp. - 58
Indigo Bunting - 1
Dickcissel - 1
Bobolink - 48
Baltimore Oriole - 3
Total: 374
68° F
W @ 0-5 MPH
Clear conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 12
Red-eyed Vireo - 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 7
American Robin - 6
Blue-winged Warbler - 1
Yellow Warbler - 17
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 2
Blackburnian Warbler - 2
Prairie Warbler - 1
"Baypoll" Warbler - 2
Black-and-white Warbler - 21
American Redstart - 163
Prothonotary Warbler - 1
Worm-eating Warbler - 4
Northern Waterthrush - 19
Canada Warbler - 2
warbler sp. - 58
Indigo Bunting - 1
Dickcissel - 1
Bobolink - 48
Baltimore Oriole - 3
Total: 374
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| Thick clouds allowed us to view the sun safely for a short time, enough to see a plane run through along with some of it's sunspots! |
Morning Flight - 19 August 2013
This morning was surprisingly awesome given the current run of less than ideal migration conditions! A nice slug of American Redstarts made up a majority of the flight, while Yellow Warblers came in second. Eleven species of warbler were tallied with first of the season Cape May Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, and Golden-winged Warbler!!! for the dike. I was lucky enough to have my camera on the right bird at the time and was able to capture it in flight! We all were very surprised and happy with our fortune.
A Yellow-bellied Flycatcher paused briefly in the cherry tree before ducking back down into the trees at the bottom of the dike. Laughing Gulls continue to pirate unsuspecting cicada killer wasps of their prey, leaving one to question whether they garner sustenance from them or perhaps get some sort of higher mental state from the neurotoxin pumped into the food from the cicada killer's stinger... oh the things you ponder on slower days...
66° F
WSW @ 0-5 MPH
Clear conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 6
Eastern Kingbird - 11
Red-eyed Vireo - 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 17
American Robin - 3
Cedar Waxwing - 10
Yellow Warbler - 45
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1
Cape May Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1
Blackburnian Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 1
"Baypoll" Warbler - 1
American Redstart - 125
Worm-eating Warbler - 1
Northern Waterthrush - 15
warbler sp. - 16
Scarlet Tanager - 1
Blue Grosbeak -1
Bobolink - 4
Golden-winged Warbler - 1
Orchard Oriole - 1
Total: 264
A full eBird checklist is here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14957975
A Yellow-bellied Flycatcher paused briefly in the cherry tree before ducking back down into the trees at the bottom of the dike. Laughing Gulls continue to pirate unsuspecting cicada killer wasps of their prey, leaving one to question whether they garner sustenance from them or perhaps get some sort of higher mental state from the neurotoxin pumped into the food from the cicada killer's stinger... oh the things you ponder on slower days...
66° F
WSW @ 0-5 MPH
Clear conditions
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 6
Eastern Kingbird - 11
Red-eyed Vireo - 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 17
American Robin - 3
Cedar Waxwing - 10
Yellow Warbler - 45
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1
Cape May Warbler - 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 1
Blackburnian Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 1
"Baypoll" Warbler - 1
American Redstart - 125
Worm-eating Warbler - 1
Northern Waterthrush - 15
warbler sp. - 16
Scarlet Tanager - 1
Blue Grosbeak -1
Bobolink - 4
Golden-winged Warbler - 1
Orchard Oriole - 1
Total: 264
A full eBird checklist is here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14957975
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| You never know what another day will bring in Cape May- as I was stepping out of the car I said to myself, "something interesting is going to happen today..." I was not disappointment! |
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| Chestnut-sided Warbler giving chase to a Black-and-white Warbler |
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| Male Golden-winged Warbler in flight- A very rare photograph if there are any in existence. |
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| Black-and-white Warbler in flight |
Morning Flight - 18 August 2013
The downward trend continues with less than favorable winds from the east this morning. While there weren't many birds to count I had plenty of visitors of which I was glad to keep my mind going through the random drizzle and wind. One of them being Jeff Gordon, President of the American Birding Association fresh off of their Camp Avocet for young birders which was a real treat along with David LaPuma.
Bird-wise the small number of birds moving were countered with quality- first a Yellow-throated Warbler flew northbound, while later on a Tennessee Warbler flew South. The Tennessee was particularly interesting in mid August, and my suspicions were confirmed when photographed that this was another adult in mid-molt.
70° F
E @ 5-10 MPH
Clear conditions with occasional drizzle
Eastern Kingbird - 9
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Yellow Warbler - 5
American Redstart - 3
Yellow-throated Warbler - 1
Total: 19
Bird-wise the small number of birds moving were countered with quality- first a Yellow-throated Warbler flew northbound, while later on a Tennessee Warbler flew South. The Tennessee was particularly interesting in mid August, and my suspicions were confirmed when photographed that this was another adult in mid-molt.
70° F
E @ 5-10 MPH
Clear conditions with occasional drizzle
Eastern Kingbird - 9
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Yellow Warbler - 5
American Redstart - 3
Yellow-throated Warbler - 1
Total: 19
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| Molting adult Tennessee Warbler |