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!