HAPPY HALLOWEEN from BirdCapeMay.org

I have to say that one of the things I like best about this particular "holiday" is the making of jack-o-lanterns. It always takes me back to my childhood, sitting around with my brother and dad trying to figure out what type of face we wanted to carve. So, in the spirit of the day I figured I'd share the above image of the jack-o-lanterns that Laura and I carved the other night.

Since we try to keep tricks to a minimum on this site (though I am wishing that a smell sensor had been invented to give you the option to "smell my feet"!) I figured I fill you in on some of the treats from Cape May the last little while. As always, check the View from the Field section for the daily migration count information.

This morning I only had time for a quick walk around the Beanery. A Vesper Sparrow had been seen there yesterday evening so I figured that I'd take a look for that bird this morning. The nice treat for me was stepping out of the truck to find an Orange-crowned Warbler feeding in the porcelain berry directly across from the kiosk in the parking area. Also in that general area were three or four Blackpoll Warblers, a couple of Baltimore Orioles and a number of sparrows flitting about. While the Beanery was somewhat bird rich this morning, mostly it was the usual suspects. A few birds in song were a nice addition to the morning. One expects for White-throated Sparrows to be attempting song these days but you don't always expect to hear a Winter Wren in almost full song. It does happen at times, along with the White-crowned Sparrow as I heard also today.

The grown up portions of the Beanery proved to be the most sparrow rich with many birds easily flushing as I simply walked along. Of course as is usual for sparrows the majority decided to fly into cover rather than sit and allow me to observe.

Other birds from today, the first Fox Sparrow I've heard of for Cape May this fall was observed at the Cape Island Preserve by Bob Fogg. He also had a Clay-colored Sparrow there. A late White-eye Vireo and a Blue-headed Vireo were at Higbee. Also at Higbee were Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler and Rusty Blackbird.

A number of American Pipits were flying about today over many locations it would seem. I had a good number of Eastern Meadowlarks at the Beanery and the Robin flight continues to be strong. Purple Finches are showing in good numbers and at least one report of Pine Siskin flight over Cape Island Preserve.

Jumping back to the Beanery, I've pasted a report from the JerseyBirds listserv from Mike Fritz (CMBO Associate Naturalist) who was birding the Beanery yesterday for a little while. I thought that many who may not keep up on all the listservs might like to see the additional sightings.

"I birded at the Rea Farm ("Beanery") in W. Cape May this afternoon and was surprised at the songbird diversity for Oct-30. I mostly birded the sunny, out of the wind pockets and had 9 warbler species including Yellow-rumped (hundreds), Palm (60-70), Blackpoll (3), Orange-crowned (2), Nashville (2), Black-throated Blue (2), Common Yellowthroat (1), Black-throated Green (1),...N. Parula (1) a bright male no less! There was also a Dickcissel, two E. Phoebe, lots of E. Bluebirds as well as the more expected species.Tree swallows were everywhere at Cape May Point, but I couldn't find any other swallow species in the flocks."

As usual my list form this mornings walk is below. Also, the list from Chuck Slugg (CMBO Associate Naturalist), from yesterday's CMBO Hidden Valley Bird Walk.


Location: The Beanery
Observation date: 10/31/08
Notes: 3003 steps = approx 2 miles
Number of species: 49

Mallard 1
Common Loon 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3
American Kestrel 3
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 6
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Tree Swallow 10
Carolina Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X
Carolina Wren 4
Winter Wren 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
Eastern Bluebird 4
Hermit Thrush 2
American Robin 200
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 3
Brown Thrasher 2
European Starling X
American Pipit 25
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) X
Palm Warbler 12
Blackpoll Warbler 10
Eastern Towhee 4
Chipping Sparrow 3
Field Sparrow 5
Savannah Sparrow 65
Song Sparrow 20
Swamp Sparrow 25
White-throated Sparrow 50
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 15
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Eastern Meadowlark 20
Common Grackle X
Baltimore Oriole 2
Purple Finch 8
House Finch 10
House Sparrow 6

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Location: Cape May - Hidden Valley Ranch
Observation date: 10/30/08
Notes: The final Hidden Valley walk started with a gorgeous male Northern Harrier and very close looks at mature Bald Eagles. Waves of American Robins flew overhead and the third field held a flock of Eastern Meadowlarks looking golden in the morning sun.
Number of species: 41

Canada Goose 18
Wood Duck 16
Mallard 12
Common Loon 28
Double-crested Cormorant 40
Black Vulture 4
Turkey Vulture 20
Osprey 4
Bald Eagle 5
Northern Harrier 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 8
Cooper's Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 5
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 2
Sanderling 12
American Woodcock 1
Herring Gull 7
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 15
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 10
Blue Jay 20
American Crow 35
Carolina Wren 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
American Robin 10000
Northern Mockingbird 20
European Starling 75
Cedar Waxwing 20
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 5
Northern Cardinal 4
Red-winged Blackbird 75
Eastern Meadowlark 24
Common Grackle 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 15
House Finch 1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

More on Oystercatchers

When I got into the office this morning I did some more checking on American Oystercatcher high counts. According to Birds of New Jersey, fall high counts include 375 at Brigantine September 13 1996 and 350+ at Hereford Inlet October 25, 1994. I then checked the all time high count for NJ on E-bird - 500 on September 26, 2006 at Stone Harbor Point, reported by Willliam Keim.

Stone Harbor Point, Hereford Inlet, and Nummy Island are all more or less the same place - the complex of barrier island, salt marsh and estuary between Stone Harbor and North Wildwood, and extending inland, a marvelously rich area. Yesterday we counted our oystercatchers all from one point - well, technically two points, from each side of the base of the free bridge to Nummy Island. One wonders how many oystercatchers an aerial survey would find. Check the tide, pick low or close to it, and go, it's a wonderful spectacle!

Nummy Island on a Blowout Tide: 309 Oystercatchers!

The extreme west winds of the past two days created a "blowout" low tide on the southern Atlantic Coast this afternoon, exposing mudflats and mussel beds in the vicinity of Stone Harbor to a far greater extent than normal. The most remarkable result of these conditions was a concentration of American Oystercatchers near the free bridge to Nummy Island. There have been many oystercatchers around for weeks, but during CMBO's birding workshop today we did an actual, careful count and came up with 309, which is perhaps the highest count from a single location ever for Cape May County.

Also on the flats were single Marbled Godwit, Short-billed Dowitcher, and Western Willet. An immature male Common Eider was in Great Channel north of the free bridge, probably the bird that summered in the area. A female Red-breasted Merganser flew past, and the sight and sound of Atlantic Brant emphasized that winter seems to have come, although temperatures and winds are supposed to moderate in the next two days.

Dickcissel at Goshen, Wind in Cape May

Wind peaked at a rather brisk 63 miles per hour in Cape May Tuesday, and continues to blow a steady 20-30 today. Tuesday morning, our CMBO workshop braved the wind at the Concrete Ship for the first hour and a half of the day, where we saw a rather diverse mix of things that surprisingly didn't include jaeger or Bonaparte's Gull (our targets), but did include flyby Snow Goose, Black Skimmer, numerous Northern Gannets and Royal Terns, a few Forster's Terns, my first Bufflehead of the season, both dark-winged scoters, and a delightfully brave Palm Warbler which hunkered in the lee of one of the wooden car stops for many minutes before suddenly taking it into its head to try to fly into the gale. It jumped up into the wind and flapped steadily for several seconds, barely holding its own as if in a wind tunnel, before giving up. In the afternoon yesterday we went indoors at the Center for Research and Education in Goshen, where we were graced with a Dickcissel at the feeders.

This morning the Beanery was. . .windy. A couple Winter Wrens and many Savannah Sparrows and Killdeer were most of what we could manage. An adult Bald Eagle did fly over, 3 "Blue" Snow Geese passed with 3 white ones. I also saw three Snow Buntings fly past, but in the high winds they were gone before I could call them out to the group.

In late morning, the meadows held the assortment of ducks that has been building in Cape May in recent days, including the persisting Hooded Merganser that has now nearly completed its molt into breeding plumage, and three hen Bufflehead that dropped in while we watched. Many dabbling ducks are now well along towards breeding plumage. Drake Green-winged Teal, for example, are showing a nifty mixture of the mottled brown eclipse feathers and new gray ones on their flanks. Land birds at the meadows included Hermit Thrush, Field Sparrows, and numerous Savannah, Swamp and Song Sparrows.

Painted Bunting and Golden Eagle!

