RED CROSSBILL in Cape May......

......Unfortunately the bird is in an inaccessible location to civilians. Chis Hajduk just called (10:20 a.m.) to let me know he was currently looking at a RED CROSSBILL.....on the Coast Guard Base. So, this bird is off limits to pretty much all of us. But, know that these birds are in the area (and have been off and on as flyovers for some time) and to keep and eye and and ear out. If you don't know crossbill, redpoll, grosbeak or siskin call notes, now would be a great time to break out the cd's and take a listen. Download the tracks to your iPod so that you have them with you all the time. In my experience, these species call a good bit in flight and knowing their calls will only help you track them down quicker. While your at it, you might want to brush up on Snow bunting and longspurs as well. I know I will be!

While I believe that Chris called just to taunt me in particular!, it's good to know of these continued sighting of winter finches. Since it is just now really getting cold and snowy up north we can look for continued pushed of the immigrants into our region. In fact, I heard from a friend the other day they they got a minimum 13" of snow in mid-coast Maine. Likewise, Derek Lovitch, of Maine reports of a Barred owl irruption in Maine and other areas of New England.

CAPE MAY BIRDING HOTLINE December 6, 2007

CAPE MAY BIRDING HOTLINE December 6, 2007

The Cape May Birding Hotline is a service of New Jersey Audubon Societys Cape May Bird Observatory. This weeks message was prepared on Thursday December 6, 2007. Highlights this week include sightings of BULLOCKS ORIOLE, BARNACLE GOOSE, EVENING GROSBEAK, COMMON REDPOLL, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, CAVE SWALLOW, SNOW BUNTING, YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, BLACK LEGGED KITTIWAKE, COMMON EIDER, KING EIDER and SHORT-EARED OWL.

For more up to the minute Cape May sightings information check the View from the Cape section of www.BirdCapeMay.org.

The BULLOCKS ORIOLE which had been regular at the Hidden Valley Extension along Bayshore road has not bee reported since 12/2.

Seen on Lily Lake for a short time today, 12/6, the BARNACLE GOOSE was actually observed from the spotting scopes inside the Northwood Center. This bird still seems to be moving around frequently with flocks of Canada Geese. Evenings at TNCs Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge (CMMBR) are possibly still the best time to catch this bird while many birders still report seeing the bird as it is flying from one spot to another.

On 11/30 an EVENING GROSBEAK flew over the hawkwatch platform at the Cape May Point State Park.

Also at the Cape May point State Park on 11/30 were a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK.

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS have also been recently reported form the Corbin City area.

A COMMON REDPOLL visited a feeder on Reeds Beach Road on 12/3. There have been further reports of this species from this location since.

CAVE SWALLOWS are still being seen in Cape May. The last reports of this species were flyovers at the Cape May Point State Park on 11/30.

A flock of 77 SNOW BUNTINGS were found (in the snow) yesterday, 12/5, at TNCs CMMBR. On 12/1, 85 SNOW BUNTINGS were observed at the Cape May Point State Park.

A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was at the TNCs CMMBR on 11/29.

Recent rarities at CMBOs Avalon Seawatch; on 12/2 COMMON EIDER, KING EIDER and PARASITIC JEAGER were flybys. Also of note recently was a flyby BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE.

Lastly, SHORT-EARED OWL reports are trickling in from Jakes Landing Road. Four birds were seen on 12/1 and 12/2. Also, a SHORT-EARED OWL was seen at the Magnasite Pant in Cape May, yesterday, 12/5.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

CMBO is offering a special to new and upgraded membership renewals. Join CMBO for the first time or upgrade from Individual or Family to The Hundred and receive Charley Harpers Migration Mainline- Cape May lithograph poster, valued at $50. Call either CMBO center to ask an associate about joining today!

