Three Cattle Egrets foraging in a freshly mowed field on the west side of Broadway a short distance south of the West Cape May bridge made for a fine start to the morning.
So did the weather - northwest winds, clear skies - feels like September. And we did bump into a couple obvious migrants during the meadows walk - single Yellow Warbler and immature/female Orchard Oriole flybys, a few Bobolinks high overhead, and, on the beach, maybe 10 Ring-billed Gulls including several full adults.
An adult Yellow-crowned Night-heron flew in over the meadows, headed out over the state park, and eventually came flying back in, making a funny almost-crash-landing on a white pvc pole out in the meadows before winding up finally safe on the ground in the west pool. Tern numbers were very low this morning, I guess it was about high tide and slack when we were looking and that may have had something to do with it. One distant Wilson's Storm-petrel was all we could manage, and we missed the Least Bittern.
The last word of the Black Rail is a report of it calling July 3. That's about fourth hand; the last personal knowledge I have of it is from the last day of June.
The meadows walk list is below:
Location: South Cape May Meadows
Observation date: 7/6/09
Number of species: 64
Canada Goose 220 Fairly accurate count include juvs
Mute Swan 50
Gadwall 8
American Black Duck 1
Mallard 75
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 1
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 1
Green Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 26 Clicked by Chuck Slugg
Black Vulture 10
Turkey Vulture 20
Osprey 10 Clicked DPF
Cooper's Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Piping Plover 10 2+ chicks
Killdeer 5
American Oystercatcher 8
Willet 3
Laughing Gull 100
Ring-billed Gull 10 several adults obviously new arrivals
Herring Gull 40
Great Black-backed Gull 40
Least Tern 75
Common Tern 50 low numbers
Forster's Tern 10 very low numbers
Royal Tern 2
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 25
Chimney Swift 3
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Kingbird 2
American Crow 2
Fish Crow 20
Purple Martin 50
Tree Swallow 5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 12 clicked by David Lord
Carolina Chickadee 3
House Wren 1
Marsh Wren 3
American Robin 40
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 50
Cedar Waxwing 15
Yellow Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 5
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Field Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 5
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 2
Bobolink 5
Red-winged Blackbird 50 Clicked by janet Crawford
Common Grackle 25 Clicked by DPF
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Orchard Oriole 1 imm or female flyby, prob migrant
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 30
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