Warbler Migration; Cape May Pt. and Meadows News

[Sandwich Tern on the beach near St. Mary's in Cape May Pt. this morning.
Photo by Roger Horn, click to enlarge.]

The migration trickle in Cape May is starting to become more like a stream, particularly after small flights during the past two nights that brought in some passerines to the area. An early Yellow-rumped Warbler was found at the State Park yesterday, and Yellow Warblers have become easier to find throughout the peninsula during the past two days. Early this morning I heard and saw several Yellow Warblers over downtown Stone Harbor, and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher appeared in my front yard in Reed's Beach last evening. Over a dozen species of warblers have been recorded on Cape Island in the past 48 hours, including Blackburnian, Worm-eating, Hooded and Ovenbird.

Conditions were quite conducive for migration during the past two days, with winds having a westerly or northerly component for the most part. Winds will shift back to the south and bring with them some warm conditions for the start of the new week, which will possibly put a cap on the migration parade for a few days.

Here's two reports from CMBO walks at the Meadows and the State Park-

"CMBO Evening Walk at the 'Meadows'. A beautiful night for a walk at the meadows and any birds were a bonus! Scattered waders and shorebirds made it interesting. Highlights were a couple of juvenile Wood Ducks, a Pied-billed Grebe, a very brief glimpse of a Least Bittern, a Gadwall family, numerous Spotted Sandpipers and Black Skimmers, and scope views of a Cedar Waxwing."

- Karl, (Patty, Kathy, Roger, Judy)

"CMBO Walk Birding Cape May Point. The state park provides a very varied habitat so that by the end of the walk you find you've seen 67 birds and didn't realize it. Numerous Yellow Warblers were seen as well as several female Orchard Orioles, several Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in the Trumpet Vines, and the odd woodpecker or wader in the marshes. We did encounter several Redstarts and a Black-and-white Warbler in the woods. After the walk several of us observed a young Sandwich Tern at the Whilden Ave. beach."

- Karl (Kathy, Roger, Tom)


Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 8/8/09
Notes: CMBO Trip-K,K&RH,T,+6.PtlySun,72,W5.
Number of species: 67

Canada Goose 20
Mute Swan 8
Mallard 10
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 1
Green Heron 3
Glossy Ibis 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Piping Plover 2
Killdeer 4
American Oystercatcher 2
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Solitary Sandpiper 2 fly over
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Sanderling 10
Least Sandpiper 10
Short-billed Dowitcher 12 fly over
Laughing Gull 100
Ring-billed Gull 2
Herring Gull 15
Great Black-backed Gull 30
Least Tern 25
Common Tern 50
Forster's Tern 50
Royal Tern 25
Sandwich Tern 1 /p after walk - juv. at beach Whilden
Black Skimmer 25
Rock Pigeon 3
Mourning Dove 5
Chimney Swift 8
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Downy Woodpecker 1 heard
Northern Flicker 2
Eastern Kingbird 3
Blue Jay 1 heard
American Crow 1 heard
Fish Crow 5
Purple Martin 50
Tree Swallow 12
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 10
Carolina Chickadee 2
Carolina Wren 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
American Robin 5
Gray Catbird 8
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling 10
Cedar Waxwing 15
Yellow Warbler 10
Black-and-white Warbler 1
American Redstart 2
Common Yellowthroat 4
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 5
Indigo Bunting 4
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle 8
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
Orchard Oriole 3
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 8

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