Shrike and Sora Photos; Franklin's Gull

As I understand it, the Loggerhead Shrike [photo below] was found by Barb Bassett, and the i.d. confirmed by Michael O'Brien. It was still present, occasionally pursued by an apparent family group of mockingbirds, through at least 5:20 p.m. tonight. Start by checking from the hawk watch platform at Cape May Point State Park looking northeast. I owe a big thank-you to Vince Elia, who "held on to" this bird until I could arrive at the state park after work.

Bob Fogg found a Franklin's Gull this evening, seen from the 2nd dune crossover at the state park.

I've got some Zugenruhe happening in my yard right now, 7:18 p.m., in the form of American Redstarts feeding actively. Perhaps the flight we though should have happened last night will happen tonight, with the falling temperatures?

Shrike, Sora Pics

[Sora at the Meadows this morning. Photo by Karl Lukens; click to enlarge.]

[Loggerhead Shrike at the State Park. Photo by Karl Lukens; click to enlarge.]

Fall Seasonals are Here!

CMBO's fall seasonal crew starts tomorrow! Here they are, left to right:

Pete Dunne, Hawk Counter

Doug Gochfeld, Swing Counter

Stephen Kolbe, Sea Watch Interpretive Naturalist (Steve will also be at Morning Flight and the Hawk Watch)

Melissa Roach, Hawk Watch Interpretive Naturalist (returning from last year)

Claire Iseton, Monarch Migration Project Intern

Ari Waldstein, Hawk Watch Interpretive Naturalist

Josh Lawrey, George Myers Field Naturalist Intern (Josh was a CMBO interpretive naturalist several years ago)

Jessica Donohue, Morning Flight Interpretive Naturalist (Jessica will also be at the Hawk Watch)

Cameron Cox, Morning Flight Counter (Cameron of course has been counting since August 16)

Not pictured: Nick Metheny, Sea Watch Counter ( Nick starts September 22)

State Park Shrike! Plus Sora, Other Meadows Birds

I just got word that Michael O'Brien and Louise Zemaitis are looking at a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE from the hawk watch right now!

Not much of a flight materialized last night, apparently, at least not in Cape May. The Higbee dike had a few morning flight migrants, and an adult Bald Eagle flew past.

CMBO's meadows walk found a cooperative juvenile Sora this morning, but my favorite was the Green Heron that flew in off the water and, apparently exhausted, landed on the first thing it got to - that being the Bunker. The full meadows list is below.

Location: South Cape May Meadows
Observation date: 8/31/09
Number of species: 65

Canada Goose 25
Mute Swan 30
Wood Duck 3
Gadwall 2
American Black Duck 2
American Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid) 1
Mallard 25
Blue-winged Teal 10
Double-crested Cormorant 20
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 1
Green Heron 2
Osprey 5
Peregrine Falcon 1
Sora 1
Common Moorhen 1
Semipalmated Plover 5
Killdeer 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 10
Sanderling 100
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5
Least Sandpiper 20
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Short-billed Dowitcher 1
Laughing Gull 50
Ring-billed Gull 30
Herring Gull 50
Great Black-backed Gull 50
Common Tern 75
Forster's Tern 20
Royal Tern 10
Black Skimmer 10
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 10
Chimney Swift 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 6
Downy Woodpecker 2
White-eyed Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 10
Fish Crow 15
Purple Martin 15
Tree Swallow 25
Barn Swallow 15
Carolina Chickadee 5
Carolina Wren 5
Marsh Wren 2
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 40
Cedar Waxwing 25
Yellow Warbler 5
Prairie Warbler 1
American Redstart 3
Northern Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 3
Northern Cardinal 3
Blue Grosbeak 2
Indigo Bunting 1
Bobolink 100
Red-winged Blackbird 50
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 5

Baird's, Terns; Migration Tonight

I've decided Swamp Darner (NJ's largest dragonfly) may be my new favorite creature, specifically the one patrolling my backyard meadow and keeping the mosquitos off me as I listened to the local Great-horned Owls.

With the heavy rains of late, the juvenile Baird's Sandpiper that had been frequenting the plover ponds at the state park shifted to the meadows yesterday and today, since the plover ponds at the moment have almost no shorebird habitat at their edges. This morning the Baird's was an easy bird to find, on the [now] tiny island east of the main/west path at the meadows just south of the bridge. Black Terns and Common Moorhens were other meadows highlights, the latter including an adult and a juvenile which had climbed itself a few feet up into a shrub, both east of the east path. The juv moorhens that have been around of late pretty much confirm nesting by this species at the meadows this year.

We also saw an adult White-rumped Sandpiper at the meadows this morning, which a Semipalmated Plover quite horrifingly grabbed by the flank feathers and held, like a pit bull, until the white-rumped spread its lengthy wings and pulled free. Apparently the white-rumped encroached on the plover's feeding territory.

Michael O'Brien had Roseate and Sandwich Terns at Cape May Point yesterday, but this morning despite picking through 400+ terns I found neither. There were, however, about 10 Black Terns, 15 lingering Least Terns (mostly juveniles) and quite a few Royals amid the predominant Commons and common Forster's Terns. Ruddy Turnstones and Sanderlings, including a few juveniles, were around the jetties and on the beach respectively, and a distant western Willet refused to transmogrify into a Hudsonian Godwit despite my best efforts. I was viewing from near Coral Avenue at the time, but the flocks move around the point.

A little hawk flight materialized in Cape May today with the northwest winds, featuring Broad-winged Hawk, Sharp-shinneds, Bald Eagle, a Peregrine, a Coop, and Ospreys.

The warm and humid air seems finally to be clearing out of Cape May, and I have to think a good passerine flight will be underway over night. Cameron had a few migrants this morning, and I've got a feeling tomorrow will be pretty happening, in Cape May and elsewhere, as this high pressure system builds into the area and we get northwest winds most of the night, going to north in the early a.m. hours. I heard about a Mourning Warbler at Higbee today.

Ruff, Baird's Sandpiper, Lark Sparrow

[Baird's Sandpiper yesterday at the 3rd Plover Pond, Cape May Pt. State Park. Photo by Karl Lukens, click to enlarge.]

Glen Davis and Cameron Cox sent word that an adult male Ruff was briefly glimpsed from the Higbee Dike this morning, in the company of a few Lesser Yellowlegs. The bird was last seen flying south toward Pond Creek.

In other news, the Baird's Sandpiper was again seen around the 3rd Plover Pond this morning by Vince Elia. Vince also noted that a Pied-billed Grebe was on Bunker Pond.

Lastly, a Lark Sparrow was found yesterday afternoon by Michael O'Brien and Louise Zemaitis near the dune crossover at the west path of the South Cape May Meadows.

