Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Snipe, Snow Bunting, Stone Harbor Reports

2 Wilson's Snipe entertained observers by feeding on drowned earthworms in the exit road puddle at Cape May Point State Park yesterday, and at least one was still there this morning.

Terry Randolph sent a report of a Snow Bunting seen at Poverty Beach at the corner of Wilmington avenue yesterday evening, the first one I've heard of this fall.

Speaking of yesterday evening, Mike Fritz sent this report about the final CMBO Stone Harbor Point field trip last night: "The last Stone Harbor trip for CMBO for 2009 had incredible numbers of shorebirds! Season highs for many species and 4 Long-billed Dow on the beach was unusual. Red Knots inluded "dozens" of juvs which is nice to see. VERY birdy walk with huge numbers of birds. All the terns were roosting on a sandbar island and got up when a Peregrine cruised by. Another Peregrine this one an aduld male came in off the ocean to chase the thousands of newly arrived dunlin, but came up empty."

Here are Mike's shorebird numbers:

Black-bellied Plover 75
Semipalmated Plover 30
American Oystercatcher 370
Willet (Western) 45
Marbled Godwit 11
Ruddy Turnstone 35
Red Knot 380
Sanderling 1200
Western Sandpiper 35
Dunlin 2200
Long-billed Dowitcher 4

Mark Garland and Louise Zemaitis, leading the CMBO Cape May with Everything On It [including thunder and heavy rain!] workshop, also reported good birding at Stone Harbor and around Avalon/Townsend's Inlet yesterday as well, featuring 3 Marbled Godwits roosting at high tide, viewed from the southwest side of the bridge over the inlet. Louise will be leading our final workshop of 2009, Cape May with Everything Else on It, November 7-8, which still has a couple spaces open and is a great time and place for late-season flights, rarities, and glamor raptors like Golden Eagle and Northern Goshawk.

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