Late Fall Begins...

With the coming of sparrows, it feels like late fall and the sparrows have certainly started to arrive now. On my Hidden Valley walk this morning we had a nice bow wave moving ahead of us as numerous White-throated, Swamp and Song Sparrows flitted out of our way. Overhead, the skies provided great views of a raft of Northern Flickers, kettles of Broad-winged Hawks and - best of all - a total of 10 Eastern Meadowlarks that bustled their way over our heads. Eastern Phoebes are in town in good numbers this past few days too, while anyone interested in Monarchs will have delighted in the departure of these amazing insects from roosts this morning - Michael O'Brien reported counts of 550 per minute passing him at Coral Avenue (though I don't know for how many minutes!!). The odd Connecticut Warbler and Lincoln's Sparrow has been reported amongst the larger numbers of other species and a small run of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers has proceeded daily since October 1st. Tuesday saw a Swainson's Hawk putting in a fairly brief appearance as it drifted past the Hawkwatch then was reported heading over the bay towards Delaware.

On Wednesday morning, three Eurasian Collared Doves flying west along the duneline at the state park were intriguing. Are the birds from Cape May Point starting to wander a little now, or is this another three birds moving in? There's been no reports of any at the point for some time so it's hard to say what's happening with them. A possible Gray Kingbird flashed past the Hawkwatch on Wednesday morning and a Clay-colored Sparrow was reported from Del Haven in the afternoon. Perhaps the biggest surprise of this morning was the rediscovery of the Upland Sandpiper at Higbee's Beach today, now stationing itself in the third field. Since this is a particularly late date and since Higbee's is not generally considered a traditional spot for this species, it does seem likely that this is the same bird that was present there some days ago and which somehow has escaped detection.

It sounds as though all the usual sites are producing birds at the moment so Cape May has plenty to offer for the coming weekend. I hear that people are seeing plenty of warblers and sparrows at Higbee's Beach, around Cape May Point and at Cox Hall Creek WMA, while Stone Harbor Point sounds as though it has still got plenty of birds on offer. Personally, I can vouch for a nice run of Magnolia Warblers, Red-eyed Vireos and Scarlet Tanagers outside the office window this week...