CAPE MAY BIRDING HOTLINE - August 27, 2009

Hotline: Cape May Birding Hotline
To Report: (609) 884-2736, sightings@birdcapemay.org
Coverage: Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic Counties, NJ
Compiler: Tom Reed, Cape May Bird Observatory
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, August 27th, 2009.

Highlights this week include sightings of ROSEATE SPOONBILL, RED-NECKED STINT, BRANT, GREAT CORMORANT, LEAST BITTERN, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, VIRGINIA RAIL, SORA, COMMON MOORHEN, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, AMERICAN AVOCET, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, MARBLED GODWIT, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, BLACK TERN, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER, ALDER FLYCATCHER, CERULEAN WARBLER, LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, LARK SPARROW, and SAVANNAH SPARROW.

-- For more up-to-the-minute Cape May sightings information and a downloadable birding map of Cape May, visit www.BirdCapeMay.org. Also follow us on Twitter at CMBObirds (www.twitter.com/cmbobirds - review list/rarities or spectacles only). --

The ROSEATE SPOONBILL continues to be seen at Brig/Forsythe NWR this week, with sightings through 8/26. Most sightings are from the north dike, between the northwest corner of the Danzenbaker (East) Pool and the "dog leg." A RED-NECKED STINT was found from the north dike, just past the "dog leg," on 8/23. It was not seen again.

Other birds noted at Brig this week included HUDSONIAN and MARBLED GODWIT along the south dike on 8/25, 2 WILSON'S PHALAROPES along the north dike on 8/24, and 2 AMERICAN AVOCETS, most frequently reported from the north dike. 50+ LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS have been present at Brig this week.

A BAIRD'S SANDPIPER was seen in the 3rd Plover Pond between the Meadows and the State Park on 8/27. An AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER flew over the State Park on 8/24.

As many as 3 OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS were seen at Higbee Beach WMA on 8/23. Highlights from the Higbee Dike this week included a large flight of over 3,000 passerines on 8/25, highlighted by 2 CERULEAN WARBLERS, 2 LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSHES and a LARK SPARROW. A GREAT CORMORANT was noted from the dike on 8/23, and 2 AMERICAN AVOCETS visited the dike dredge spoils multiple times throughout the week. The first SAVANNAH SPARROWS of the fall were tallied this week.

ALDER and YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHERS were noted from Higbee and Cape May Pt. State Park this week. A LARK SPARROW was noted at Ponderlodge/Villas WMA on 8/25. 9 species of raptors were noted around Cape Island this week, including a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK on 8/24

A BRANT continues to take up residence in the back bays between Cape May and Wildwood Crest, seen as recently as 8/24.

Multiple BLACK TERNS have been reported at the Meadows and the State Park this week. LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS continue to be seen along the beachfront between the Meadows and the State Park, and LEAST BITTERN continues to be noted with regularity from the Meadows. COMMON MOORHEN, SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL were also noted at the Meadows this week.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

**CMBO's Center for Research & Education in Goshen will be closed for inventory on August 27th and 28th.**

*FALL HOURS: Starting September 1st, CMBO's Center for Research and Education on Route 47 in Goshen will be open Tuesday-Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CMBO's Northwood Center on East Lake Drive in Cape May Point will be open 7 days a week, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. These hours will remain in place through the end of November.*

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 discounts in the stores).

Good luck and good birding!

Savannah, Parula and Worm at Higbee; Baird's and Eagle at State Park

Norbury's Landing was almost silent in the dark hours of morning, flight note wise, a bit of a surprise given the northwest winds. Morning Flight at Higbee was slowish but with enough birds to be interesting, the bulk of course being American Redstarts, Black-and-white Warblers and Northern Waterthrushes, with a Worm-eating, Northern Parula, and Blackburnian (latter picked by Glen Davis) adding interest. A flock of Stilt Sandpipers flew over the canal, and both Western and White-rumped Sandpipers were in the pool atop the dike. Again, the trail up to the dike is miserable; we recommend the platform below.

CMBO's Bird Walk for all People enjoyed an adult Bald Eagle over Cape May Point State Park, as well as both teal in Bunker Pond and several Black Terns. We also enjoyed the three Double-crested Cormorants that joined a flock of Glossy Ibis crossing the bay, for a nice comparision. Michael O'Brien and Louise Zemaitis later reported a Baird's Sandpiper in the third plover pond (the one between the state park and the meadows) found on the Neotropical Express workshop. The full list for the CMBO walk is below.

Watching the weather, Tropical Storm Danny seems currently to be tracking out to sea, and the next cold front looks like Sunday-Monday.

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 8/27/09
Notes: CMBO Bird Walk for All People
Number of species: 52

Canada Goose 30
Mute Swan 20
American Black Duck 3
Mallard 15
Blue-winged Teal 1
Green-winged Teal 3
Double-crested Cormorant 30
Great Egret 8
Snowy Egret 4
Green Heron 2
Glossy Ibis 15
Turkey Vulture 5
Osprey 8
Bald Eagle 1
Semipalmated Plover 3
Killdeer 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Sanderling 10
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5
Least Sandpiper 20
Laughing Gull 75
Ring-billed Gull 1
Herring Gull 5
Great Black-backed Gull 5
Black Tern 3
Common Tern 10
Forster's Tern 2
Royal Tern 1
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 20
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Eastern Kingbird 10
White-eyed Vireo 1
American Crow 5
Fish Crow 5
Purple Martin 50
Tree Swallow 100
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Barn Swallow 50
Carolina Chickadee 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 5
European Starling 5
Yellow Warbler 5
Northern Waterthrush 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Bobolink 25
Red-winged Blackbird 25
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 5

Lark Sparrow Pic

[Michael O'Brien took this photo of the Higbee Lark Sparrow yesterday morning. The bird did not linger. Click to enlarge. ]

Brig Stays Hot; Danny?

A brief Brig update:

The Roseate Spoonbill was visible in the northwest corner of the Danzenbaker (East) Pool this afternoon, and later flew over to the dog leg along the north dike. The Marbled Godwit was again present, this time along the south dike, just before the observation tower. Also reported at Brig today were 2 American Avocets, as well as Baird's Sandpiper and Hudsonian Godwit.

On the weather front, all eyes are again on the tropics, where yet another disturbance has developed near the Bahamas and could become a named storm in the next 48 hours. Its name would be Danny, and many forecasters are leaving open the possibility that this storm could make a run up the east coast during the end of the week. Now, if this actually happens, then a track that brings the storm inland/west of Cape May could potentially bring along a few interesting birds this weekend...but that's still a long way out. Stay tuned.

