Alder Flycatcher at Cape May Point

An Alder Flycatcher, both very rare in spring and quite late, sang several times at Cape May Point State Park this morning, around 9:00 a.m. I heard it from the red trail near the fork to the "bird blind," but it sounded like it was off the south, in the vicinity of the north side of Bunker Pond (left side as you face Bunker Pond from the hawk watch platform). Alder is a regular early June migrant in northern NJ, and a breeder, but not so in Cape May, and one June 7 would be a quite late migrant or wanderer in the northern part of the state.

CMBO Beanery walk- 5/7/08

"The CMBO Walk at the "Beanery" this morning started at 7:00 am in fog
which gradually cleared. We got good views, even in the scope, of the
"Blues Brothers" target birds, i.e., Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak.
Also a number of Great Crested Flycatchers, Eastern Kingbirds, and heard
but did not see, 2 Prothonotary Warblers in the usual wet woods areas."

Location: The Beanery
Observation date: 6/7/08
Number of species: 46>
Canada Goose 25
Mallard 5
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 1
Green Heron 2
Glossy Ibis 1
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 1
Killdeer 6
Laughing Gull 5
Herring Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 10
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Chimney Swift 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 4
Eastern Kingbird 2
White-eyed Vireo 2
American Crow 5
Fish Crow 3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 5
House Wren 1
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 10
Cedar Waxwing 1
Yellow warbler 1
Prothonotary Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 5
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 5
Blue Grosbeak 3
Indigo Bunting 5
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 15
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 3

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

A Friday Evening in the Meadows

Karl & Judy Lukens report the following from the season's first Friday evening walk at the Meadows:

"The first of the season CMBO Evening Meadow Walk was held this evening 6/6 and the usual suspects were found for the most part. We ended the evening around 8:15 at the parking lot, in a dense fog, listening to the "Peent" of several Woodcocks."

For those venturing out this weekend, bear in mind that a Bermuda High will be controlling our weather, resulting in hazy, hot and humid conditions through the beginning of next week. High temperatures at inland locations could reach the mid-90's. Since this is the first time we've experienced any "real" heat in 2008, make sure to drink plenty of water if you're out in the field, and remember that it will likely take a few days for your body to acclimate itself to the summer climate.

Karl also reports that while he did not see the previously-reported Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at Brig/Forsythe NWR today, he did tally the continuing Glaucous Gull, as well as a singing Willow Flycatcher and several calling Northern Bobwhites.

The list from this evening's tour of the Meadows is included.

Location: South Cape May Meadows
Observation date: 6/6/08
Number of species: 42
Canada Goose 25
Mute Swan 10
Mallard 15
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 3
Cooper's Hawk 1
Killdeer 2
American Oystercatcher 4
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 3
Willet (Eastern) 6
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Short-billed Dowitcher 8
American Woodcock 2
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull 5
Herring Gull 10
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull 10
Least Tern 15
Common Tern 5
Forster's Tern 15
Black Skimmer 15
Rock Pigeon 1
Mourning Dove 5
Chimney Swift 5
Downy Woodpecker 1
Eastern Kingbird 3
Blue Jay 1
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Purple Martin 5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 5
Common Yellowthroat 6
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 10
House Sparrow 5

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

DelBay Shorebird Numbers

Kathy Clark of the NJ Endangered and Nongame Species Program shared the following data from the weekly aerial surveys of Delaware Bay shorebirds, which are conducted every Tuesday. Red Knot peak numbers were similar to last year's. Unfortunately, the word on the street is that horseshoe crab egg densities have been low, and knot weight gain was slow. Kathy noted that the change in overall shorebird numbers between May 28 and June 3 was smaller than one would expect, possibly reflecting slower weight gain and the need to stay longer on the Bay in order to "make weight. " One would have thought many of the May 28 birds would have departed by June 3.

Knots and the other shorebirds using the crab eggs need to "make weight" before they depart, accumulating enough fat reserves to fly to the Arctic with enough fat left over to initiate nesting. The threshold departure weight for Red Knot is 180 grams; some knots arrive on the Bay weighing less than half that after their flight from northern Brazil.

Very much worth the read is the exhaustive 2007 US Fish and Wildlife Service Document, The Status of the Red Knot in the Western Hemisphere, which can be downloaded from the ENSP Delaware Bay Shorebird web site.

