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Sunday, June 6, 2010

Black Tern, Bobwhite, "If only it were fall" Weather

In the scarce/rare bird department, Vince Elia and Mike Crewe found Black Tern in the South Cape May Meadows/TNC Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge today, and to that report Mike added 2 Caspian Terns and 2 White-rumped Sandpipers. Vince had a Northern Bobwhite calling from the dunes at St. Peters, which may seem weird but isn't, really, since bobwhites show up in Cape May Point regularly, if erratically. Vince also watched 6 Cedar Waxwings and 2 Eastern Kingbirds fly south from the point out over the Bay - what were those birds up to?

If you want to know what sort of weather pattern sets us drooling in fall, take a look at what's happening tonight - the front definitely has not cleared yet (you could probably pack the air into humidity balls and pelt the neighbor's cat or something), but there is a spectacular rainbow along the bay right now, the front is scheduled to clear any minute (can't wait!), and the winds will be northwest overnight and tomorrow, with cooling temperatures. . . which might not mean much in spring as opposed to fall, but on the other hand - any bird that has found itself north of where it wants to be (kite? vagrant?) is apt to go south tomorrow, and northwest winds means it will wind up in Cape May.

I'm still nursing bug wounds from our MAPS station in Bear Swamp, Cumberland County, but at least I got to listen to a singing Kentucky Warbler all morning, and we banded three new Acadian Flycatchers (the species seems to be thick this year), and also heard 3 Swainson's Thrushes, late but not completely unexpected in this prime migrant thrush habitat.

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