Major Morning Flight, Lark Sparrow, Cerulean, etc.

In the pre-dawn Michael O'Brien and I were listening for nocturnal migrants at Norbury's Landing, hearing far fewer thrushes than Sunday morning but more warbler notes. It appeared there would be some morning flight . . .

. . .but I don't think any of us were expecting the 3,217 birds I wound up counting, with help from Cameron (who supposedly had the day off), Michael, Vince Elia and Tom Reed. Highlights were a Lark Sparrow at the end of the count (interestingly, Tony Leukering had another or same at Villas WMA about 45 minutes later), 2 Cerulean Warblers, 2 Louisiana Waterthrushes, 2 Prothonotary Warblers, 4 Warbling Vireos, a Yellow-throated Vireo, and a rainstorm of mostly American Redstarts. The full list from the dike is under View from the Field, which is where we report seasonal monitoring results. Reach it by mousing over "Recent Sightings" and selecting View from the Field.

Brig Update - Phalaropes, Avocet, Godwit, Black Terns

A late-morning swing through Brig produced many of the birds that have been reported there during the past week. The north dike continues to host an impressive number and variety of shorebirds, particularly in the area just past the "dog leg." An American Avocet and two Wilson's Phalaropes highlighted the several thousand birds present, which also included a plethora of Semipalmated Sandpipers, and smaller numbers of Westerns. A few White-rumped Sandpipers and Stilt Sandpipers were sprinkled in, and both dowitchers were present, including a healthy dose of Long-billeds.

The Red-necked Stint went unseen while I was there, and nobody I talked to had seen it/heard any reports of it. The Roseate Spoonbill was apparently hiding behind a shrub island in the northwest corner of the newly-named Danzenbaker Pool (formerly East Pool) for most of the morning, and was missed by many (myself included).

Other birds around the dikes included a Marbled Godwit toward the start of the south dike, multiple Black Terns in the southwest pool, and both teal along the north dike.

Golden-plover flyby, Some Recent Photos, and Eastern Kingbirds in Cape May

[Here's one of the 3 Olive-sided Flycatchers at Higbee yesterday. Click to enlarge all photos. Photo by Karl Lukens.]

[Roger Horn got this shot of a Blue-winged Warbler at Villas WMA during the CMBO walk Sunday.]
[Juvenile Black Tern at the meadows today. Photo by Karl Lukens]

I just got a text from Bob Fogg that an American Golden Plover flew past Cape May Point State Park, headed towards the point.

Late August visitors to Cape May are sometimes startled by the Eastern Kingbirds, which form large flocks and sometimes swarm like swallows (and are mistaken for swallows, too.) Michael O'Brien sent me some photos of Eastern Kingbirds, taken at the Higbee Dike, that reveal details of outer primary shapes, which in turn provide information on the age and sex of the birds. Michael noted that the kingbirds are here on purpose: "Based on primary shape, you can see that we get a good mix of adult and juv kingbirds here, unlike the bias toward young birds that we see in most other passerines. They clearly stage here, rather than get drifted here. Today it seemed that adult males predominated. It will be interesting to see if that changes through the season."

[Juvenile Eastern Kingbird, note the blunt tips to the outer primaries, p9 &10. Photo by Michael O'Brien, click to enlarge.]


[Adult female Eastern Kingbird, note the slight notches in the outer primaries. Photo by Michael O'Brien, click to enlarge.]

[Adult male Eastern Kingbird, note the deeper notches in the outer primaries. Pyle says the notches on female p9-p10 are <8,>8 mm on males. Notice as a result how pointed this bird's outermost primaries look. Photo by Michael O'Brien, click to enlarge.]

Finally, Dave Lord did the ebird list for this morning's meadows walk: "In thinking of a descriptive term for today's Monday Morning Meadow Walk, the only term that came to mind was a full frontal assault on the senses. Super birds were everywhere, inlcuding 6 Black Terns giving us a show, often 5 feet in front of participants, a Cattle Egret, Common Moorhen, Yellow Warblers, Wood Duck, Green-winged Teal, Black-crowned Night-herons, and multiple hummingbirds. You couldn't swing your optics without picking up a good bird. To cap it off, a select few heard the Least Bittern give its "Krik-Krik-Krik" call at the end of the loop. - Dave Lord (Pete Dunne, Chuck +Mary Jane Slugg, Janet Crawford, Steve Weiss, Warren Cairo, Karl and Judy Lukens, Tom Parsons, Carey Bell)

Location: Cape Island--Cape May Migratory Bird Sanctuary (Meadows)
Observation date: 8/24/09
Notes: CMBO Monday Morning Meadows Walk 8-24-09
Number of species: 61

Canada Goose 110
Mute Swan 20
Wood Duck 2
American Black Duck 3
Mallard 14
Blue-winged Teal 1
Green-winged Teal 7
Common Loon 1
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Least Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 7
Snowy Egret 4
Cattle Egret 1
Green Heron 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron 4
Glossy Ibis 6
Osprey 5
Common Moorhen 1
Semipalmated Plover 2
Killdeer 4
Spotted Sandpiper 6
Solitary Sandpiper 3
Greater Yellowlegs 22
Lesser Yellowlegs 12
Semipalmated Sandpiper 7
Least Sandpiper 45
Laughing Gull 112
Herring Gull 55
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 27
Least Tern 4
Black Tern 6
Common Tern 53
Forster's Tern 3
Royal Tern 2
Black Skimmer 2
Mourning Dove 19
Chimney Swift 10
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 6
Belted Kingfisher 3
Eastern Kingbird 24
American Crow 17
Fish Crow 60
Purple Martin 25
Tree Swallow 45
Barn Swallow 42
Marsh Wren 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
American Robin 11
Cedar Waxwing 4
Yellow Warbler 3
Northern Waterthrush 1
Song Sparrow 2
Indigo Bunting 2
Bobolink 17
Red-winged Blackbird 175
Common Grackle 30
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 7
House Sparrow 15

Avocets, Black Terns, Teal, Another Olive-sided, & a Prediction

The Higbee Beach dike, and presumably the trails, were not nearly as busy as they were yesterday, but at the dike a few redstarts et al. were flying, and a lovely male Scarlet Tanager flew out of the woods, then flew back again. Even better, a pair of American Avocets (which dropped in there yesterday for about 45 seconds) dropped in again, and stayed for a few minutes. It should be noted that the trail up to the top of the dike is muddy, slippery, and not recommended. Observing Morning Flight can be done quite well from the platform next to the dike, and that's where CMBO will have our interpretive naturalist stationed beginning next week.

