Common Ground-dove Photo; Another Windy Day; Swainson's on the Way?

[Third NJ record Common Ground-dove, photographed by Derek Moore on October 6, 2009 at Nummy Island, south of Stone Harbor in Cape May County. Bob Abrams and Joan Boudreau also saw bird, but it was found by two others, names unknown. If anyone knows who originally found the bird, please contact CMBO so they can get credit in print. Click to enlarge]

Oh where, oh where is the ground-dove now,
Oh where, oh where can it be?

I know some people looked for the ground-dove yesterday, with no success as far as we've heard.

A very few birds were flying in the wind last night - Michael reported 0.3 calls per minute. I'm working on a calls-per-minute scale to indicate light through heavy migration, but 0.3 is on the light side of light.

Scott Whittle tells me there is a juvenile Swainson's Hawk being seen in NY, as of yesterday. That bird could easily make it to Cape May today if decides to go, and I really doubt it is going to fight its way inland against the forecast 15-25 mph northwest winds. Other raptors migrating in the east are going to be pushed to the coast, so today could be very good on the hawk watch.


[Fleet flicker flying, fleeing fast falcons. . .photo by Tony Leukering, click to enlarge. It's a male, note the black mustache. Female Northern Flickers are plain-faced.]