A female Painted Bunting was discovered at Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area Monday morning. When last seen, it was a short distance down the dirt road leading to the Morning Flight Platform/Fisherman's Parking lot, feeding on foxtail along the road edge.

A Golden Eagle was seen over the Beanery and later over the Hawk Watch, presumably the same bird was involved in both sightings.

Black-headed Gull Flyby at State Park

Among the highlights of the 176 bird species found during CMBO's Autumn Weekend was an immature Black-headed Gull which passed the Cape May Hawk Watch late Sunday morning. It was not relocated despite searching around Cape May Point, although during the search we found a Great Cormorant sitting on the Concrete Ship and a Parasitic Jaeger offshore.

Friday-Saturday Highlights: Eiders, Sparrows, Finches, Shorebirds

Despite less than ideal birding weather, at least from the standpoint of migrant landbirds and raptors, CMBO's Cape May Autumn Weekend is in full swing, and some good birds are turning up.

Immatures of both eider species were found near the Avalon Sea Watch yesterday, and Jon Kauffman called this morning to report that the immature male King Eider is still present at the end of JFK Boulevard in Sea Isle City. Good numbers of dark-winged scoters have been visible offshore from various points, as have Northern Gannets, Royal and Forster's Terns and both loons.

Virginia Rail and Wilson's Snipe were seen yesterday at the South Cape May Meadows.

Yesterday at Cape May Point State Park, 3 White-rumped Sandpipers (all juveniles), a Western Sandpiper (in mostly winter plumage), a Semi-palmated Sandpiper (in juvenal plumage), a Semi-palmated Plover, and a Greater Yellowlegs were visible all together from the Hawk Watch. A Least Sandpiper was also reported there. It should be noted that the default peep at this season is Western, but since most of these have largely molted into winter plumage, any peep that hasn't should be checked for something different. This morning the plover and yellowlegs were still on Bunker Pond and a White-rumped flew past. I also heard an Orange-crowned Warbler chipping from the brush south of the hawk watch. Bunker and Lighthouse Pond are hosting plenty of ducks, including 4 Ruddy Ducks.

Landbirds are generally few, although mutliple flocks of flyover Pine Siskins and Purple Finches were recorded yesterday. Blackpoll, Rusty Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlarks and Eastern Bluebirds were some of the highlights from the Higbee Beach/Hidden Valley complex yesterday and today. A Grasshopper Sparrow was found at the Beanery yesterday. Other warblers reported south of the Cape May Canal have included Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, and Northern Parula.

The Fall Weekend field trip at Brigantine yesterday turned up Snow Buntings, Lesser Scaup, Blue-winged Teal (which have thinned out substantially in Cape May), Western and White-rumped Sandpipers, and Salt-Marsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow.

Cape May Birding Hotline

Hotline: Cape May Birding Hotline
To Report: call (609) 884-2736, or email sightings at birdcapemay.org
Coverage: Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic Counties , NJ
Compiler: David Lord, Cape May Bird Observatory, with additions by Don Freiday

This is the Cape May Birding Hotline, a service of New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory. This week's message was prepared on Thursday, October 23, 2008. Highlights this week include sightings of KING EIDER, NORTHERN GOSHAWK, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, SWAINSON'S HAWK, GOLDEN EAGLE, BROAD-WINGED HAWK, NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW, SALT-MARSH SHARP-TAILED SPARROW, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, LINCOLN'S SPARROW, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, PINE SISKIN, PURPLE FINCH, RED KNOT, BROWN PELICAN, PIPING PLOVER, WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, MARBLED GODWIT, and HUDSONIAN GODWIT.

An immature male KING EIDER was with scoters off of St. Peter's Jetty on Sunday 10/19/08.

The season’s first NORTHERN GOSHAWK, a juvenile, was seen from the Cape May Hawk watch on Wednesday 10/22/08. A GOLDEN EAGLE was also seen Wednesday, and a few BROAD-WINGED HAWKS continue, with several seen in Cape May Point Thursday, 10/23/08. On Saturday 10/18/08, a SWAINSON'S HAWK and a GOLDEN EAGLE were both seen over the Hawk Watch platform. A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen near the Concrete Ship in Cape May Point on Tuesday 10/21/08.

A good number of NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED and SALT-MARSH SHARP TAILED SPARROWS were seen on Nummy’s Island on Tuesday 10/21/08. Other highlights there included a large group of RED KNOTS, 2 MARBLED GODWITS, BROWN PELICAN, and a single PIPING PLOVER.

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS were seen at Higbee Beach and the Rea Farm over the weekend, and one was seen at Cape May Point State Park Thursday 10/23/08. CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was at Higbee Beach over the weekend. WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS have been reported from all the major birding spots south of the Cape May canal in recent days. LINCOLN'S SPARROW was found at the Beanery Saturday 10/18/08 and Higbee Beach the same day.

Small groups of PINE SISKINS and PURPLE FINCHES have been heard overhead daily around Cape May. Two WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were at Cape May Point State Park Wednesday 10/22/08, and a HUDSONIAN GODWIT flew over the Hawk Watch Thursday October 23.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

A Pelagic Trip has been scheduled for December 7, 2008 from 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM, call Sea Life Paulagics at 215.234.6085 for details.

CMBO is offering a special to new and upgraded membership renewals. Join CMBO for the first time or upgrade from Individual or Family to The Hundred and receive Charley Harper's Migration Mainline- Cape May lithograph poster, valued at $50. Call either CMBO center to ask an associate about joining today!

The Cape May Birding Hotline is a service of the New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory and details sightings from Cape May, Cumberland, and Atlantic Counties. Updates are made weekly. Please report sightings of rare or unusual birds to CMBO at 609-884-2736. Sponsorship for this hotline comes from the support of CMBO members and business members, and should you not be a member, we cordially invite you to join. Individual membership is $39 per year; $49 for families. You can call either center to become a member or visit. Become a member in person and you'll receive a FREE gift (in addition to member discount in the stores). Good Luck and Good Birding!

CMBO Sunset Birding at Stone Harbor walk- 10/21/08

Mike Fritz sent word of last evenings finds on the CMBO Sunset walk at Stone Harbor. Looking at the bird list is seems that Stone Harbor and Nummy Island should be a must on the visiting (or local) birder's itinerary. Also, aside from Two Mile Landing area, this seems like it would be an excellent spot to look for the three "salt marsh" sparrows.


Location: Stone Harbor Point
Observation date: 10/21/08
Notes: This list includes birds I saw before my Stone Harbor Walk especially
the "Sharp-tailed sparrows" that I specifically was looking for. I wore waders
and walked most of the length of Nummy Island. Managed to get 4 in one photo!
Other highlights were the Red-Knots, and the single Piping Plover had only one
leg! Also I flushed a Clapper Rail that ended up landing in a Cherry Tree for
some bizarre photos. It was Very windy as the day got later and the tide was
very high when I went "sparrowing".
Number of species: 70

Snow Goose 1
Brant (Atlantic) 500
Canada Goose 6
American Black Duck 13
Surf Scoter 6
Black Scoter 3
Common Loon 1
Northern Gannet 8
Brown Pelican 1
Double-crested Cormorant 90
Great Cormorant 3
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 12
Snowy Egret 2
Tricolored Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 4
Osprey 2
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 3
Cooper's Hawk 1
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Clapper Rail 5
Black-bellied Plover 250
Semipalmated Plover 3
Piping Plover 1
American Oystercatcher 230
Greater Yellowlegs 38
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Marbled Godwit 2
Ruddy Turnstone 5
Red Knot 125
Sanderling 1200
Western Sandpiper 16
Dunlin 140
peep sp. 8
Short-billed Dowitcher 8
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Royal Tern 2
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove 8
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Tree Swallow 800
Carolina Wren 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 6
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling X
Magnolia Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 25
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Palm Warbler (Western) 3
Palm Warbler (Yellow) 2
Common Yellowthroat 1
Savannah Sparrow 18
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow 17
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow 10
Seaside Sparrow 5
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird X
Boat-tailed Grackle X
House Finch X
House Sparrow X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Stone Harbor birds, Rough-legged at Cape May Point

I heard from Swing Counter Dan Berard that a Rough-legged Hawk was seen from near the concrete ship yesterday in the early afternoon.

Mike Fritz's report (above) from last evening's Stone Harbor field trip definitely will make you want to join the last one of the year, next Tuesday October 28 at 4:30 p.m. As Jason points out, of particular note are Mike's pre-walk sharp-tailed sparrows - 17 (!) Nelson's and 10 Salt Marsh. Salt sparrows are had only with substantial effort. If you're not the wader-donning sort, the best bet is a calm early morning along the marsh edge, with plenty of squeaking and pishing thrown in.