Other birds around/from the dike included Blue Grosbeak, several Empids, Northern Waterthrushes, Chestnut-sided Warblers, gnatcatchers, plenty of Baltimore Orioles, and occasional explosions of Eastern Kingbirds. We were getting a real kick out of this one juv Semiplamated Sandpiper that vehemently defended his territory along the mucky edge from all other peep that came near. When a Spotted Sandpiper landed nearby, the semi flew at the spottie but then thought better of taking on the bigger bird.

I caught up with the meadows walk in time to see, and hear about, the great Black Tern show there - adults and juvs, at least 8 birds apparently. I misquoted Vince Elia yesterday, by the way, he had a half dozen Black Terns, not a full dozen. Six Green-winged Teal flew up out of the meadows, and a few Blue Winged Teal were sometimes visible behind the "gull island," that being the island east of the east dike.

Last night while walking the dogs at Villas WMA I noticed a big-headed flycatcher atop a snag along the trail on the east side of the proeprty. There were plenty of Eastern Wood-pewees around but bins revealed this was an Olive-sided Flycatcher. We also saw a Canada Warbler at Villas.

High pressure is over the area now, with south winds forecast for today but apparently changing to west and then northwest for a little while early Tuesday morning, which could produce some birds in Cape May if it happens. NOAA has another cold front clearing Cape May sometime in the dark hours Thursday morning, so (if NOAA is right, a big if with the unsettled pattern of late) birds moving on the back side of that front could appear Thursday morning.

One of my favorite weather sites is the NOAA national surface pressures and fronts loop. Your best bet when trying to figure Cape May weather is to skip the TV weatherman and look at the frontal systems, plus checking the local details on the NOAA weather forecast site for Cape May. In particular, look at the local radar loop, and the hourly graphical forecast (I love this because it forecasts wind speed and direction hour-by-hour) to make your own weather (and birding) forecast. The weather in southern New Jersey can be wildly different than forecasts from Philadelphia or even Atlantic City.

Higbee was Rockin'

[I just learned Tom Bailey found a Red-necked Stint at Brigantine at 11:00 a.m. today.]

I woke at 4:00 this morning with the intention of listening for flight calls for a while before hitting Higbee. The minute I stepped outside, I knew the front hadn't cleared - it was still muggy and hot - but figured, what the heck, I'm up, might as well give it a try.

I'm glad I did. At Norbury's Landing, I heard 179 flight notes from 5:00 to 5:30 a.m. and 486 from 5:30 to 6:00. Bobolinks and Veeries were by far the dominants, with Wood Thrushes, Northern Waterthrushes, Redstarts, and a few unidentified warblers.

Given that nocturnal flight, I decided to go to Cape May, rain or not - it rained hard sometimes, lightly sometimes, and not at all in patches for the early morning hours. Up on the dike at Higbee, Cameron was working his first good mixed flight of the year, with lots of redstarts, yellows, Northern Waterthrushes, Black-and-whites, and smaller numbers of other things. The Prothonotary Warbler picked up by Michael O'Brien, as it flew the wrong way, back into the woods, was a highlight.

It was a good flycatcher day, with the definite highlight being 3 different Olive-sided Flycatchers in the second field, plus 4 species of Empid represented. I'll let the list below speak for itself - except note that Cameron had two American Avocets sit down briefly at the dike, and Richard Crossley found Mourning and Cerulean Warblers, none of which wound up on my list. Also,my counts are conservative on many things.

Vince Elia told me there were a dozen Black Terns at the meadows this morning, and said the state park was also hopping with birds. The report from the CMBO Villas walk was "After a rainy start, the birds came out to feed. We had killer SCOPE views of YB chats feeding on the ground and tree-fulls of redstarts. A wonderful mixed flock of warblers contained blue-winged, yellow, yellow-throated, black & white, common yellow-throat and redstarts, as well as blue- gray gnatcatchers, house wren and Baltimore orioles - Leaders: K & R Horn, J Crawford, D Lord, MJ & C Slugg"

Location: Higbee Beach
Observation date: 8/23/09
Notes: stalled front over us, rainy sometimes, wind light and variable, but large area high pressure to NW
Number of species: 83

Mallard 10
Snowy Egret 3
Green Heron 2
Osprey 5
Cooper's Hawk 1
Black-bellied Plover 10
Semipalmated Plover 25
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 10
Whimbrel 35
Sanderling 5
Semipalmated Sandpiper 75
Least Sandpiper 20
Stilt Sandpiper 5
Short-billed Dowitcher 25
Laughing Gull 50
Herring Gull 10
Great Black-backed Gull 5
Least Tern 2
Forster's Tern 5
Royal Tern 2
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 10
Chimney Swift 5
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 5
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 5
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Olive-sided Flycatcher 3
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1
Alder Flycatcher 1
Willow Flycatcher 1
Alder/Willow Flycatcher (Traill's) 3
Least Flycatcher 5
Great Crested Flycatcher 5
Eastern Kingbird 200
White-eyed Vireo 3
Red-eyed Vireo 15
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 10
Fish Crow 5
Purple Martin 15
Tree Swallow 10
Barn Swallow 10
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 5
Carolina Wren 10
House Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 15
Veery 2
American Robin 15
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 20
Cedar Waxwing 50
Blue-winged Warbler 2
Tennessee Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 50
Chestnut-sided Warbler 10
Magnolia Warbler 1
Blackburnian Warbler 5
Pine Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 3
Black-and-white Warbler 20
American Redstart 100
Prothonotary Warbler 1
Worm-eating Warbler 1
Northern Waterthrush 30
Common Yellowthroat 10
Canada Warbler 5
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Field Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 10
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 5
Bobolink 50
Red-winged Blackbird 50
Common Grackle 10
Baltimore Oriole 25
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 5

Black Scoter and Mole Crabs

Black Scoter and Mole Crabs

Text and photos (all copyrighted) by Tony Leukering

On the morning of 10 July, I found myself birding with friends on the beach at the South Cape May Meadows. I know, I know, the name of the site is the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge, a parcel owned by The Nature Conservancy. However, we old-timers who remember visiting the site when it was used as cattle pasture have a hard time calling it anything but 'The Meadows'. Along with Bob Fogg, I joined visiting birders Barbara Carlson and Paul Lehman for a toodle around The Meadows. When we got to the beach, we saw a scoter just beyond the surf line, quickly noting that it was an immature Black.



Black Scoters typically arrive in fall in late September (some a bit earlier) and the peak of fall migration for the species, at least here in Cape May, is in late October and early November. Variable numbers, 100s to 1000s, winter around the Cape and there is usually an obvious push of spring migrants February through April. A very small number can be found summering locally, and these birds are typically first-cycle individuals just around a year old.