******CMBO Bookstore hours are as follows; Northwood Center on East Lake Drive in Cape May Point, starting December 1, will be closed on Tuesdays. The center will be open Wednesday-Monday for the winter. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Center for Research and Education on Rt. 47 in Goshen is open Tuesday- Sunday 9:30- 4:30.******

The Cape May Birding Hotline is a service of the New Jersey Audubon Societys Cape May Bird Observatory and details sightings from Cape May, Cumberland, and Atlantic Counties. Updates are made weekly. Please report sightings of rare or unusual birds to CMBO at 609-884-2736. Sponsorship for this hotline comes from the support of CMBO members and business members, and should you not be a member, we cordially invite you to join. Individual membership is $39 per year; $49 for families. You can call either center to become a member or visit. Become a member in person and youll receive a FREE gift (in addition to member discount in the stores).

Good Luck and Good Birding!

Cape May like you've probably never seen it.

Well as many of you know, at least if you live between Chicago and Cape May, there was a good swath of snow dropped over the course of the last two days. One thing that does not happen much in Cape May; snow. Around here, at least at my house about 10 miles north of Cape May, 3-4 inches of snow fell. This amount of snow (any really) offers a myriad of opportunities from just sitting back and enjoying the pretty white stuff, to getting out and seeing what creatures are about the woods which we may rarely see while birding.

I remember my time in Wisconsin and Minnesota, lots of snow up in that region, which makes for great conditions for animal tracking. The best was my courses where we learned about and actively went wolf tracking. No, I never was lucky enough to see a wolf while I was up there but you really can tell a lot about an animal from their tracks. But I digress, this post is not about tracking.

I didn't really get out to do any birding this morning, though I did visit most all the popular birding spots in Cape May. What I did was to get out and take a few photos so that you can see what Cape May is like under cover of snow. Something very few "Cape May" birders (except those of us who live here) get to see. I only wish that I would have had more time to explore more and take more photos. Here are some nice shots which should be fun to look at; especially if you've been to Cape May to bird when there is no snow.

Enjoy!

(click on the photos to enlarge)
First stop is Higbee's Beach WMA. I'd bet there a number of good birds out there waiting to be found. But, very few people to find them. A drastic change from the throngs of birdwatchers that can be seen on a good migration day in September or October.

Can you guess where this photo was taken? Give up.... this the short path that connects the main trail at Higbee to the first tower field. The first tower field is the first field on the left as you walk in to Higbee.

A view of the first tower field. Ahhh, solitude!

And, the hedgerow along the west side of the first tower field. I really liked the snow in this area, can you tell.

The Zeiss Morning Flight Platform. Like Higbee, this spot is pretty much devoid of people at this time of the year. Keep checking into View from the Cape, hopefully (given that I can get my butt out of bed on the cold days) Don and I will show that there is great birding to be had here in Cape May in every month of the year.

Now we move on to Hidden Valley. This is the hedgerow on the west side that parallels New England Road. On the right side as you pull into the parking lot.

A wider view of the Hidden Vally loop area. Note all that beautiful Little blue-stem grass hiding all of those sparrows and maybe an Orange-crowned warbler or two. At least those that are not hiding in the hedgerow.

Working our way to the Point.....The Beanery (Rea's Farm)

The Leica Hawkwatch Platform is deadsville. Not even Steve mans his post any longer! Don't let the lack of observers fool you. Even in December a good NW wind will push migrant hawks to the Point. Granted they are few and far between at this date but you still have the chance for a Golden eagle, Northern goshawk or even, if your really lucky, a Rough-legged hawk.

As you can see I was the first one up on the platform this morning. This is a view I had never had of this spot. Very nice under three inches of snow. Look close and you can see me in the lower left corner.

A view of Bunker Pond looking to the NW.

And finally we arrive at the Northwood Center.

Short-eared owl at the Magnasite Plant

The photo below was emailed to me from George Myers. He and Karl Lukens found the bird while looking for rarities at the Magnasite Plant.

Don't know where the Magnasite Plant is you say? If you have ever been down to the end of Sunset Blvd. to seabird at the Concrete Ship, you drove by the plant. It's that desolate, barren plot of land on your right as you head down to the end of Sunset Blvd. This area is actually a great birding spot and very much under birded. In fact, it was in this area that Team Zeiss set the big day record of 139 species on this years World Series of Birding.

