Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Philly V, Connecticut, Yellow-bellied Fly, Summer Tan - highlights from Cape May

The obvious choice this morning for CMBO's Fall Migration Workshop was Higbee Beach, where CMBO also has a regular Tuesday walk at 7:30; where we conduct our Morning Flight count; where Michael O'Brien was leading a Guides for Hire (a service offered by CMBO, call 609.884.2736 for details). . . in other words, if there was a bird at Higbee today, it was seen.

Morning Flight counted several hundred warblers, but pickin's were considered slim in the fields by most people. Multiple Philadelphia Vireos were around, as well at least one Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and two Connecticut Warblers. An Alder Flycatcher was at the west side of the dike (reached by walking past the rusted pipe below the dike, opposite the Morning Flight Platform). Veeries called from the woods, and a few flickers heralded things to come. Warblers that put down in the fields were not particularly common. I included a full list of what we found on our workshop below, but I am sure other species were seen.

Jason Guerard tracked down the Bayshore Road Wild Turkeys previously mentioned, which I confirmed were first reported by Chris and Lee Hajduk. Take Bayshore Road north from Sunset. Continue straight through the New England Road stop sign and start looking.

Sheila Lego, Marleen Murgitroyde, Pete Dunne and I ate lunch outside at the Northwood Center in Cape May Point, where we were delighted to find a female Summer Tanager along with a few warblers. Always check the woods around Northwood for birds when you're down in Cape May (in addition to stopping into the store to see what's been seen).

Cape May Point State Park in the afternoon featured an awesome warbler feeding flock along the red trail, mainly near the first bench you encounter after leaving the parking lot, which contained multiple Prairies, Magnolias, Parulas, Cape May, Chestnut-sided, and others. A juvenile Baird's Sandpiper was in the 2nd plover pond, and a juvenile Stilt Sandpiper dropped into Bunker Pond late in the day, called out by swing counter Dan Berard. A list of what we found at the state park during the workshop is also below.

Make sure you check the reports from our fall research projects under View from the Field. For example, Dan Berard noted about yesterday: " This was our first really good day of the season. Over 700 birds counted. A good count of American Kestrels and Sharp-shinned Hawks was going on. Bald Eagles, Osprey, and Cooper's Hawks also made up a good number of the total."

CMBO Fall Migration workshop lists from Higbee and the state park follow.

Location: Higbee Beach
Observation date: 9/16/08
Number of species: 74
Mallard 5
Double-crested Cormorant 25
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 5
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 10
Bald Eagle 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 10
Cooper's Hawk 5
American Kestrel 5
Merlin 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Lesser Black-backed Gull 2
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern X
Royal Tern X
Rock Pigeon 25
Mourning Dove 10
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 5
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 4
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1
Alder Flycatcher 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 5
Philadelphia Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 10
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 10
Fish Crow 5
Tree Swallow X
Barn Swallow X
Carolina Chickadee 10
Tufted Titmouse 10
Carolina Wren 20
House Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 5
Veery 5
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 5
Brown Thrasher 2
European Starling 10
Cedar Waxwing 25
Tennessee Warbler 1
Northern Parula 5
Yellow Warbler 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler 5
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 1
Bay-breasted Warbler 2
Black-and-white Warbler 5
American Redstart 10
Ovenbird 1
Northern Waterthrush 10
Connecticut Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 5
Scarlet Tanager 2
Northern Cardinal 5
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
Indigo Bunting 5
Bobolink 25
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle 25
Baltimore Oriole 5
American Goldfinch 5


Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 9/16/08
Number of species: 75
Canada Goose 50
Mute Swan 10
Gadwall 10
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 25
Blue-winged Teal 25
Northern Shoveler 6
Green-winged Teal 10
Double-crested Cormorant 50
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 15
Snowy Egret 15
Green Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 10
Osprey 5
Bald Eagle 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 20
Cooper's Hawk 10
Broad-winged Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 10
Merlin 10
Semipalmated Plover 2
Killdeer 5
Greater Yellowlegs 5
Lesser Yellowlegs 25
Baird's Sandpiper 1
Pectoral Sandpiper 3
Stilt Sandpiper 1
Short-billed Dowitcher 1
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Caspian Tern 1
Common Tern 1
Forster's Tern 25
Royal Tern X
Black Skimmer 25
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 10
Belted Kingfisher 1
White-eyed Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 10
Tree Swallow X
Cliff Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 2
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 10
House Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 5
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 5
Northern Parula 5
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Magnolia Warbler 3
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Pine Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 5
Palm Warbler 5
Black-and-white Warbler 1
American Redstart 5
Common Yellowthroat 5
Northern Cardinal 5
Indigo Bunting 2
Bobolink 5
Red-winged Blackbird X
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 10

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