The scoter worked through the breaking surf to the beach, in the process getting scooted along by a particularly aggressive wave. Once out of the water, it became the first of the more than two million scoters I have ogled in my life that I had ever seen walking.



The bird was even more obviously an immature male, with lots of orange on the bill, but still retaining a bit of the pale face pattern and white on the belly of a juvenile. Then it flapped, showing off its poor excuse for a set of flight feathers; ‘twas obviously in the process of its wing molt and was certainly flightless (as is the norm for molting waterfowl).



It began foraging on the wet beach and in the receding surf and Bob postulated that it was going after Mole Crabs (genus Emerita). It would 'sprint' somewhat in the manner of a Sanderling for a few paces or lie/swim in an inch of receding water.





When a wave would come in, rather than run away from it like a Sanderling, it would lower its head and face the wave, either while standing or lying down, and let the wave wash over it.



It appeared to be having some success, though most food items were too small to note and/or were swallowed immediately. I did get a picture of one of these smaller food items.



However, after a few minutes of this, the scoter hit the jackpot with a large Mole Crab.



With that sizable morsel in hand... er, bill, it swam out a bit into the surf and then swallowed it down. I last watched it heading back out to deeper water.

CAPE MAY BIRDING HOTLINE - August 20, 2009

Hotline: Cape May Birding Hotline
To Report: (609) 884-2736, sightings@birdcapemay.org
Coverage: Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic Counties, NJ
Compiler: Tom Reed, Cape May Bird Observatory
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, August 20th, 2009.

Highlights this week include sightings of WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL, ROSEATE SPOONBILL, BRANT, LESSER SCAUP, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, LEAST BITTERN, COMMON MOORHEN, BLACK-NECKED STILT, UPLAND SANDPIPER, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, GULL-BILLED TERN, BLACK TERN, ALDER FLYCATCHER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, LARK SPARROW, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, and DICKCISSEL.

-- For more up-to-the-minute Cape May sightings information and a downloadable birding map of Cape May, visit www.BirdCapeMay.org. Also follow us on Twitter at CMBObirds (www.twitter.com/cmbobirds - review list/rarities or spectacles only). --

The ROSEATE SPOONBILL at Brig/Forsythe NWR continued through at least 8/18, with most sightings occurring in the area of the Danzenbaker Pool. Other birds found at Brig this week included LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, WILSON'S PHALAROPE and BLACK-NECKED STILT.

An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was noted again this week, this time over Cape May Pt. State Park on 8/16.

A LARK SPARROW was found near the 1st Plover Pond at Cape May Pt. State Park on 8/17. Other reports from the State Park this week included GULL-BILLED TERN and ALDER FLYCATCHER on 8/17, and a fly-over DICKCISSEL on 8/20.

Another fly-over DICKCISSEL was noted at Ponderlodge/Villas WMA on 8/18. A CAPE MAY WARBLER was seen at Higbee Beach WMA on 8/17, and a ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK was seen from the Higbee Dike on 8/18. An UPLAND SANDPIPER was seen from the Dike on 8/20.

A WHITE-WINGED SCOTER has been present for the past week at Kimble's Beach, with the last sighting on 8/18. A LESSER SCAUP was seen in the back-bays behind Avalon on 8/15. A BRANT was again noted in the back-bays between Cape May and Wildwood Crest on 8/15.

LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL continues to be reported from the beachfront between the Meadows and the State Park this week. LEAST BITTERN sightings continue to come in from the Meadows.

Other reports this week included BLACK TERN at Norbury's Landing on 8/16, and COMMON MOORHEN at the Meadows on 8/17.

In pelagic news, a WHITE-FACED STORM-PETREL was found near the canyon shelf, about 60 miles offshore of Cape May, on 8/19.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

**CMBO's Center for Research & Education in Goshen will be closed for inventory on August 27th and 28th.**

*SUMMER HOURS: CMBO's Center for Research and Education on Route 47 in Goshen is open Tuesday-Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CMBO's Northwood Center on East Lake Drive in Cape May Point is open Wednesday - Monday, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. These hours will remain in place through the end of August.*

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 discounts in the stores).

Good luck and good birding!

Dickcissel, Bald Eagle at State Park; White-faced Storm-Petrel Reported Offshore

First, for you offshore observers, the storm-petrel: Dick Veit sent the following note: "My students Tim White and Holly Goyert had a White-faced Storm-petrel yesterday 'at the shelf break east of Cape May'."

I hear this morning's Hidden Valley walk had a great look at Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 6 warbler species including Blue-winged, and numbers of Blue Grosbeaks.

Despite the oppressive weather, substantial migration was evident at Cape May Point this morning. I'll be curious to find out how Cameron Cox did at Morning Flight. While Bob Fogg, Dave Lord, Tom Parsons and I were standing around waiting for the 8:30 walk to start, we had a Dickcissel come in overhead and land briefly near the hawk watch before taking off again. Several Northern Waterthrushes, Yellow Warblers, and American Redstart flew over as well, and there were many Eastern Kingbirds in the air.

An adult Bald Eagle gave us a great show as it pursued an Osprey over the beach, inducing it to drop its fish. The eagle then sat on the Osprey platform at the third plover pond for a while before heading inland.

We only this's and that's in the shorebird department, including a few peep, both yellowlegs, and a Solitary Sandpiper. Bob told me Pond Creek Marsh has been very good for shorebirds lately.

Lots of Royal Terns were around, not so many other terns. The full list is below, but before that note the latest forecast, and make plans to bird Sunday, and sounds like, especially Monday and maybe Tuesday; it all hinges on when the front passes and how quickly:

A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY NEAR PORTIONS OF OUR AREA WILL LIFT
NORTHWARD TODAY AS A WARM FRONT. A STRONGER COLD FRONT IS FORECAST
TO GRADUALLY MOVE THROUGH OUR REGION SATURDAY AS HURRICANE BILL
MOVES WELL EAST OF OUR AREA SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY. HIGH
PRESSURE, INITIALLY WELL NORTH AND WEST OF OUR AREA SUNDAY, WILL
BUILD OVER THE REGION LATE MONDAY AND TUESDAY.