KING EIDER off Pearl Ave. jetty in Cape May Point

(Photo courtesy of Bob Fogg, www.keekeekerr.com)

EDIT: Image added @4:25 p.m.


At about 1:40 p.m. I received a message from Bob Fogg that he'd found a male KING EIDER loosely associated with a flock of scoter off of St. Peter's jetty in Cape May Point. By the time I was able to get away from the Center at about 2:00 p.m. briefly to go look for the bird it had moved west a bit and was being seen in and amongst a larger group (350+) of scoter off the end of a jetty on Pearl Ave. in Cape May Point.

While KING EIDER is almost annual in Cape May (at least in recent years and most being seen from the seawatch), one hanging around Cape May Point is a bit on the rarer side. In fact, Sean Fitzgerald counted one King Eider at the Avalon Seawatch just yesterday. I'd be interested to hear what the bird he had yesterday looked like, assuming of course this is the same bird.

See below for a map marking the two jetty locations in Cape May Point. The red "X" is the location of St. Peter's jetty and the green "X" marks the location of the Pearl Ave. jetty.


Location: Pearl Ave. Jetty
Observation date: 10/19/08
Number of species: 16

Brant (Atlantic) 6
King Eider 1
Surf Scoter 190
Black Scoter 200
dark-winged scoter sp. 300
Northern Gannet 2
Double-crested Cormorant X
Osprey X
Sharp-shinned Hawk X
Cooper's Hawk X
American Kestrel X
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Royal Tern 6

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Great Egg Harbor: Eagles and Kingfishers

CMBO's annual Great Egg Harbor River cruise today met with some stiff northeast winds, but over 30 hardy participants enjoyed extraordinary views of 6 adult and at least 6 immature Bald Eagles. Belted Kingfishers were another interesting presence, with at least 10 seen on the trip. It was a high high tide thanks to the east wind and recent full moon, so shorebird habitat was not available. The full list for the trip is below.

Location: Great Egg Harbor River
Observation date: 10/18/08
Notes: CMBO's Great Egg Harbor River cruise.
Number of species: 37
Brant 200
Canada Goose 100
American Black Duck 50
Double-crested Cormorant 75
Great Blue Heron 10
Great Egret 20
Snowy Egret 10
Black-crowned Night-Heron 20
Turkey Vulture 15
Osprey 5
Bald Eagle 12
Northern Harrier 10
Sharp-shinned Hawk 5
Cooper's Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 5
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Dunlin 4
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Forster's Tern 2
Royal Tern 1
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Belted Kingfisher 10
Northern Flicker 5
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 10
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow X
European Starling X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Eastern Meadowlark 10
Boat-tailed Grackle X
House Sparrow X

A few lists for the last couple days, seawatching, Golden Eagle...sparrows, sparrows, sparrows and other stuff

Where to start? Well, sparrows have definitely moved the last couple nights. Song, Swamp, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows have all been well represented around Cape May the last day or so. Yesterday at Higbee, there were areas where you literally were flushing sparrows with every steep you took. There were reports of Vesper (mentioned in the Hotline below) and Clay-colored at Higbee for yesterday. If you have yet to do so you should check out the radar images posted to David La Puma's site woodcreeper.com.

Today I was at the State Park and again, in patches (particularly the back part of the park) there were good numbers of the aforementioned sparrows. I did have a quick and not satisfying look at a Lincoln's Sparrow but no other unusual sparrows that we uncovered on the Optics Test walk. I have seen reports form others that indicate some different sparrows in other locations. At least one Vesper Sparrow and a Dickcissel were seen at Higbee. Another Lincoln's Sparrow at the Beanery, to name a few.

A nice surprise for me today were the numbers of Pine Siskins flying over. I estimated at least 25 or so but this easily could have been many more. I did here at least one Purple Finch and six or so Winter Wrens along the walk.

Between 11:00 a.m. and about 11:30 I received text messages about a Swainson's Hawk that had been seen and a Golden Eagle over the hawkwatch platform. While many of Cape May's Swanson's Hawks do come late in the season and should always be in mind when hawkwatching, today did start off seeming like a perfect day for a Golden Eagle. From my experience counting they seem to like the gloomy days (or at least that is when I remember seeing them) when there has been at least a day of good northwest winds. With the wind forecast to pick up but still be N-NNE there is still a good chance at other goldens will show over the weekend into the first of next week. Make sure you bundle up though as the temps are supposed to drop into the 30's over the next few nights. with winds as high as 30 mph.

Lastly a quick note about the Orange-crowned Warblers reported the other day. Side Note: Laura and I did have two at Higbee yesterday and I've heard of at least one or two sightings today. It seems that from all the reports received that on 10/12 there were no fewer than 6 Orange-crowned Warblers on Cape Island. Sure it doesn't seem like a huge number but pretty good for this species. In fact I'd say this is shaping up to be one heck of a fall for this species. I can't remember a fall in recent past with this many sightings.

As usual below are list from our wanders the last couple of days. All estimates of species numbers are by and far on the low side.

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 10/18/08
Notes: 3005 steps = approx 2 miles
Number of species: 73

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Gadwall 25
American Wigeon 18
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal X
Northern Shoveler X
Northern Pintail 8
Green-winged Teal X
Ruddy Duck 2
Common Loon 8
Double-crested Cormorant 35
Great Egret 2
Turkey Vulture X
Osprey X
Northern Harrier 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk X
Cooper's Hawk X
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 1
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Short-billed Dowitcher 2
Laughing Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 10
Eastern Phoebe 6
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Blue Jay X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 8
Carolina Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X
Red-breasted Nuthatch 5
Winter Wren 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 20
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
Northern Mockingbird X
Brown Thrasher 5
European Starling X
American Pipit 1
Cedar Waxwing 18
Yellow-rumped Warbler X
Pine Warbler 1
Palm Warbler X
Blackpoll Warbler X
Common Yellowthroat 4
Eastern Towhee 4
Field Sparrow 6
Savannah Sparrow X
Song Sparrow 40
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 40
White-throated Sparrow X
White-crowned Sparrow 6
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 4
Northern Cardinal X
Bobolink 2
Red-winged Blackbird X
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Rusty Blackbird 6
Purple Finch X
Pine Siskin 25
American Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Location: Higbee Beach
Observation date: 10/17/08
Notes: 2347 steps = approx 1.5 miles
Number of species: 53

Common Loon 1
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Osprey X
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3
Cooper's Hawk 1
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Mourning Dove 20
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker X
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 25
Eastern Phoebe 6
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 10
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow 10
Carolina Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X
Carolina Wren X
House Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 35
Hermit Thrush 3
American Robin 100
Gray Catbird X
Northern Mockingbird X
Brown Thrasher 5
European Starling X
American Pipit X
Cedar Waxwing 18
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Northern Parula 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1000
Palm Warbler 200
Blackpoll Warbler X
Common Yellowthroat 6
Eastern Towhee 5
Chipping Sparrow 4
Field Sparrow 40
Song Sparrow 150
Swamp Sparrow 85
White-throated Sparrow 100
White-crowned Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 6
Northern Cardinal X
Indigo Bunting 2
Dickcissel 1
Red-winged Blackbird X
Rusty Blackbird 6
House Finch 1
Pine Siskin 3

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

CMBO Beanery walk -10/18/08 & CMBO Sunset Birding at the Meadows- 10/17/08

(Photo courtesy of Karl Lukens; http://home.comcast.net/~jklukens/)

A cooperative Lincoln's Sparrow as seen from the Beanery on this morning's CMBO walk

Below are two list from last evenings CMBO Evening Birding at the Meadows walk. And, this morning's CMBO Beanery walk.

"CMBO "Beanery" walk at the Rea Farm. Lots of sparrows and yellow-rumped
warblers this morning, including one cooperative Lincoln's Sparrow.
Ruby-crowned Kinglets were also abundant."


Location: The Beanery
Observation date: 10/18/08
Number of species: 50

Canada Goose 50
Mute Swan 2
Wood Duck 5
Mallard 5
Common Loon 2
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 6
Osprey 3
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 10
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer 4
Herring Gull (American) 4
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 15
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 10
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 10
American Crow 25
Carolina Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
American Robin 50
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 50
Yellow-rumped Warbler 50
Palm Warbler 6
Eastern Towhee 1
Field Sparrow 5
Savannah Sparrow 5
Song Sparrow 6
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 20
White-throated Sparrow 10
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Northern Cardinal 5
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Eastern Meadowlark 10
Common Grackle 10

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2



"CMBO evening walk at the "Meadows" (TNC ). A dark chilly evening, but we had
good ducks and sparrows including 3 juvenile White-crowned Sparrows, and a
couple of Gannets."

