Sunday, October 14, 2007

Cape May Point....loads of birds moving.....

Many of them as you may expect were Yellow-rumped warblers. In looking up at the sky at many points you could help but to be looking at birds; sometimes by the hundreds. We had a few good finds on our walk around the Point this morning, Pine siskin was one of the best, in my opinion. Heck, I was just glad to know that I remember what they sound like. While we were sorting through seemingly endless flocks of yellow-rumps, near the corner of Coral Ave and Harvard Ave., a flock of six Pine siskins obligingly sat for but a few minuets in a tree for us to enjoy.

Other nice sightings were eleven,... that's right 11, Parasitic Jaegers chasing terns and gulls over the Delaware Bay. A few Northern gannets were spotted at a good distance and a flock of 6 Common loons flew past as well.

I tried to string a Clay-colored sparrow at one point in a flock of many white-throateds, but in the end the rump color gave the birds true identity away.

Aside from the passerine migrants, co-dominance of the sky was shared with raptors and monarchs. Evidently, there was a very large push of monarch butterflies through Cape May yesterday. That flight was evidenced by the number of butterflies in the sky this morning. I anticipate that there should be some good roosts in the Cape May area this evening given the cooler temps. and numbers of the little beauties around.

I have not heard but I'd guess that the hawk watch has been great today. When walking back to the Northwood Center this morning we had a couple of good kettles of accipiters over head. No goshawks but many sharpies and and a number of Cooper's hawks as well. The bad part is that with the lighter winds and blue skies the hawks can get high, and fast!

Be on the look out for good migration over the next few days. The winds are supposed to stay W to NW for the next couple of days and be light and variable over night. So, what does this mean? If you can get out (i.e. that work stuff doesn't ruin good birding days) get out! Even if you do have to work, get up early and take a short walk around your "local patch." You never know what you might find.

Below are two lists. I know I haven't posted a personal list for a few days, it's that time of year. Time is at a premium. So, I won't bore you with the four or so lists I have..... Actually, I'll bore you with three lists. The first will be from today's walk around Cape May Point. The second list will be from yesterday's CMBO Birding Optics walk. The last list will be from Wednesday's CMBO Twilight Watch walk. By the way, if you are interested in heading out on the Twilight Watch or Birding Optics walk, time is of the essence. There are only of couple of opportunities left. Check out the Naturalist Calendar to find out the times of the walks and all other programs which CMBO runs at this time of year. Lastly, don't forget the upcoming Autumn Weekend and THE Bird Show. I think that is still time to register. Call the CMBO Center for Research and Education to register.

Location: Cape May Point
Observation date: 10/14/07
Number of species: 71

Canada Goose 42
Mute Swan 24
American Wigeon 79
Mallard 21
Northern Shoveler 4
Ruddy Duck 2
Common Loon 9
Pied-billed Grebe 8
Northern Gannet 5
Double-crested Cormorant 95
Great Egret 1
Osprey 6
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 13
Sharp-shinned Hawk 50
Cooper's Hawk 18
American Kestrel 4
American Coot 2
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 4
Sanderling 6
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull 6
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Caspian Tern 2
Common Tern X
Royal Tern 10
Parasitic Jaeger 12
Rock Pigeon 37
Mourning Dove 22
Belted Kingfisher 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 26
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 40
American Crow 10
Fish Crow 4
Tree Swallow 65
Barn Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee 25
Red-breasted Nuthatch 18
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 10
Golden-crowned Kinglet 10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 8
American Robin 85
Northern Mockingbird 6
European Starling 122
Yellow-rumped Warbler 478
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 8
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Eastern Towhee 4
Chipping Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 15
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Northern Cardinal 6
Bobolink 3
Red-winged Blackbird 280
Eastern Meadowlark 15
Common Grackle 10
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
House Finch 45
Pine Siskin 7
American Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 45

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 10/13/07
Notes: CMBO Birding Optics walk
Number of species: 73

Brant 4
Canada Goose 55
Mute Swan 6
Wood Duck 3
Gadwall 8
American Wigeon 4
Mallard 22
Northern Shoveler 5
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 68
scoter sp. 35
Common Loon 9
Double-crested Cormorant 26
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 6
Snowy Egret 10
Turkey Vulture 3
Osprey 4
Bald Eagle 2
Northern Harrier 14
Sharp-shinned Hawk 65
Cooper's Hawk 8
Broad-winged Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 1
Killdeer 8
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Laughing Gull 150
Ring-billed Gull 2
Herring Gull 56
Great Black-backed Gull 35
Common Tern 6
Forster's Tern 2
Royal Tern 12
Parasitic Jaeger 3
Rock Pigeon 35
Mourning Dove 25
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 50
Eastern Phoebe 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 5
Fish Crow 12
Tree Swallow 1000
Red-breasted Nuthatch 4
Carolina Wren 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 15
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
American Robin 115
Gray Catbird 6
Northern Mockingbird 2
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 35
American Pipit 12
Cedar Waxwing 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 500
Palm Warbler 30
Savannah Sparrow 35
Song Sparrow 3
Swamp Sparrow 15
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 2
Indigo Bunting 4
Red-winged Blackbird 600
Eastern Meadowlark 33
Common Grackle 25
House Finch 8
American Goldfinch 8
House Sparrow 35

Location: South Cape May Meadows
Observation date: 10/10/07
Notes: CMBO Twilight Watch walk
Number of species: 32

Canada Goose 30
Mute Swan 5
Gadwall 15
American Wigeon 35
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 15
Blue-winged Teal 10
Northern Shoveler 8
Northern Pintail 4
Green-winged Teal 35
Surf Scoter 3
scoter sp. 30
Double-crested Cormorant 15
Great Blue Heron 25
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron 35
Merlin 12
Peregrine Falcon 2
Laughing Gull 250
Ring-billed Gull 15
Herring Gull 45
Great Black-backed Gull 79
Common Tern X
Royal Tern X
Black Skimmer 250
Parasitic Jaeger 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 3
Swamp Sparrow 6
Red-winged Blackbird 8

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

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