End of July birds around the Point; migration notes

Steve Weis, Tom Parsons and Karl & Judy Lukens report the following from this morning's tour around Cape May Point:

"Very foggy for the CMBO Cape May Point Walk this morning. Off-shore birds not visible, couldn't even see the water from the dunes. Some shorebirds were on the second plover pond, and land birds along the trail. We did have close looks at a Green Heron and saw an adult Pine Warbler feeding 2 fledglings."

On another note, shorebirds continue to increase on the Cape. Numbers of Short-billed Dowitchers and several species of peeps have been feeding in the small pools along Stone Harbor Boulevard, and I have been hearing numerous flocks of Least Sandpipers and Short-billed Dowitchers migrating overhead at various locations during the past few days. Likewise, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are also increasing. Numbers at our feeders in Reed's Beach increased from two to six over the past week. Expect numbers to continue to rise as the peak migration for Ruby-throats approaches during the next few weeks.

Lastly, an interesting observation from a few evenings ago consisted of a Yellow Warbler that darted out of the backyard at dusk. The bird gave its flight call several times, made a large circle around the yard, oriented itself toward the south, and then gained altitute as it headed out on its way- a bird that was certainly continuing its migration that night. I couldn't help but wonder how far that bird might've flown that night, what obstacles it might have overcome, and where it ended up the next morning. Migration is really an amazing think to think about.

Complete list from Cape May Point included-

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 7/30/08
Number of species: 56
Canada Goose 30
Mute Swan 8
Mallard 25
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 3
Green Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 1
Semipalmated Plover 1
Killdeer 2
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 5
Lesser Yellowlegs 3
Sanderling 15
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 10
Short-billed Dowitcher 1
Laughing Gull 20
Herring Gull 2
Great Black-backed Gull 10
Least Tern 40
Common Tern 5
Forster's Tern 20
Rock Pigeon 1
Mourning Dove 5
Chimney Swift 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
American Crow 2
Fish Crow 2
Purple Martin 20
Tree Swallow 1
Bank Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 5
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 5
House Wren 2
American Robin 3
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 15
Cedar Waxwing 3
Yellow Warbler 1
Pine Warbler 3
Common Yellowthroat 5
Northern Cardinal 8
Indigo Bunting 3
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Common Grackle 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Orchard Oriole 2
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 10

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