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 8/20/09
Notes: CMBO Bird Walk for All People
Number of species: 56

Mute Swan 10
American Black Duck 1
Mallard 20
Northern Pintail 1
Brown Pelican 2
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Glossy Ibis 20
Osprey 5
Bald Eagle 1 Pursued Osprey w fish
Semipalmated Plover 10
American Oystercatcher 3
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Willet (Western) 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Sanderling 5
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5
Least Sandpiper 5
Laughing Gull 75
Herring Gull 20
Great Black-backed Gull 50
Common Tern 10
Forster's Tern 5
Royal Tern 10
Black Skimmer 10
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 5
Chimney Swift 15
Eastern Kingbird 75
Fish Crow 15
Purple Martin 75
Tree Swallow 300
Barn Swallow 20
Carolina Chickadee 3
Carolina Wren 5
House Wren 1
Eastern Bluebird 2
Northern Mockingbird 5
European Starling 5
Cedar Waxwing 15
Yellow Warbler 5
American Redstart 1 pre-walk flyover
Northern Waterthrush 3 pre-walk flyovers
Common Yellowthroat 1
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 4
Indigo Bunting 1
Dickcissel 1 pre-walk flyover
Bobolink 15
Red-winged Blackbird 20
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 10

Woodcock Trail, State Park Migrants

It's another muggy August day in Cape May, but as Don notes, autumn might send its first true warning shot sometime around the beginning of next week. I took a brief walk through the Woodcock Trail tract of Cape May NWR this morning, and found a few migrants which, like me, seemed to be eagerly awaiting the next cold front. Blue-winged, Prairie and Black-and-white Warblers all made an appearance along the forest edge, along with an Ovenbird. Both orioles were present, and the constant chattering of juvenile Field Sparrows seemed to indicate that this species had a successful breeding season here. Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting were both present and singing, and Bobolinks continue to be hard to miss, with several small flocks flying over again this morning.

This morning's walk around the State Park produced a few neat sightings, detailed below by Karl Lukens:

" ... Usual suspects for mid August. A few warblers, a variety but low numbers of shorebirds, and a singing Indigo Bunting were nice to see. Highlight was a Peregrine Falcon that flew low up the beach and across the dune while scattering all the shorebirds in the area. The Lark Sparrow was not found."

- Karl (Steve, Tom)

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 8/19/09
Notes: CMBO Trip-K,SW,T,+1.Clr,75,W3.
Number of species: 58

Canada Goose 10
Mute Swan 5
American Black Duck 1
Mallard 15
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 3
Glossy Ibis 11
Turkey Vulture 1 after walk
Peregrine Falcon 1
Semipalmated Plover 5
Piping Plover 1
Killdeer 2
American Oystercatcher 1
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Sanderling 15
Least Sandpiper 10
Short-billed Dowitcher 2
Laughing Gull 20
Ring-billed Gull 1
Herring Gull 10
Great Black-backed Gull 30
Least Tern 10
Common Tern 5
Forster's Tern 1
Royal Tern 5
Rock Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 8
Chimney Swift 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Eastern Kingbird 40
American Crow 1
Fish Crow 10
Purple Martin 15
Tree Swallow 50
Barn Swallow 15
Carolina Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 5
House Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 10
European Starling 15
Cedar Waxwing 15
Yellow Warbler 2
Prairie Warbler 1
American Redstart 1 fly over
Northern Cardinal 5
Indigo Bunting 3
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 5
Brown-headed Cowbird 10
American Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 5

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

Atlantic County Notes, and Time to Watch the Weather

I spent yesterday birding Atlantic County, starting with E.B. Forsythe a.k.a. Brigantine in the morning. We missed the ROSEATE SPOONBILL that has been at Brig for some time on the first trip around the dike, but on the second turn it appeared in the east pool north of the dike. It's a fairly pale bird, and doesn't necessarily stand out.

Brig had the usual good quantity of shorebirds, but nothing particularly rare. White-rumped Sandpipers and Stilt Sandpipers were readily found, and we saw at least 5 Long-billed Dowitchers. In line with reports of a late Arcitc spring, we saw exactly one juvenile shorebird, that being a Least Sandpiper. Juveniles of most species peak in late August; here's hoping they are just running late and this is not an indication of a poor breeding season.

Last night's Somer's Point boat trip revealed that nearly all herons and egrets are done nesting. We had a great look at an adult Little Blue Heron being shadowed by a juvenile, presumably its offspring. A Peregrine gave us a great show under the big bridge from Somers Point to Ocean City. Over 1000 Black Skimmers remain at the Malibu Beach colony, near the Sea View Harbor Marina in Somers Point.

A check of NOAA's national sea level pressures and fronts forecast reveals a cold front approaching from the northwest. If NOAA is right, the front will pass Cape May sometime early Sunday morning, and it looks like high pressure will build into NJ for the following day or two at least. Depending on when it passes, Sunday or Monday and perhaps Tuesday could be very interesting birding days. . .

Countywide Notes: Scoter, Dickcissel, More

[Common Moorhen at the Meadows during Monday morning's walk. Photo by Karl Lukens, click to enlarge.]

Here's a few news items to pass along-

The White-winged Scoter at Kimble's Beach continued at dawn this morning, sitting on the beach to the north side of road-end. There weren't any noticeable migrants along the road itself, but a Blue Grosbeak was singing in the field behind the old site of the Cape May NWR headquarters.

Ponderlodge (Villas WMA) was likewise quiet on the migrant front, save for a fly-over Dickcissel around 7:20am. A single Redstart and a pair of Gnatcatchers were present, as were Eastern Bluebird, White-breasted Nuthatch and Green Heron.

Additional reports from Cape Island yesterday detailed an Alder Flycatcher at the State Park, as well as a Cape May Warbler at Higbee.

Lark Sparrow Photo

[Karl Lukens sent this image of the Lark Sparrow seen at Cape May Point State Park yesterday.]

Lark Sparrow, Cape May Pt. State Park

A Lark Sparrow was found by Bob Fogg a few minutes ago at the State Park. The bird is located along the trail that leads past Bunker Pond toward the Plover Ponds. It was seen on a wire at the 1st Plover Pond.

Cape May receives a handful of Lark Sparrow sightings each fall, with the first usually arriving around mid-August.

A Few Notes From Here & There

Sunrise at the Reed's Beach jetty this morning produced a number of shorebirds along the beach during a high tide, including over two dozen Semipalmated Plovers... otherwise, it was fairly quiet. A Peregrine made an appearance here last night.

A brief stop at the Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary failed to produce any obvious passerine migrants, aside from a handful of Eastern Kingbirds. A Willow Flycatcher was singing its heart out in the marshy area in the front of the sanctuary. The new trails into the sanctuary offer some great opportunities to check out this really cool piece of property, and should provide some excellent birding as songbird migration continues to pick up. Afterward, a stop on Nummy Island produced a single Tricolored Heron among a few dozen Great and Snowy Egrets feeding together.

A brief loop through the first two fields at Higbee turned up a couple dozen more Kingbirds, several fly-over flocks of Bobolinks, five Gnatcatchers, four Redstarts and a Northern Waterthrush. It should be noted that mosquitoes far outnumbered the total number of all birds seen.

