WHAT A DAY! Highlights:
Dawn: fallout of sparrows, kinglets, a few warblers, and a great early hawk flight around Cape May. See our field trip report from Higbee Beach WMA for an example of what was around. Besides the sparrows and normal late-season warblers, I heard about onesies and twosies of Black-throated Green, Tennessee, and Nashville Warblers.
11:27 a.m. Juvenile Golden Eagle at hawk watch.
12:27 p.m. Orange-crowned Warbler at Cape Island Preserve (Doug Gochfeld)
12:45 & 12:52 p.m. Back-to-back Golden Eagles at Hidden Valley, with at least one nearly simultaneously reported at the hawk watch. I was at Hidden Valley, which also featured hundreds of sparrows and American Goldfinches. Among the sparrows were 4 Vespers and multiple White-crowneds.
1:45 p.m. Light morph Rough-legged Hawk at Cape Island Preserve (Doug again). Around this time we were watching a great hawk flight at the platform, though the Rough-legged never showed. A cooperative perched Vesper Sparrow from the platform was some consolation, as was another flyby Cave Swallow and a couple flocks of scoters, one of Black, the other Surf, flying overland over South Cape May.
1:56 p.m. Western Kingbird found by Pat Sutton at the Beanery, in the "back field," reached by going through the wet woods on the main path and turning right towards the sheltered corner.
3:30 p.m. Lapland Longspur at the Beanery, in the back field Pumpkin Patch - Doug again.
5:55 p.m. female Redhead on Lighthouse Pond (Tony Leukering).
What an amazing Cape May day. . .must sleep now. . .be sure to check View from the Field for count results and also killer Northern Shrike photos. . .
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