Location: South Cape May Meadows
Observation date: 10/17/08
Number of species: 55

Canada Goose 100
Mute Swan 5
Gadwall 8
American Wigeon 25
American Black Duck 35
Mallard 20
Blue-winged Teal 2
Northern Pintail 5
Green-winged Teal 20
Surf Scoter 10
Black Scoter 1
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Northern Gannet 3
Double-crested Cormorant 10
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 5
Cooper's Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 2
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Sanderling 50
Ring-billed Gull 5
Herring Gull (American) 5
Great Black-backed Gull 10
Royal Tern 1
Black Skimmer 3
Mourning Dove 5
Belted Kingfisher 1
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 1
Tree Swallow 10
Carolina Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler 25
Palm Warbler 3
Savannah Sparrow 5
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Common Grackle 10
House Sparrow 5

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Birding Hotline

Hotline: Cape May Birding Hotline
To Report: call (609) 884-2736, or email sightings@birdcapemay.org
Coverage: Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic Counties , NJ
Compiler: David Lord, Cape May Bird Observatory, with additions by Don Freiday
URL: http://www.njaudubon.org/ ; http://www.birdcapemay.org/

This is the Cape May Birding Hotline, a service of New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory. This week's message was prepared on Thursday, October16 , 2008. Highlights this week include sightings of HUDSONIAN GODWIT, POMARINE JAEGER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, STILT SANDPIPER, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, VESPER SPARROW, SNOW GEESE, PINE SISKIN, HERMIT THRUSH, RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, CAPE MAY WARBLER, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, PIPING PLOVER.

The Avalon Seawatch saw a HUDSONIAN GODWIT on Sunday 10/12/08 and a young POMARINE JAEGER on Tuesday 10/14/08.

Several ORANGE CROWNED WARBLERS have been noted around Cape Island, the latest being noted on Friday 10/16/08 at Higbee Beach. Other Higbee birds on Friday included HERMIT THRUSH and WHITE-CROWNED and VESPER SPARROWs.

ORANGE-CROWNED and CAPE MAY WARBLERS were seen on the Hawk Watch Big Sit at Cape May Point State Park on Sunday 10/12/08. Other notable sightings from this event included a STILT SANDPIPER, PARASITIC JAEGERS, WHITE CROWNED SPARROW, PURPLE FINCHES, AMERICAN PIPITS, and flocks of SNOW GEESE.

A late WILSON'S PHALAROPE with an injured leg was seen at the South Cape May Meadows Wednesday-Thursday October 15-16.

A PINE SISKIN was heard at HIDDEN VALLEY RANCH on Sunday 10/12/08. Other sightings there include HERMIT THRUSH and RUSTY BLACKBIRDS.

The RUFF and AVOCETS that were reported last week at Forsythe NWR have not been seen as of 10/16/08.

A remaining LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was also seen on the beach on Wednesday 10/15/08.

PIPING PLOVER can still be seen at Stone Harbor Point as of Tuesday 10/14/08.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CMBO is offering a special to new and upgraded membership renewals. Join CMBO for the first time or upgrade from Individual or Family to The Hundred and receive Charley Harper's Migration Mainline- Cape May lithograph poster, valued at $50. Call either CMBO center to ask an associate about joining today!

******CMBO Bookstore FALL HOURS (starting September 1) are as follows:

Northwood Center on East Lake Drive in Cape May Point is open 7 days a week, 9:30am to 4:30pm.

The Center for Research and Education on Rt. 47 in Goshen is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9:30am to 4:30pm; closed Mondays.

****** The Cape May Birding Hotline is a service of the New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory and details sightings from Cape May, Cumberland, and Atlantic Counties. Updates are made weekly. Please report sightings of rare or unusual birds to CMBO at 609-884-2736. Sponsorship for this hotline comes from the support of CMBO members and business members, and should you not be a member, we cordially invite you to join. Individual membership is $39 per year; $49 for families. You can call either center to become a member or visit. Become a member in person and you'll receive a FREE gift (in addition to member discount in the stores). Good Luck and Good Birding!

Peregrine headed our way; Wilson's Phalarope, Coot, and you better take tomorrow off!

In October, Peregrines are always headed our way - towards Cape May - but we have a special one approaching. One of the Falcon Research Group's telemetered peregrines, Elizabetha, is due to be in Maine tomorrow, or perhaps today. Elizabetha was tagged on January 22, 2008 in La Trinchera, Chile, with a transmitter and a band numbered 1687-02756 . She migrated north through the middle of North America, and summered northeast of Hudson's Bay at her presumed nesting site in the Canadian Arctic. Now southbound, she may be headed along the coast. Given the weather forecast, she could wind up in Cape May in the next few days.

The Falcon Research Group's Southern Cross Project is investigating the movements and breeding locations of "deep" Peregrines, those birds that winter well into southern South America. These birds, Peregrines of the tundrius subspecies, may travel 9,000 miles in both spring and fall, the longest migration of any raptor in the world! Many of Cape May's Peregrines fall into the "deep" category - something to marvel at the next time you see one from the hawk watch platform!!

It's anti-climatic to switch from such a bird to American Coots or even Wilson's Phalaropes, but. . . A Wilson's Phal with an injured leg appeared at the South Cape May Meadows last night, and was there this morning - Jon Kauffman tipped me off about it, and I watched it get up with a bunch of yellowlegs and head towards the state park around 8:30 this morning.

Our Bird Walk for All People today found the first American Coot I've seen this fall at Bunker Pond - it apparently was there at least since yesterday. A Winter Wren chimp-chimped along the red trail. And, we saw a Peregrine.

AviSys Users Rejoice! Your records are now eBird compatible!!

(Screen shot image courtesy of eBird.org, http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/avisys-export-to-ebird-launched)

To all Avisys Birding Software users (and potential users for that matter) I wanted to share that Team eBird has recently released an article and new feature to the eBird site. It seems that they have finally been able to work out all the bugs in the programming to allow Avisys users to be able to download their sightings information and further contribute the information to scientific uses. I know that in speaking with members of Team eBird in the past, this Avisys downloadability utility was something they had been grappling with for a little while.

Click the following link for more information or the Avisys Export tool via eBird .

I know from speaking with many people about the benefits of using eBird, not only as a personal records database but also for it's many uses in the scientific world, that many folks were always concerned with the fact that they preferred the Avisys program which they were used to. I can't blame them, who whats to enter their sightings data twice and in two different formats? Not me. And it's no surprise that these folks probably have never ventured into submitting sightings to eBird. Now, there really is no excuse.

So I hope that with this new utility that this will mean more folks will be contributing to the eBird (which is also shared with the Avain Knowledge Network) database. As you know, the more folks contributing sightings information, the better off for the bird we love to watch. Heck, you already have the sightings info in the database. And as usual, I'll recommend to anyone reading this who has not ventured into the world of eBird, give it a try!

A couple of CMBO walks

Below are lists from yesterday evening's CMBO Sunset Birding at Stone Harbor and this morning's CMBO Birding Cape May Point walk. All in all, I'd say that walk participants have seen some good birds in the last few days.


"CMBO Walk at Cape May Point . The walk through the state park was good for
ducks, waders, raptors and Yellow-rumps!!. Two notes of interest were a
fly-over group of 5 Glossy Ibis which haven't been seen as of late, and a
lone Lesser Black-backed Gull on the beach."