Lastly, some time spent atop the Hawk Watch platform at the State Park revealed both Caspian and Gull-billed Terns, a distant Cooper's Hawk (probably the same seen on the Meadows walk), five juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs and a couple of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.

White Pelican News; Meadows Report

I learned second hand that a (the?) White Pelican was seen circling in a thermal at Cape May Point State Park yesterday.

This morning, pre-meadows walk, I stood at the Coral Avenue Crossover for a bit. A Brown Pelican adult flew past, and I heard a call I initially i.d.'s as a Horned Lark. It call twice more, and my i.d. didn't change, so that's what I'm calling it. I never found the bird, apparently overhead somewhere. Horned Lark is one of those sounds that you can cross up with other things - like pipit, which we don't have to worry about until September, or even a distant, off swallow or something.

Highlights at the South Cape May Meadows/TNC Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge included a hunting juvenile Cooper's Hawk, Caspian Tern, an adult Prairie Warbler, and the usual cast of interesting characters, all totalled 70 species today. The Least Bittern flew over the center pool, and later was heard calling - the krik-krik-krik call.

Location: South Cape May Meadows
Observation date: 8/17/09
Number of species: 70

Canada Goose 75
Mute Swan 25
Wood Duck 3
Gadwall 10 hen with well feathered young
Mallard 66 clicked by Janet Crawford
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Least Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 1 juv
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 5
Green Heron 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
Glossy Ibis 10
Osprey 5
Cooper's Hawk 1 juv
Common Moorhen 1
Semipalmated Plover 3
Killdeer 2
American Oystercatcher 2
Spotted Sandpiper 3
Greater Yellowlegs 3
Lesser Yellowlegs 10
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Sanderling 75
Semipalmated Sandpiper 2
Least Sandpiper 15
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Laughing Gull 100
Ring-billed Gull 10
Herring Gull 40
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 40
Least Tern 10
Caspian Tern 1
Common Tern 70
Forster's Tern 25
Royal Tern 15
Black Skimmer 50
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 10
Chimney Swift 10
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 5
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Eastern Kingbird 5
American Crow 2
Fish Crow 10
Purple Martin 100
Tree Swallow 300
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 20
Barn Swallow 35
Carolina Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 3
House Wren 1
Marsh Wren 2
American Robin 5
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 10
Cedar Waxwing 20
Yellow Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Indigo Bunting 1
Bobolink 37
Red-winged Blackbird 100
Baltimore Oriole 1
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 15
House Sparrow 10

Back Bay Lingering Waterfowl, Black Tern

In the unexpected category, on Saturday morning I had a female Lesser Scaup from my kayak in Stites Sound, which is the water body just north of the Avalon Causeway. There were plenty of shorebirds there as well, with dowitchers and Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers in the hundreds.

Another unexpected waterfowl species was the Atlantic Brant we had from Dave Githens boat, the Osprey, last night in Jarvis Sound. This bird has been summering there. The tide was high on that trip so we only had a few shorebirds, multiple Whimbrel among them, as well as four Willets.

At Norbury's Landing this morning, Sanderlings and Semipalmated Sandpipers aplenty fed on the flats, with a few Semipalmated Plovers, Least Sandpipers, and Ruddy Turnstones. Two Whimbrel paused on the flats for a little while, as did a juvenile Black Tern. Both continued south and are probably in Cape May by now.

August Birding At The Beanery, Meadows

[Lesser Black-backed Gull seen during Friday evening's Meadows walk. Lesser-backs have been regular visitors to the beachfront between the State Park and the Meadows all summer. Photo by Karl Lukens, click to enlarge.]

Here's a few notes, via Karl Lukens, regarding a couple of CMBO weekly walks:

"CMBO Evening Walk at the "Meadows". Good waders, some shorebirds with lots of Sanderling. A few Purple Martins that didn't make it to the Martin Festival, and a brief look at a fly-across Least Bittern."

- Karl (Chuck, Mary Jane)

Location: South Cape May Meadows
Observation date: 8/14/09
Notes: CMBO Trip-K,C&MJ,+7.Clr,73,S5.
Number of species: 53

Canada Goose 30
Mute Swan 8
Wood Duck 2
Gadwall 2
Mallard 25
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Least Bittern 1 brief fly-by
Great Egret 15
Snowy Egret 6
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 3
Black-bellied Plover 2
Semipalmated Plover 16
Killdeer 8
American Oystercatcher 4
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 4
Sanderling 125
Least Sandpiper 8
Laughing Gull 100
Ring-billed Gull 4
Herring Gull 15
Lesser Black-backed Gull 2
Great Black-backed Gull 35
Least Tern 20
Caspian Tern 1
Common Tern 30
Forster's Tern 5
Black Skimmer 35
Rock Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 6
Chimney Swift 3
Eastern Kingbird 5
Fish Crow 5
Purple Martin 10
Tree Swallow 25
Bank Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 10
Carolina Wren 1
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 15
Yellow Warbler 3
Common Yellowthroat 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Common Grackle 4
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
American Goldfinch 4
House Sparrow 5

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

---------

"Initial CMBO Beanery/Rea Farm Walk. A little slower than yesterday's walk at Higbee, but we did see a number of Kingbirds, 5 Indigo Bunting including several females, a juvenile Blue Grosbeak, and several looks at Red-tailed Hawk and American Kestrel. Also good butterflies and dragonflies."

- Karl (Chuck, Kathy, Roger, Patty)[Widow Skimmer dragonfly, seen at the Beanery/Rea Farm on Saturday morning. This species is uncommon and localized in Cape May, with most sightings occurring between June and August. Photo by Karl Lukens, click to enlarge.]

Location: The Beanery
Observation date: 8/15/09
Notes: CMBO Trip-K,CS,R&KH,PR,+8.Clr,75,NE3.
Number of species: 45

Canada Goose 30
Wood Duck 3
Mallard 5
Double-crested Cormorant 11
Great Egret 11
Snowy Egret 3
Green Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
Osprey 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
American Kestrel 1
Laughing Gull 10
Herring Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 1
Mourning Dove 35
Chimney Swift 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 heard
Downy Woodpecker 1 heard
Northern Flicker 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 1 heard
Eastern Kingbird 15
American Crow 25
Fish Crow 1
Purple Martin 2
Barn Swallow 8
Carolina Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 5
American Robin 5
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 15
Yellow Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Northern Cardinal 4
Blue Grosbeak 1 /p juv.
Indigo Bunting 5
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Common Grackle 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 15
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 5

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

Mauricetown Martins

Tonight on the fishing boat come "Purple Martining" boat, the Bodacious, we sailed the 8.5 miles up the Maurice River from Bivalve upstream past Mauricetown and under the causeway bridge, as part of the annual Purple Martin Festival.

