Local Reports and the Swainson's that Got Away

[The flooded field along Bayshore Road at the Beanery has accrued some interesting shorebirds of late, including Wilson's Snipe and Solitary Sandpipers, and is always worth a check. The species present change. Tony Leukering photographed this Pectoral Sandpiper there Saturday.]

Sunday was slower and today was slowish, although while swing counting at the hawk watch I had a lovely adult Parasitic Jaeger in the rips but close enough to shore to see the tail streamers.

Sharpies, Coops, kestrels, Merlins, a Peregrine - all in the first couple hours, so the diversity in the raptor department was certainly there.

Since TNC's Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge is closed for spraying, maybe I shouldn't mention that that the Cinnamon Tealish bird was still there over the weekend, as was an American Golden-plover and Sora. Today's customary Meadows walk there diverted to the Beanery, where the group enjoyed nice looks at Bobolinks feeding in the weeds and pumpkins in the second field, according to Karl Lukens.

Kathy Horn reports that on Sunday's Butterflies and Dragonflies walk (Sundays 12-2 p.m., meeting at the State Park pavilion near the hawk watch), a sunny afternoon produced 15 butterfly species with highlights including a snout, a white M hairstreak and a fiery skipper. Will Kerlinger, butterfly expert and walk leader, noted that fiery skippers are rare locally, having once counted 74 skippers before finding a fiery.


Hawk count results through Sunday are now posted on View from the Field. Note that Delaware had a Swainson's Hawk Saturday, which is very probably a bird we missed in the stratosphere over Cape May.