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 10/15/08
Number of species: 60

Canada Goose 50
Mute Swan 10
Gadwall 2
American Wigeon 30
Mallard 25
Blue-winged Teal 2
Northern Shoveler 6
Northern Pintail 8
Green-winged Teal 25
Surf Scoter 25
Black Scoter 25
Double-crested Cormorant 75
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 2
Glossy Ibis 5
Turkey Vulture 8
Osprey 3
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 10
Cooper's Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Peregrine Falcon 2
Killdeer 1
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Sanderling 1
Laughing Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull 2
Herring Gull (American) 5
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 6
Royal Tern 6
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 5
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 3
Blue Jay 20
American Crow 5
Fish Crow 1
Tree Swallow 10
Carolina Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 3
House Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler 30
Palm Warbler 5
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Savannah Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 5
Red-winged Blackbird 10
House Finch 5
House Sparrow 10

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Location: Stone Harbor Point
Observation date: 10/14/08
Notes: We had a beautiful October evening for a bird walk, with lots of good
birds including Piping Plovers (still). Other highlights were good numbers of
Monarchs on the seaside goldenrod, a full moon and wonderful sunset, and a
Peregrine that "swept" the salt marsh clean of shorebirds.
Number of species: 43

Black Scoter 1
Brown Pelican 5
Double-crested Cormorant X
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 9
Snowy Egret 1
Tricolored Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 16
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 2
Peregrine Falcon 1
Clapper Rail 14
Black-bellied Plo ver 80
Semipalmated Plover 21
Piping Plover 8
American Oystercatcher 2
Greater Yellowlegs 9
Ruddy Turnstone 6
Red Knot 45
Sanderling 900
Western Sandpiper 15
Least Sandpiper 2
Dunlin 18
peep sp. 30
Short-billed Dowitcher 2
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Royal Tern 1
Mourning Dove 2
Fish Crow X
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling X
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 4
Palm Warbler 2
Savannah Sparrow 8
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird X
House Finch X
House Sparrow X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Pom Jaeger & Hudwit at Sea Watch

From Sean Fitzgerald, our Sea Watch Migration Counter:

"Jon [Kauffman] and I conducted our own big sit on Sunday and managed 82 species (incl Hudsonian Godwit). Today [Tuesday] was slow but the best bird was definitely in the last hour of the day, a young Pomarine Jaeger flew right along the bar in front of me in pursuit of a RBGU. We also crossed the 100,000 individual mark today. "

Hawk Watch Platform Big Sit Tentative Results; Volunteers Needed for Hawk Watch Clean-up

Tom Reed reports that Sunday's "Big Sit" at the Hawk Watch Platform yielded approximately 111 species. Highlights, besides the Orange-crowned Warbler mentioned by Jason below, included high flocks of Snow Geese, multiple Parasitic Jaegers, Northern Gannets, Rusty Blackbirds, Purple Finches, Stilt Sandpiper, White-crowned Sparrows, and a scattering of more interesting warblers amidst the many Yellow-rumpeds flying around, including Cape May and Northern Parula.

In cooperation with Cape May Point State Park staff, CMBO is co-sponsoring a project to clear out the area in front of the hawk watch platform to improve visibility. We will replant a hedge of bayberries to provide native bird food and cover that will stay low, and thus not block the view.

Volunteers are needed:

Thursday, October 16th: start 1:00 p.m for vegetation clearing

Friday, October 17th: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for vegetation clearing

Monday, October 20th: 10:00 a.m to 3 p.m. Planting (rain date 10/21)

There is no need to sign up to help, just come equipped with work clothes, gloves, and pruning equipment if you have it (NO power tools), and stay as long as you can.

Orange-crowned Update

I received an email last evening from a friend which contained an interesting sighting I wanted to share. Tom Johnson emailed indicating that there were at least two Orange-crowned Warblers at the Cape May Point State Park yesterday. The one I referred to in my last post, at the hawkwatch platform seen from the Big Sit and another found near the state park entrance.

This brings the island total for this species to 5 individuals. I only wish I could have gotten out more yesterday to try and get a better sense at to whether or not there were more around. I'd be very interested to learn of other Orange-crowned Warbler sightings from yesterday, 10/12/08, from around Cape Island. Or, from around Cape may County for that matter. Feel free to email me with sightings info using the link at the top of the page. Please indicate Orange-crowned Warbler or OCWA in the subject heading.

A couple of CMBO walks and Orange-crowned Warblers galore...well maybe not galore

Orange -crowned Warbler as seen from State St. in West Cape May
(Photo courtesy of Bob Fogg, www.keekeekerr.com)

I decided to forgo hitting the Big Sit today on the hawkwatch platform in effort to find some sparrows. So I figured that Hidden Valley might be the place to start this morning. Unfortunately I think this parcel may be a little too grown over for "sparrowing' as I remember in years past. Today I only managed a hand full of sparrows of the Swamp, Field, Song and White-throated variety. With a few Savannah calling in the mix.

Other birds I did find; the first Hermit Thrush I've seen this fall, a very brief look at an Orange-crowned Warbler about half way down the west side and a number of Meadowlarks flitting about over head. An additional nice "find" was a fly over Pine Siskin which honestly took me a couple of calls to jog the brain. Also a couple fly over Rusty Blackbirds to round out the morning.

Speaking of Orange-crowned Warblers, it seems they moved in over night as there was one at the hawkwatch platform this morning and Bob Fogg found an additional two along State Street in West Cape May. This would match the Birds of Cape May indicated fall maximum of 4 from October2, 1982. The only difference is that all four from '82 were all at Higbee. It would be interesting to know if others were found at different locations on the Island. I didn't see any written on the sightings sheet here at the Northwood Center but I'm betting that if one searched enough they could dig up at least a few more birds.

Below are lists from the CMBO Beanery and Hawks and Trails (at the Cape May Point State Park) walks for yesterday, respectively. All in all it has been a good October for birding in Cape May...so far. As you can see from the lists below. As one web site compilation indicates, there have been 201 species reported on Cape Island alone so far this month. Hopefully though, if you have yet been able to make it to Cape May for some birding, your having a great and birdy October where ever you may be.


Location: Cape May - Hidden Valley Ranch
Observation date: 10/12/08
Notes: 1475 steps = approx. 1 mile
Number of species: 41

Mallard 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Merlin 1
Herring Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 2
Mourning Dove X
Red-bellied Woodpecker 6
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 20
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay X
American Crow 45
Fish Crow 20
Carolina Chickadee X
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren X
House Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Hermit Thrush 1
Gray Catbird 4
Northern Mockingbird 3
Brown Thrasher X
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing 12
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 60
Blackpoll Warbler 6
Common Yellowthroat 5
Eastern Towhee X
Field Sparrow 10
Savannah Sparrow X
Song Sparrow 6
Swamp Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 10
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 3
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Eastern Meadowlark 12
Rusty Blackbird 2
Pine Siskin 1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

"CMBO "Beanery" walk (the Rea Farm). A big group of approx. 30 participants. Little pockets of warblers made it interesting although most were Yellow-rumps, Palms and Blackpolls. A nice sitting-up Bobolink made for good scope views. Seems like some "sparrows" moved in last night."

Location: The Beanery
Observation date: 10/11/08
Notes: CMBO Walk-K,J,BS,CS,+32.Clr,55,NE10.
Number of species: 54

Canada Goose 10
Mute Swan 2
Wood Duck 5
Mallard 2
Double-crested Cormorant 15
Great Egret 1
Black Vulture 5
Turkey Vulture 8
Osprey 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 8
Cooper's Hawk 1
American Kestrel 4
Herring Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 2
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 10
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 10
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 15
American Crow 20
Fish Crow 1
Tree Swallow 30
Carolina Wren 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3
American Robin 30
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 25
Cedar Waxwing X
Northern Parula 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 50
Palm Warbler (Western) 10
Blackpoll Warbler 8
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Eastern Towhee 1
Savannah Sparrow 25
Song Sparrow 5
Swamp Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 5
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 2
Northern Cardinal 5
Bobolink 1
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Eastern Meadowlark 5
Common Grackle 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 10
House Finch 5
House Sparrow 5

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 10/11/08
Notes: It was a beautiful afternoon for a walk and we had a nice variety of birds. The American Wigeon gave a young boy his 200th bird for his life list.
Number of species: 46

Canada Goose 20
Mute Swan 10
Gadwall 6
American Wigeon 2
Mallard 20
Blue-winged Teal 8
Northern Shoveler 6
Green-winged Teal 20
Ruddy Duck 3
Double-crested Cormorant 50
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 2
Turkey Vulture 8
Osprey 12
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 9
Cooper's Hawk 3
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 7
Peregrine Falcon 2
Herring Gull 5
Great Black-backed Gull 15
Royal Tern 1
Black Skimmer 40
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 4
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 10
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 10
American Crow 15
Tree Swallow 50
Carolina Chickadee 5
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 6
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 20
Yellow-rumped Warbler 40
Palm Warbler 6
Chipping Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 2
Red-winged Blackbird 20

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Rough-legged and Orange-crowned

An early Rough Legged Hawk (apparently immature light morph from what I hear, I didn't see it, drat!) passed the hawk watch today.

Also, several observers reported Orange-crowned Warbler at Higbee Beach today, among them those of us who were fortunate enough to be on CMBO's 7:30 walk there. Higbee had quite a few Blackpolls, Magnolia, and a few other warbler species. Yellow-rumpeds were of course the dominant warbler.

