Several thousand warblers of 26 species flew past morning flight, including something like 6-8 Connecticuts and a Hooded. I hear the fields at Higbee Beach WMA were good, too. Clay-colored Sparrow in the fields at Higbee (fide Scott Whittle). A run on the single-day Bald Eagle record is currently underway (as of Wednesday at 4:00 p.m., Melissa had counted 43. The record is 46, set just last year.) Oh, and then there was this big white bird with a long neck and black flight feathers - the juvenile Wood Stork which soared over the point for a bit before returning south, where it was detected by Forest at Cape Henlopen's hawk watch. I should insert a comment/confession - on September 11, I got a report, with few details and some uncertainty by the observers as to the i.d., of a stork sighting in Cape May - the bird was seen flying and then landed in a wetland near Elmira Street in Cape May.
[I've never seen a Northern Parula flight the likes of the one today. You had to duck sometimes.]
[Here's a good confusing fall warbler, in the cedars next to the hawk watch this morning. I like the always-bright-white undertail coverts as a field mark on Magnolia Warblers, along with the gray head and white eye ring. Some of the hatch year females, like this one, have essentially no streaking below.]
[Left: long wings, long tail = Northern Harrier. Center: shortish wings, long tail, tiny head = Sharp-shinned Hawk. Right: long broad wings, shortish tail, very white underwing and nicely tapered wings = Broad-winged Hawk. From the hawk watch at about 11:00 a.m. today. It was a high flight today.]
To the birds, Michael O'Brien adds the following dragonfly note: "Following are estimates of dragonflies passing Coral Ave between 3:00 and 4:00 pm today [Wednesday]; all heading NW. Estimates based on numerous 1 min counts over the hour. The pace seemed similar to that over the last few days though the mix has changed a bit: more Blue Dashers, Spot-winged Gliders and 12-spotted Skimmers than before. Black Saddlebags - 2000; Blue Dasher - 1800; Carolina Saddlebags - 900; Green Darner - 600; Wandering Glider - 350; Spot-winged Glider - 250; 12-spotted Skimmer - 50; Swamp Darner - 35; Striped Saddlebags - 2."
Dave La Puma asked me what I think about tomorrow, and while it is mid-September and there will be birds (like Mike Crewe said a few posts ago), I don't think it can be as big as today. If you look at the weather link in the post below, which displays a current weather fronts forecast, it would appear next Monday has prospects for another biggee, but that's a long way off. . .plenty of birding between here and there.
To the birds, Michael O'Brien adds the following dragonfly note: "Following are estimates of dragonflies passing Coral Ave between 3:00 and 4:00 pm today [Wednesday]; all heading NW. Estimates based on numerous 1 min counts over the hour. The pace seemed similar to that over the last few days though the mix has changed a bit: more Blue Dashers, Spot-winged Gliders and 12-spotted Skimmers than before. Black Saddlebags - 2000; Blue Dasher - 1800; Carolina Saddlebags - 900; Green Darner - 600; Wandering Glider - 350; Spot-winged Glider - 250; 12-spotted Skimmer - 50; Swamp Darner - 35; Striped Saddlebags - 2."
Dave La Puma asked me what I think about tomorrow, and while it is mid-September and there will be birds (like Mike Crewe said a few posts ago), I don't think it can be as big as today. If you look at the weather link in the post below, which displays a current weather fronts forecast, it would appear next Monday has prospects for another biggee, but that's a long way off. . .plenty of birding between here and there.
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