Abbreviations:
REKN=Red Knot
RUTU=Ruddy Turnstone
SESA=Semipalmated Sandpiper
SAND=Sanderling
PEEP=unidentified small Calidris sandpipers
DOW=dowitcher, nearly all Short-billed
DUNL=Dunlin

2008 Aerial Survey of Delaware Bay Shorebirds, by NJ and DE Fish and Wildlife agencies

NJ SHORE SPP	6-May	14-May	21-May	28-May	3-Jun	10-Jun	Total by Species
REKN	50	3,245	10,045	9,370	2,040		24,750
RUTU	60	2,845	9,020	9,835	9,850		31,610
SESA	0	18,100	23,490	28,395	25,425		95,410
SAND	1,671	4,755	11,925	8,815	6,405		33,571
PEEP	1,145	275	50	0	0		1,470
DOW	865	2,100	550	270	50		3,835
DUNL	12,850	26,145	8,270	7,840	0		55,105
SUBTOTAL	16,641	57,465	63,350	64,525	43,770		245,751
DE SHORE SPP	6-May	14-May	21-May	28-May	3-Jun	10-Jun	Total by Species
REKN	0	2,985	5,350	5,320	3,750		17,405
RUTU	0	2,320	1,320	11,465	6,760		21,865
SESA	0	15,690	19,750	24,930	33,840		94,210
SAND	60	215	1,490	4,415	2,930		9,110
PEEP	90	70	0	0	20		180
DOW	8,695	25,545	7,630	4,420	0		46,290
DUNL	295	2,420	10	50	0		2,775
SUBTOTAL	9,140	49,245	35,550	50,600	47,300		191,835
TOTAL-BAY SPP	6-May	14-May	21-May	28-May	3-Jun	10-Jun	Total by Species
REKN	50	6,230	15,395	14,690	5,790		42,155
RUTU	60	5,165	10,340	21,300	16,610		53,475
SESA	0	33,790	43,240	53,325	59,265		189,620
SAND	1,731	4,970	13,415	13,230	9,335		42,681
PEEP	1,235	345	50	0	20		1,650
DOW	1,160	4,520	560	320	50		6,610
DUNL	21,545	51,690	15,900	12,260	0		101,395
TOTAL	25,781	106,710	98,900	115,125	91,070		437,586

Surveys conducted by K. Clark and R. Porter

May 21 -- Incomplete count. Plane was prohibited from entering Dover Airspace

CAPE MAY BIRDING HOTLINE - June 5, 2008

This is the Cape May Birding Hotline, a service of New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory. This week's message was prepared on Thursday, June 5, 2008. Highlights this week include sightings of CURLEW SANDPIPER, SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER, LARK BUNTING, BLACK SCOTER, WILSON'S STORM-PETREL, BROWN PELICAN, MISSISSIPPI KITE, WESTERN SANDPIPER, PECTORAL SANDPIPER, LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, GLAUCOUS GULL, BLACK TERN, ROSEATE TERN, SANDWICH TERN, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, ACADIAN FLYCATCHER, WARBLING VIREO, KENTUCKY WARBLER, and SUMMER TANAGER.

A LARK BUNTING was briefly seen around the dunes between Cape May Pt. State Park and the South Cape May Meadows/CMMBR on 6/2. No reports since.

A SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER was found at Brig/Forsythe NWR on 6/2, and apparently the same bird was found again on 6/5, in the first field after leaving the north dike.

At least 1 CURLEW SANDPIPER continued at Heislerville WMA in Cumberland County through 6/1.

The South Cape May Meadows/CMMBR played host to BLACK, ROSEATE and SANDWICH TERNS on 5/30. Multiple LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS continued to be seen on the beach here throughout the week, and a WESTERN SANDPIPER was detected on 6/2. 1 WILSON'S STORM-PETREL and 3 very late PECTORAL SANDPIPERS were noted here on 6/5.

A MISSISSIPPI KITE was seen over Stevens Street in West Cape May on 6/2.

Brig/Forsythe NWR featured 2 WILSON'S PHALAROPES on 5/29, a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE on 5/30, and a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER on 6/4. The lingering GLAUCOUS GULL continued to be seen along the north dike this week.

A RED-HEADED WOODPECKER was seen again in Belleplain S.F. on 5/29. KENTUCKY WARBLER and SUMMER TANAGER were also reported here throughout the week.