Edwin B. Forsythe NWR- aka Brigantine

(Photos courtesy of Karl Lukens, http://home.comcast.net/~jklukens/index.htm)

While the focus of sightings on this site are typically centered around Cape May and Cape May County, as many know there are a number of excellent birding locations in the counties just to the north. Dividing Creek and Turkey Point in Cumberland County and Brigantine in Atlantic quickly come to mind.

So, I wanted to share a couple photos taken by Karl Lukens of the current American Avocets and juv. Ruff being seen at the a fore mentioned NWR. In just speaking with Bill Boyle briefly (he'd just beet to the NWR), it seems there a very good numbers of bird still hanging around the wildlife refuge. Still many Semi-palmated Sandpipers and good numbers of Dunlin and yellowlegs. Bill also had Stilt Sandpiper which is pretty nice find for this time of year. Their typical migratory window is definitely coming to a close.

If you are headed south to Cape May any time in the near future (the next few months even) it's worth spending half a day or so birding the refuge. You can find directions on the county side (in the upper right hand corner) of the CMBO Birding and Butterfly Map.

Having heard all the good finds up that way I may have to use my duck stamp on our next day off and talk Laura into a jaunt up the coast for some birding (not a real had thing to do).

Kenn Kaufman + Cape May Birding: Time is Running Out to join CMBO's Autumn Weekend October 24-26!

[KENN KAUFMAN will be presenting his program, Flights Against The Sunset, on October 25 as one of the keynote programs at CMBO's Autumn Weekend. The program is based on Kenn's newest work, a collection of stories about his birding adventures. He has interwoven stories about his mother and their relationship, his early love of nature from his childhood and preteen years with nature and birds being at the center of his world.]

If you want see and hear Kenn Kaufman (and some great birds), call 609.861.0700 and ask about CMBO's Autumn Weekend. Registrations that include lodging and meals will be accepted through October 10 (pending room availability), and will be accepted by phone or fax. Dinner/Day Combo Packages will be available through October 17 - after this time there will be no opportunity to sign up for Kenn's program on Saturday night October 25th. Check our Autumn Weekend page for more info on weekend events, and to download a registration form.

All registrations received after October 10 will incur a $30 processing fee to compensate for Express Delivery of registration materials and name tags. Name tags are required for admission to any activities throughout the weekend. Registrations will be accepted for day programs after October 17 if you are able to pick up your packet by Thursday, October 23, at the CMBO Northwood Center in Cape May Point. Or you may register in person at the NJAS registration desk in the lobby of The Grand Hotel in Cape May beginning on Friday, October 24 at 8:00 a.m. For more information or to register by phone, please call Deb Shaw at 609-861-0700 x10.

4 Owl Night

Unlike the band, 3 Dog Night, the title of the post does not indicate the number of owls it would have taken to keep one warm at night. Though in starting out at about 4:00 a.m. the world was a lot chillier that it has been in quite a while and I was at times wishing that I had a down jacket with in arms reach.

So in case you haven't figured out what we were up to, yesterday was Laura's and my October Cape Island Big Day attempt. And with the winds forecast to be NW at 10+ we figured we'd be in for a great day, and hopefully night, of birding. Little did we know how tough the day would turn out yet how rewarding it would be.

Laura has always said that the month of October is one of her favorite months of the year here in Cape May. I think it's the changing of the seasons that does it for her. Being a native of the Mid-Atlantic it's no surprise. Me, I love the changing seasons very much but being a Florida boy I could live as well with the more subtle change that I grew up with back home. My guess is, if you ask her to tell the honest truth I bet she'll say it's cause this is the month when the owls start to show up!

Recently friends in town have been hearing Barn Owls migrating over head at night. I remember sitting around nights when I was counting hawks and we'd hear them fly over our house on NY Ave. So of course we both were really hoping for this particular species for the day.

Back to the start of the count. Immediately after stepping out of the car at our first spot we heard passerines and herons and some Snow Geese calling as the migrated. It always makes me wish I could simply turn on a light to be able to see the sheer magnitudes of birds in the sky. Luckily we have things like the live streaming radar on the Mid-Atlantic Forecast section of this site or David LaPuma's site where he posts the complete nights radar images.

While night birding we tallied Gray-cheeked and Swainson's Thrushes, American Bittern, Black-crowned and Yellow-Crowned Night Herons and Great Blue Heron to name a few. At one point, while standing listening on Columbia Ave. I heard what I think was Black Rail call but the call seemed to be sped up in tempo or cadence if that makes sense. Either way I was not completely sure so this species did not make it on to our big day tally, no matter how bad I wanted it to be there.

Probably the best bird of the day were the owls. We've only swept the owls once before I think on our WSB run. Barred Owl for some reason or Great Horned for that matter have been somewhat quite over the last few months. I know some of it is due to breeding responsibilities but they have been somewhat talkative 10 miles north up behind my house all along. But I digress. So, we had to work a bit harder for screech owl than we have been used to and Barred and Great Horned Owls we didn't have to work for at all, a funny switch. The fourth you ask, (remember the title of the post) well that's a story in and of itself and if you'll allow for a slight longer than usual post I'll give a brief synopsis.

We were at the entrance to the Meadows listening for flight calls and hoping for the fourth owl (and actually at this point hoping for horned to call as well). I tried to string a peenting Woodcock to no avail and we struggled to identify various other calls and then we heard an interesting series of sounds punctuated by a distant screeching sound. We both immediately stopped talking and moving and strained our ears in hopes we'd hear another screech to confirm what we thought the sound was. Time went by and talking and movement resumed and then another screech call. By this time Laura was certain of the sound but I was a good bit more skeptical and we were heavily debating the sound. I was definitely on her side but I tend to be too conservative at times. So I decided to step away from the car and do my imitation of a Barn Owl call. After about call number three or four I stepped back hoping to hear a call back and then out of the dark a form flew in and circled the car and at one point looked like it might land on the telephone pole near us. Of course scaring me a bit, and bring back memories of a Barn Owl that dive bombed me years ago, I ducked. The bird flew off and I called again in hopes it would call back. After a minute or two it came back for another investigatory look. And at one point Laura even got a glimpse of the bird in the light of the Light House. After that I suppose it realized that there were no others of its kind near us and it took off to hunt the Meadows. The moment the bird flew off the second time I hear a simple statement. "See, I told you so!" So we high-fived and then were on our way with hopes of a great day to come.

The surprise for us was that as the day light came on the birding became a bit more difficult than we had figured it would be. Not to say we had a bad birding day, we certainly did not. I guess I just overestimated October in my mind. Sure you have the sparrows coming in and sea ducks picking up. But, you've also lost many of the neo-tropical migrants which in their abundance can make a big day a whole lot easier if you have a goal to meet. As I am sure those of you keeping up remember our goal is 100 species. And given the business of the fall working for CMBO and trying to spend as much time outside on off times as possible, we were really hoping for a slightly easier day. In the end this was not so.

Our morning at Higbee produced the bulk of our land birds. Cape May Warbler, a Late Philly Vireo, Nashville Warbler, Dickcissel, Black-throated Green Warbler, Gray-cheeked Thrush, four or so House Wrens and a Scarlet Tanager stand out in my mind. We also has loads of Swamp and White-throated Sparrows, with Savannah and Field Sparrows to round out this group. On a side note there certainly seems to have been an influx in Song Sparrows around. We noted many in various locations. Another surprise bird of the day was a Grasshopper Sparrow (see image below), found by Dick Walton, in Cape May Point which seemed quite content to sit on a concrete step at a house across from St. Peter's Episcopal Church. Now this is a bird that is dear to my heart given my research past but I've never seen one sitting on a concrete step.

(Photo courtesy of Michael O'Brien)

By now you may be asking yourself how I was so worried about our reaching 100 after some of the species I've mentioned. Well, at lunch we did a quick tally and we had only seen about 80 species, there seemed (until we stopped to really look, though I knew they were just too high to naked eye scan for) to be not much of a hawk flight, we were missing a land birds that I thought we should have easily seen and the days are much shorter now. Time is always against you on a big day. That being said, I tend to worry about mid day on every big that things are not going well enough.

But, in the end we actually did quite well. Much better than I thought we might. The afternoon proved to be very productive with all the hawks and ducks that we expected showing. A little sea watching produced a couple Parasitic Jeagers and a Northern Gannet. Many scoter were on the move as is evidenced in the Sea Watch count on View from the Field. And as always a few surprise birds along the way. Initially I was thinking that we should get to 110-115 species for the day. Of course at about 12 noon, I'd have been happy to see 100 even. In the end we finished the day with 122 species tallied. We worked a bit harder than we had planned but it was certainly worth it.