As the sun set, I did four 360 degree counts using a clicker, counting swallows (primarily martins) by 100's, with the following results:

7:55 p.m. 41000
8:02 p.m. 39,000
8:04 p.m. 49,000
8:08 p.m. 32,000

The counts included primarily martins but Tree Swallows, Eastern Kingbirds, and a few Barn Swallows were included. I wound up concluding 35,000 Purple Martins and 5,000 Tree Swallows were present. I'd put the confidence interval at plus or minus 20,000 total birds - it is just impossible to accurately count a swirling mass rising up and over and down over river and reeds. But damn fun.

The cruise also yielded 15-plus Ospreys and 3 adult Bald Eagles.

Higbee Beach: Kingbirds, Waxwings and Warblers

CMBO's inaugural fall Higbee Beach walk hit a nice little wave of migrants. Highlights included 2 Worm-eating Warblers, several Northern Waterthrushes, an Ovenbird walking right down the path in front of us, multiple Black-and-white Warblers, American Redstarts, Prairie Warbler, and Northern Parula.

Plus, it's always a highlight seeing a lot of birds, and there were a lot of Eastern Kingbirds and Cedar Waxwings engaged in morning flight, and at one point we had 16 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers in view at once! Shades of things to come.

The parula was actually singing, a weak version of the slow parula song. A Blue Grosbeak was also singing, from a treetop in the hedge between the first field and the tower field.

The full list is below.

Location: Higbee Beach
Observation date: 8/14/09
Notes: CMBO Higbee Walk. Coudy to partly sunny, wind light north going east, front passed late yesterday.
Number of species: 52

Cooper's Hawk 1
Semipalmated Plover 3
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5
Least Sandpiper 8
peep sp. 25
Laughing Gull 25
Mourning Dove 5
Chimney Swift 10
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Empidonax sp. 3
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 150
White-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 15
Purple Martin 25
Tree Swallow 10
Barn Swallow 10
Carolina Chickadee 10
Tufted Titmouse 5
Carolina Wren 10
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 40
American Robin 45
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 5
Cedar Waxwing 250
Blue-winged Warbler 2
Northern Parula 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 8
American Redstart 5
Worm-eating Warbler 2
Ovenbird 1
Northern Waterthrush 5
Common Yellowthroat 2
Northern Cardinal 8
Blue Grosbeak 1
Bobolink 15
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Orchard Oriole 5
Baltimore Oriole 10
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 2

White Pelican Photo

[This American White Pelican was photographed by Peter Langman from a boat trip on Tuesday in Swain's Channel, behind Two Mile Beach. It is undoubtedly the same one seen in flight by Jimmy Dowdell at the Coast Guard Station. Click to enlarge.]

White-winged Scoter, Kimble's Beach

A White-winged Scoter was bobbing just offshore of Kimble's Beach this evening before eventually swimming up onto the beach. Perhaps this was the same bird seen a few weeks ago by Don Freiday at Norbury's Landing, which is located about five miles south of Kimble's.

There were a number of shorebirds on the beach during the falling tide, with the majority being Ruddy Turnstones and Sanderlings, along with smaller numbers of Semipalmated Sandpipers and a single Western Sandpiper.

A single Bobolink called as it flew over heading north, and a southbound Great Blue Heron came in off the bay. Other birds in the area included a single American Oystercatcher, three Least Terns and a handful of Marsh Wrens along the phragmites edge.

Kimble's Beach is located along the Delaware Bay, about 14 miles north of Cape May Point. It's accessed from Route 47 in Dias Creek, across from the Pantry One food store (about five minutes south of CMBO's Center for Research & Education in Goshen). The road out to the beach is home to the headquarters of Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, and the entire stretch (which features multiple habitat types) offers some of the best "unknown" birding in the area.

CAPE MAY BIRDING HOTLINE - August 13, 2009

Hotline: Cape May Birding Hotline
To Report: (609) 884-2736, sightings@birdcapemay.org
Coverage: Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic Counties, NJ
Compiler: Tom Reed, Cape May Bird Observatory
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, August 13th, 2009.

Highlights this week include sightings of ROSEATE SPOONBILL, NORTHERN PINTAIL, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, LEAST BITTERN, MERLIN, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, MARBLED GODWIT, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, BONAPARTE'S GULL, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, "NELSON'S" GULL, SANDWICH TERN, LEAST FLYCATCHER, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, and DICKCISSEL.

-- For more up-to-the-minute Cape May sightings information and a downloadable birding map of Cape May, visit www.BirdCapeMay.org. Also follow us on Twitter at CMBObirds (www.twitter.com/cmbobirds - review list/rarities or spectacles only). --

The ROSEATE SPOONBILL continued to be seen at Brig/Forsythe NWR through 8/12, with a majority of sightings coming from the NW corner of the Danzenbaker Pool. WILSON'S PHALAROPE, MARBLED GODWIT and LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER were also noted at Brig this week.

An AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN was seen over the Cape May Coast Guard Base (inaccessible to the public) on 8/11, and was later photographed on a sandbar in Swain Channel, located behind Wildwood Crest. A HUDSONIAN GODWIT was also noted as a fly-over at the base on the same day.

A MERLIN was seen flying past Cape May Pt. State Park on 8/12, and a NORTHERN PINTAIL was on Bunker Pond on 8/13.

A BONAPARTE'S GULL continued this week in the area of Higbee Beach WMA. Multiple LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS continued this week on the beachfront between Cape May Pt. State Park and the Meadows. SANDWICH TERN was last reported from Cape May Pt. on 8/8, and the continuing "NELSON'S" (HerringxGlaucous) GULL was seen at Cape May Pt. State Park on 8/12.

A GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER was found at Cape May Pt. State Park on 8/12, and an early YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was noted there on 8/7. NASHVILLE WARBLER and LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH were noted from the Higbee Dike on 8/12. A DICKCISSEL was heard flying over the Meadows on 8/10. Other passerine migrants found around Cape Island this week included LEAST FLYCATCHER, CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER and BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER.

LEAST BITTERN continued to be reported from the Meadows throughout the week.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

**CMBO's Center for Research & Education in Goshen will be closed for inventory on August 27th and 28th.**

*SUMMER HOURS: CMBO's Center for Research and Education on Route 47 in Goshen is open Tuesday-Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CMBO's Northwood Center on East Lake Drive in Cape May Point is open Wednesday - Monday, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. These hours will remain in place through the end of August.*

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 discounts in the stores).

Good luck and good birding!