Sun. 3/2: Singing Pine Warbler, arriving Oystercatchers, possible hybrid teal, other misc. notes

Steve Mason joined me for some criss-crossing of Cape May County on this sunny yet breezy early-March day. I'll break it down by each location visited:

AM-
Reed's Beach: 500 Snow Geese, 75 Greater Scaup, 8 Ruddy Ducks, 6 Bufflehead, 1 Bald Eagle.

Two Mile Beach: 37 Red Knots, 1 Western Sandpiper, 25 Black-bellied Plovers, 500 Sanderling, 800 Dunlin.

Cape May Point: 42 Bonaparte's Gulls at St. Mary's, Canada Geese but no Barnacle on Lily Lake.


PM-
Villas WMA: Singing! Pine Warbler (first of the season to my knowledge), 6 Rusty Blackbirds, 8 Ring-necked Ducks (no Canvasbacks or Redheads), Red-bellied Woodpecker excavating a hole near the parking lot.

Hereford Inlet at North Wildwood: 3 apparently newly-arriving American Oystercatchers flying in off the ocean, 60 Red Knots, 3 Western Sandpipers, 30 Black-bellied Plovers, 200 Dunlin, 350 Sanderling, 6 Red-throated Loons, 8 Long-tailed Ducks, 3 Black Scoters.

Ibis Pond along Reed's Beach Road: 1 Belted Kingfisher and 65 Green-winged Teal, including one bird that showed features of both the American and Eurasian subspecies, but unfortunately the whole flock flushed before we could really study it. Keep in mind that there was a Eurasian Green-winged Teal and two probable hybrids on this pond during February/March 2007.


Other Reports:

• The eBird rarity gadget indicates that the Barnacle Goose was seen by Ryan Steiner yesterday near Stevens Street in West Cape May.
• The Eurasian Wigeon continues at Brig, seen today by Karl & Judy Lukens in Perch Cove at the beginning of the north dike (grid A11-A12).

Temperatures are predicted to hover around 60 degrees on Monday and Tuesday, with a southerly wind both days. I'll go out on a limb and say that the season's first Laughing Gull will appear during this timeframe, and I wouldn't rule out an early Purple Martin or Osprey either.