Thanks to Dave and Meg, Michael, Liza, Bob and others who helped to make this day such a success.

As usual, below is the complete list of birds we tallied for the day. I think we'll probably need a few more layers for the November run!!!!

Location: Cape Island
Observation date: 10/7/08
Notes: October Cape Island Big Day
23503 steps = approx. 15.3 miles
Number of species: 122

Snow Goose X
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Wood Duck 4
Gadwall 9
American Wigeon X
American Black Duck 2
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal 1
Northern Shoveler 18
Northern Pintail 5
Green-winged Teal 30
Surf Scoter X
Black Scoter 1
Hooded Merganser 1
Common Loon 2
Pied-billed Grebe 3
Northern Gannet 1
Double-crested Cormorant X
American Bittern X
Great Blue Heron X
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 8
Black-crowned Night-Heron 18
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Osprey X
Bald Eagle 7
Northern Harrier 6
Sharp-shinned Hawk X
Cooper's Hawk X
Broad-winged Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 12
American Kestrel 2
Merlin 10
Peregrine Falcon 6
Common Moorhen 1
Killdeer 4
American Oystercatcher 2
Greater Yellowlegs X
Lesser Yellowlegs X
Ruddy Turnstone 6
Sanderling X
Western Sandpiper 2
Least Sandpiper 1
Wilson's Snipe 1
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull X
Common Tern 1
Forster's Tern X
Royal Tern X
Black Skimmer 250
Parasitic Jaeger 2
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Barn Owl 1
Eastern Screech-Owl 1
Great Horned Owl 1
Barred Owl 1
Common Nighthawk 1
Belted Kingfisher 6
Red-bellied Woodpecker 13
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4
Downy Woodpecker 4
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 75
Eastern Phoebe 4
Philadelphia Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 3
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Tree Swallow X
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 4
Barn Swallow 1
Carolina Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X
Red-breasted Nuthatch 10
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren X
House Wren 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Gray-cheeked Thrush 4
Swainson's Thrush 2
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
Northern Mockingbird X
Brown Thrasher X
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing X
Nashville Warbler 1
Northern Parula 12
Cape May Warbler 3
Black-throated Blue Warbler X
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) X
Black-throated Green Warbler 2
Palm Warbler X
Blackpoll Warbler X
Black-and-white Warbler 8
Common Yellowthroat X
Scarlet Tanager 1
Eastern Towhee 15
Field Sparrow X
Savannah Sparrow X
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow X
Swamp Sparrow 75
White-throated Sparrow 150
Northern Cardinal X
Indigo Bunting 4
Dickcissel 2
Red-winged Blackbird X
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
House Finch X
American Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Back Bay Cruise

There is still room on the Saturday October 11 Sunset Cruise aboard the Osprey from 2 to 6 p.m., and the following report from Captain David Githens ought to make one want to get on board! Call CMBO at 609.861.0700 to register. We also partner with Captain Dave on trips every Sunday and Monday, call 609.898.3500 to register for these CMBO-sponsored Cape May boat tours.

"Here is an update for recent Birding By Boat sightings on Sun. & Mon. CMBO trips: Highlights include Marbled Godwit, American Bittern, Brant, Bald Eagle, and excellent numbers of shorebirds.

American Bitterns are migrating and participants viewed a bittern less than 20 feet from the boat. Two Marbled Godwits were located at Champagne Island amid 300+ American Oystercatchers. Champagne Island is spectacular, hosting several thousand Black-bellied plovers, dunlin, sanderling, semi-p. /western sandpipers, a few Royal Terns, and abundant Forsters Terns. Two Common terns were also located.

Other shorebirds here and in the back bays include excellent looks at Ruddy turnstones, short-billed dowitchers, Great Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, Spotted Sandpipers. At one point two Peregrine falcons were chasing around the island after many of the birds. The first flocks of brant were located on Monday in Jarvis Sound and Grassy Sound. Heron and egret numbers are impressive with up to 8 Tri-colored herons being seen at once. Great blue heron numbers are increasing. Clapper rails are active a low tide. An immature Bald Eagle was seen perching on osprey platforms and hunting over the marsh. Numerous peregrine are being seen migrating down the marshes."

Godwits!

[Wow! CMBO Associate Naturalist Karl Lukens took this great photo of both Marbled and Hudsonian Godwits at the pool immediately east of the Wetlands Institute yesterday (Hudsonian in the foreground, an adult in mostly winter plumage, the Marbled, center, with Willets in the background). This is one of the best photos we've published yet on View from the Cape, in my opinion. Thanks Karl! Click to enlarge.]

Cape May Point State Park to be CLOSED WEDNESDAY; Golden Eagle; additions from Higbee

Cape May Point State Park will be closed for at least part of the day tomorrow, Wednesday 10/8/08, beginning in the morning. The Hawk Count will be conducted from the observation platform at The Nature Conservancy's Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge until the park re-opens.

A Golden Eagle is apparently heading towards the hawk watch right now, according to Dan Berard. I believe this is the first of the season.

The Wetlands Institute Hudsonian Godwit was seen again yesterday.

CMBO's morning walk at Higbee today was, according to the leaders, the best so far this fall, with good views of interesting species, notably Philadelphia Vireo. Two Common Loons flew over the walk as well. The full list follows:

Location: Higbee Beach
Observation date: 10/7/08
Notes: The highlight of the walk was the large number of ospreys overhead, many carrying fish. Yellow-rumped warblers are in, along with good looks at black-throated blue warblers, a Philadelphia vireo, and a scattering of sparrows.
Number of species: 51
Canada Goose 1
Common Loon 2
Double-crested Cormorant 20
Great Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 40
Bald Eagle 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 20
Cooper's Hawk 8
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Herring Gull 2
Great Black-backed Gull 2
Mourning Dove 5
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 35
Eastern Phoebe 3
Philadelphia Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 20
American Crow 10
Tree Swallow 100
Carolina Chickadee 8
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 8
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 12
Brown Thrasher 6
European Starling 20
Cedar Waxwing 20
Cape May Warbler 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Palm Warbler 5
Bay-breasted Warbler 3
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
American Redstart 2
Common Yellowthroat 1
Eastern Towhee 3
Field Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 4
Swamp Sparrow 8
White-throated Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 8
Red-winged Blackbird 14
Baltimore Oriole 1

Swallow-tailed Redux, Sunday at Villas, Today at Higbee

Saturday's Swallow-tailed Kite was initially spotted (I've been wanting to mention) by Susan Treesh during our CMBO Advanced Birding by Ear Workshop. The melee that followed was especially fun - Susan rushed to the front of the group almost speechless and looking as if she'd just seen a ghost, but managed to get us on the bird. Vince Elia called Seth at the hawkwatch, I later called Melissa Roach there to give updated directions, and before I knew it my phone was ringing with four or five people trying to tell me there was a Swallow-tailed Kite!

For the visiting birder, the best ways to tap into the most current sightings around Cape May Point are to ask at the hawk watch, ask at the Northwood Center, and check this web site. At least one of these, and usually all three, will be updated as quickly as possible with news.

Sunday afternoon the Hudsonian Godwit was at the Wetlands institute, according to Kathy and Roger Horn. High tide is best there. At Villas Sunday, sapsuckers and bluebirds were highlights on CMBO's morning walk, and in the late afternoon I saw an immature Red-headed Woodpecker there.

This morning at Higbee a moderate songbird flight was underway. I detected my first Winter Wren and Rusty Blackbirds of the fall. Other highlights were 3 Bald eagles, sapsuckers, both kinglets, and lots of Black-throated Blue Warblers attracted to the porcelain berries there. The sky seemed full of migrating Ospreys, undoubtedly there will be a big push of them today. Peak Osprey migration has historically been late September-early October, so we are coming into the period of the last big flights of the year for this bird, though they will continue in gradually diminishing numbers through November.

A quick walk at the State Park, migration weather and an eBird "Thank You"

Some good friends were in town over the weekend (a WSB team mate and his better half to be precise) so Laura and I met up for a nice morning of conversation and birding before they had to head back over on the ferry for home.  As it goes with seeing old friend the focus was really more on good conversation and catching up than serious birding but we had a few good sightings. 

There were many birds (including many passerines) flying over head, even as late as about 9 a.m.  Like tends to happen many times, most birds were aloft and relatively unidentifiable.  Yellow-rumped Warblers are certainly "in" these days and we heard, the first of the fall for me at least, White-throated Sparrow at the back portion of the trails system. Not many birds flitting in the back stands of pines.  This is actually a great area to look for migrants on slower days, for some reason they tend to like this area of the park (probably the habitat!) and the pines seem to be quite magnetic at times.