An ACADIAN FLYCATCHER was noted at Hidden Valley on 6/2, and a WARBLING VIREO was found at the Beanery/Rea Farm the same day.

2 BLACK SCOTERS were seen from Cape May Point on 6/4. A BROWN PELICAN was seen from Reed's Beach on 5/30.


ANNOUNCEMENTS:
CMBO's Northwood Center in Cape May Point has returned to SUMMER HOURS through the end of August. The Center will be open Wednesday through Monday, 9:30am to 4:30pm. The Center is now CLOSED on Tuesdays.

Both CMBO Centers will be CLOSED on Friday, July 4 for Independence Day.

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 Harper's Migration Mainline- Cape May lithograph poster, valued at $50. Call either CMBO center to ask an associate about joining today!

******CMBO Bookstore SUMMER HOURS (June - August) are as follows: Northwood Center on East Lake Drive in Cape May Point is open Wednesday through Monday, 9:30am to 4:30pm; closed Tuesdays. The Center for Research and Education on Rt. 47 in Goshen is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9:30am to 4:30pm; closed Mondays.******

The Cape May Birding Hotline is a service of the New Jersey Audubon Society's 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 you'll receive a FREE gift (in addition to member discount in the stores).

Good Luck and Good Birding!

Cape Island Big Day- 6/2/08

Even though we are still recuperating after the busy spring season, Laura and I were able to make an attempt at our monthly Cape Island Big Day. We choose the second of June for a myriad of reasons. First, the rest of the month will continue to be very busy for us both with work and personally but most importantly to try and take advantage of any lingering migrants that might still be around.

We started off the day a little later than we'd have liked which ultimately made us miss two species (Barred and Great-horned Owls) and had me worried very early about our chances to hit 100 species for the day. We did get Eastern Screech Owl at our usual location (sorry other Cape Island WSB teams we will not reveal the location of our night birds) and were lucky enough to catch a Chuck-will-widow calling just a couple of times as the sky began to show signs of sunrise. All in all, not off to a bad start, specially since we tallied species like Blue Grosbeak, Barn and Tree Swallows pre-dawn, plus others. Not that these are difficult but it's a lot better to get birds out of the way as soon a possible.

The Bobwhite at Cape Island Preserve(which has been calling up a storm most all spring) was an easy tick at about 5:20 a.m. (during WSB scouting this species was calling, at least from my scouting, only in the early a.m. but we had it calling in the afternoon on this big day as well). But unfortunately European Starlings having moved into the nesting box, shot our chance at getting American Kestrel from the preserve.

As the morning progressed we tallied species in a slow but consistent manor. Still we were not finding enough migrants around for me to rest confidant that we would surpass 100 for the day. Though, by the time we arrived at the Cape May Point State Park and took a few moments to do a quick tally we found that we had almost hit 80 species and this was before 9:00 a.m.!!! So maybe I was wrong and it looked like we would easily get to 100. But, then the question spring to mind, can we get 110?

The state park proved to be productive as usual with the usual assortment of terns, gulls and the such. I am happy to report that contrary to a rumor that I had heard around WSB time, the Cooper's Hawk nest at the back of the state park is still very active and seeming un-disrupted by the grounds work that the state park staff are doing. I still cannot figure why someone would have thought that the grounds work would have chased the hawk off the nest. Certainly many raptors are not fond of an abundance of disturbance (who is for that matter?) but given the location of the nest it would seem that this pair is well habituated to human activities. Maybe the observer who thought the nest had been abandon didn't realize that the hawks had actually made a new nest and it was assumed that the old nest, which is much more obvious, was the abandon nest in question. Either way, it looks like we can expect to be treated to young coop's learning to fly sometime in the near future.

I should back track a bit and list that we did have a couple of nice finds earlier in the morning, one at the back of Hidden Valley. When we went to the back woods, hoping to find the Great-horned Owls that had been there (young included) earlier in May, we were surprised to hear an emphatic peetsa from an Acadian Flycatcher. This species does not nest on Cape Island and is a nice find especially given the date. Given that the bird was not there around WSB time and has not been reported by anyone since, I can only guess one of two things; 1. the bird had only been around just a little while in the woods when we discovered it. Or, 2. no one has been back in that part of Hidden Valley since the WSB. Only time will tell if it sticks around I guess.