The Magnasite Plant area is also part of the Higbee Beach WMA, just in case you didn't know. This topic is a great blog topic for the slower winter months. Look for a little more detail about this area in future posts.

Short-eared News

This just in from Janet Crawford: "Friday there were 4 Short-ears at Jake's [Jake's Landing - DF], including one that appeared right across the creek and gave us good looks. One was barking in the same vicinity. Today, the Birding Club of Delaware County's Brig-Barnegat trip got separated at the end, but we both got lucky. At the Bridge to Nowhere in Manahawkin [Manahawkin WMA-it's in Boyle - DF], there were 6 Short-eared Owls, and 1 dark morph Rough-legged. At Mott's Creek [north of Brigantine - DF], there were at least 4 Short-ears, including one that Karen Johnson squeaked in. It got so close we had to drop our bins, and could see him making course adjustments as he came toward us. I thought he was going to hit Karen. He veered off when he realized that vole was a little bigger than he could handle. Janet

PS - the bar at Mott's Creek is open again, and we got a beer, and went out on the deck to look for owls. Now that's the way to go birding on a cold winter day. "

I definitely agree on that last point, that's for sure!

Bullock's Oriole, and female oriole i.d.

[Top to bottom: Male Bullock's Oriole portrait; next two - same bird in acrobatic poses; bottom, one of at least three female Baltimore Orioles keeping company with the Bullock's. All photos around 2:15 p.m. Saturday, December 1, Bayshore Road. Click to enlarge; photos by Don Freiday].

On Paul Lehman's advice, I went to see the Bullock's Oriole in the early afternoon yesterday, rather than try for it in the morning, and other birders, including Gail Dwyer, were already on it.

Early afternoon seems to be the time to go after the bird, probably because the sun comes around to the south and lights up the little thicket where the bird has been hanging around. From the Beanery, go north on Bayshore Road to mile marker 1. There is an obscure Wildlife Management Area sign on the left (west) side of the road, where a grassy path goes west. We saw the bird right from the road, in the company of several female Baltimore Orioles, as well as Gray Catbirds, and Brown Thrasher. A Fox Sparrow and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker were nearby.

This is truly a gorgeous bird. When I first spoke to Paul about the discovery, he went on about where the bird was and when it was found, and only then casually dropped that it was a male and therefore "there was no need to be messing around when you see it," or something to that effect.

The "messing around" of course would be trying to distinguish a female Bullock's from a Baltimore, not always an easy task. Not ever an easy task, actually, but it can be done.



Considering the bottom photo, of one of the female Baltimore's, we should ask, why isn't this a Bullock's? Among the points to consider, note that this bird is brightest on the breast, with a duller malar and drab cheek. Female Bullock's are normally brightest on the malar and have bright cheeks. On this photo, we can also see the brownish scapulars with dark centers, characteristic of Baltimore. The back would be plain gray on a Bullock's. We also can see no sign of a dark eyeline, which should be evident on Bullock's, and that the greater coverts (the feathers whose tips form the lower wing bar) are pretty much dark except for the tips, without white edges. Finally, the median coverts (the feathers whose tips form the upper wingbar) do not have pointed dark centers, which is usually the way a Bullock's median coverts look - there is a jagged dark border on the upper side of the upper wingbar on Bullock's.

All this means that identifying female orioles is not a quick recognition thing; you need to see the bird well enough and long enough to collect all the information.

Bullock's Oriole still being seen and a few others

The Bullock's oriole was reported to be seen at the same location (Hidden Valley Extension) at about 2:15 p.m. today.

The Barnacle goose was spied on Lily Lake at about 11:00 or so a.m and again at about 2:45 p.m..

No word on the various flycatchers, White-winged dove or other goodies that had been present in recent past.

Other sightings of note are a Great cormorant, yesterday 11/29 on the Concrete ship. Also yesterday, about 85 Snow buntings at the Cape May point State Park on the beach between the yellow and blue trails.