There were a good number of hawks up and about early.  Though, I do not relish the job the Seth (the official hawk counter) has as counting on the "mill about" days as I call them, can be quite tedious in terms of figuring out which birds might actually be moving.  Trust me I speak from experience.  Having been privileged enough to have been the hawk counter for CMBO for two seasons, there are a number of days that the counting is some what simple but that is well overshadowed, in my opinion, by the days where the birds just seem to be hanging out.

A number (hundreds it seemed) of terns and gulls out on the rips this morning should prove to be a great magnet themselves for hungry jaegers.  I thought I had spotted one (at quite a distance) but as it went below the horizon and never reappeared I could not say for sure.

One quick correction to one of yesterdays post.  I indicated that my friends from Braddock Bay had seen the Mississippi Kite from Hidden Valley yesterday morning.  As it turns out the bird could have been seen from the hawk watch area.  Looking at the eBird Google Gadget it actually looks like many were lucky enough to be a part of the rare occurrence here in Cape May.  I have to say I am quite jealous, I'd love to have had a two kite day here in Cape May.  Spring certainly gives better chances for this type of sighting but as I say, a pretty rare occurrence for the fall.  As Tom Reed pointed out this is only the 3rd autumnal record (a quick search of the NJ records for this species, up to date as of '05, confirms this to be the case) for Swallow-tailed Kite in Cape May. 

As for the migration weather.  Make sure to keep tabs on David La Puma's continued excellent forecasts as the fall progresses.  I know he is very busy these days but he continues to help keep the birding community at large well informed on what the weather may bring us.  In terms of up coming days, I wanted to put out there that it looks like Monday night could bring about another round of excellent migration.  David's forecast cuts off at Monday a.m. at this point but currently winds are forecast to be out of the North at 10+ Monday night.  Stay tuned to the Mid-Atlantic Forecast for further updates as time progresses.

Lastly, one thing I have been wanting to mention is a note from Team eBird.  Many of you may remember a post I wrote about making your sightings information sent to eBird more robust ("Make your checklists more meaningful"- 6/23/08) in which I discuss that the eBird team was encouraging observes to try and submit observations with greater effort based information.  Well, recently they posted a brief article which indicates that they are indeed receiving fewer "casual observation" reports.  I'm very glad to hear that eBird is receiving more robust data from observers and would like to say a big THANK YOU to all of you out there utilizing eBird, especially if you are taking the extra time necessary to make your observations count!  As I have said many times and will continue to say, this minor effort it takes to use this fantastic personal database (meaning eBird) can and will make a world of difference in the long run for helping conservation and migratory birds.  For more information on the "Effort-based Observations--An eBird Thank You!" article, visit the eBird site.  If you have yet to give the eBird progam a try you definitely should!

Below, as usual, is the list from today short walk.

Location:     Cape May Point SP
Observation date:     10/5/08
Notes:     4853 steps = approx 2.85 miles
Number of species:     45

Canada Goose     X
Mute Swan     X
Mallard     X
Blue-winged Teal     2
Northern Shoveler     12
Green-winged Teal     10
Great Egret     1
Snowy Egret     4
Osprey     4
Sharp-shinned Hawk     25
Cooper's Hawk     10
Merlin     5
Laughing Gull     X
Ring-billed Gull     X
Herring Gull     X
Great Black-backed Gull     X
Forster's Tern     X
Royal Tern     X
Rock Pigeon     X
Mourning Dove     X
Belted Kingfisher     2
Northern Flicker     12
Blue Jay     X
American Crow     X
Fish Crow     X
Carolina Chickadee     X
Tufted Titmouse     X
Carolina Wren     X
American Robin     X
Gray Catbird     X
Northern Mockingbird     X
European Starling     X
Cedar Waxwing     X
Black-throated Blue Warbler     X
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)     X
Palm Warbler     25
Blackpoll Warbler     X
Black-and-white Warbler     X
Common Yellowthroat     X
Savannah Sparrow     X
Song Sparrow     X
White-throated Sparrow     X
Northern Cardinal     X
Red-winged Blackbird     X
House Sparrow     X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Saturday wrap

Here's a brief Saturday recap:

SWALLOW-TAILED KITE: appeared at noon, and was seen from the State Park, the Beanery and the Meadows, putting on a superb show for over 100 birders before finally heading southwest across Delaware Bay shortly before 1:30pm. This represents just the third autumn record ever for Cape May, and the first ever to be "officially" tallied on the Cape May Autumn Hawk Count.

MISSISSIPPI KITE: seen from Hidden Valley at 9:30am, and then from the Hawkwatch around 10:15. Presumably one of the two birds that have been present recently.

MORNING FLIGHT: Good showing of Robins, Yellow-rumps and Blackpolls. Also of note were a handful of migrating Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a few Red-breasted Nuthatches and a Dickcissel.

HAWKWATCH: A tough day with not too many clouds and lots of high birds, but good numbers, including a good Peregrine flight and TWO species of Kites!

SEAWATCH: First good flight of Double-crested Cormorants, as well as the first Red-throated Loon of the season.

In other news, a probable Pomarine Jaeger was seen in the "rips" late this morning, good numbers of Blue Jays continue to be found around the Point, and there has been a noticeable number of Great Blue Herons on the move.

Swallow-tailed Kite picture

(Photo courtesy of Bob Fogg, www.keekeekerr.com)

Bob Fogg just sent over this picture he took of toady's Swallow-tailed Kite. At this point all the information I have to report is the following: The kite was last seen over St. Mary's area. It was building a good bit of altitude and has possibly left the Cape May air space for Delaware. Only time will tell if the bird has truly moved through. Unlike many raptors these birds are not too afraid to cross large bodies of water.

SWALLOW-TAILED KITE over Cape May Hawkwatch

I received a text message at about 12 noon that a SWALLOW-TAILED KITE was being seen from the the hawk watch at the Cape May Point State Park. Laura and I headed down without a moment to loose as we know that this species does not typically spend large amounts of time over Cape May air space.

We were lucky enough to get there in time to easily find the bird and actually watch some scrapping interactions with a Peregrine Falcon before it headed off to the northeast. The bird was evidently seen (or possibly first seen) from the Meadows and the call was made to the hawk watch that the bird was headed in that direction.

Many folks were able to observe the bird well until it drifted out of sight though I received a call on my way back to the Northwood Center that the bird was being viewed over Hidden Valley.

Anyone who tries to look would do well to be at the hawk watch or look from Stevens Street in West Cape May. Stevens is centrally located and near the Beanery where this bird is often seen in the spring.

Stay tuned for further updates as they are available.

NOTE: @12:36 Tom Reed just texted to say that the bird was being seen at the hawk watch again!

EDIT: As of just before 1:00 p.m. the STKI was being seen again at the hawkwatch. It looks like this bird my decide to hang around for a little while today.

One more note that I wanted to share, good freinds Dave and Kathy Tetlow from Braddock Bay, NY, have achieved a pretty much unheard of feat here in Cape May in the fall.  They have had a two kite day!  This morning they observed at least one Mississippi Kite at Hidden Valley and then of course today's Swallow-tailed Kite!!  Hopefully there are a number of other lucky birders out there today who have acheived this simliar feat.  Something tells me the earth would probably shift from its axis if anyone were lucky enough to achieve a three kite day!

Olive-sided Flycatcher, 2 kites

[Karl Lukens took the above photo of an Olive-sided Flycatcher at CMBO's Friday evening "Meadows" walk. ]

The state park Lark Sparrow was not reported again on Friday.

Here's the word from CMBO's Friday evening walk: "Started off with a great bird in the parking lot - Olive-sided Flycatcher in the tree across the street. Stayed for about 5 minutes and then flew back behind the houses. Good variety of ducks and waders but shorebirds were scarce. Also enjoyed a number of Merlins and a Parasitic Jaeger chasing terns.- Karl (Judy, Chuck, Mary Jane, Kathy)" This walk is at 5:00 p.m. each Friday in October EXCEPT October 24, when there will be no evening walk at the meadows.

Dave Tetlow may have cleared up the Mississippi Kite "mystery" - the mystery being whether or not there was more than one. He reported seeing two together at Hidden Valley Friday morning. He also found a Connecticut Warbler there. Another kite (almost certainly one of the same ones, how many can there be?) was seen again from the hawk watch platform, also on Friday.

We received a report of a Western Kingbird, with photos and description adding up, at the Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary in the past few days, I'm not sure of the exact date it was seen, nor if it has been seen again. This is the site of the former heron rookery between 2nd and 3rd Avenues.