Other great/unexpected finds for the day were a night time singing Seaside Sparrow (only head a couple of times) in the marsh behind Lucky Bones restaurant. A number of raptors around including a handful of imm. Broad-wined Hawks and three Northern Harriers. Interestingly all the harriers were females. Also a Mississippi Kite was floating around during the day. According to Michael O'Brien we missed the bird by minutes at the state park and after searching the skies for some time as we wondered around we decided to do a little late morning hawk watching on Steve's Street. After what seemed like an eternity jumping on the same flock of vultures, Broad-winged Hawks and a harrier, Laura somehow picked the kite out of the clear blue sky. The bird was seen but for a few moments and then off back toward the Meadows. It's interesting how birds can just materialize out of the thin blue and just a quickly disappear.

Also at the Beanery was one Warbling Vireo (thanks to Glen, Sam and Steve for letting us know that bird was around the day before) as was one Lesser Black-backed Gull on the beach at the Meadows. And continuing the theme of singletons, we ended our day with one Peregrine Falcon on the water tower at the Magnesite Plant.

So, we ended our day with 109 species recorded. Not bad at all in my opinion. We could have probably gone to 115 had we really pushed ourselves and worked well into the evening hours. But, we decided to let 109 be the June Cape Island benchmark and save energy for more time in the field in the future. After all, you have to give yourself something to work for in the future, right? All in all I am quite pleased with the total especially given the lack of lingering migrants. So now the question is, what will July bring..........?

Location: Cape Island
Observation date: 6/2/08
Notes: 22354 steps = approx. 14.7 miles
Number of species: 109

Canada Goose X
Mute Swan X
Gadwall X
Mallard X
Surf Scoter 1
Black Scoter 1
Northern Bobwhite 1
Double-crested Cormorant 9
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret X
Snowy Egret X
Little Blue Heron 2
Green Heron 3
Glossy Ibis 57
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Osprey X
Mississippi Kite 1
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Harrier 3
Cooper's Hawk 2
Broad-winged Hawk 6
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Peregrine Falcon 1
Clapper Rail X
Semipalmated Plover X
Piping Plover 4
Killdeer X
American Oystercatcher 6
Willet X
Ruddy Turnstone 12
Sanderling X
Semipalmated Sandpiper 150
Dunlin 1
Short-billed Dowitcher 135
American Woodcock 2
Laughing Gull X
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull X
Least Tern X
Black Tern 1
Common Tern X
Forster's Tern X
Royal Tern X
Black Skimmer 6
Rock Pigeon X
Mourning Dove X
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2
Eastern Screech-Owl 1
Chuck-will's-widow 1
Chimney Swift X
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker X
Downy Woodpecker X
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) X
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2
Acadian Flycatcher 1
Willow Flycatcher 4
Great Crested Flycatcher X
Eastern Kingbird X
White-eyed Vireo 4
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Fish Crow X
Horned Lark 1
Purple Martin X
Tree Swallow X
Northern Rough-winged Swallow X
Bank Swallow 1
Barn Swallow X
Carolina Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X
Carolina Wren X
House Wren X
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
Northern Mockingbird X
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing X
Yellow Warbler X
Pine Warbler 4
Prairie Warbler 2
American Redstart 1
Prothonotary Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat X
Yellow-breasted Chat 7
Chipping Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow X
Seaside Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow X
Northern Cardinal X
Blue Grosbeak 7
Indigo Bunting X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Eastern Meadowlark 2
Common Grackle X
Boat-tailed Grackle 1
Brown-headed Cowbird X
Orchard Oriole X
Baltimore Oriole X
House Finch X
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Cape May Point Walk

This morning was the first Thursday Bird Walk for All People, which will be held every Thursday from now through August, 8:30-10:30 a.m. at Cape May Point State Park. It switches to 10:00 a.m. for September and October. As the name suggests, it's especially beginner friendly, and we bring an arsenal of loaner binoculars, but we get a mix of folks and often some quality birds. This foggy morning featured Piping Plovers in their nest cages, and Least Tern courtship. One thing Bert Hixon pointed out about CMBO's regularly scheduled walks (all of them, not just this one), is that they give you an opportunity to sample bird life and bird behavior over long periods, and see it change. So, soon we'll see the first precocial Piping Plover chicks, soon all the Least Terns will be incubating eggs, and given another successful year for the colony, as the summer season turns we'll be watching the terns busy feeding their young, encouraging them to fly, and eventually teaching them to fish.

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 6/5/08
Notes: CMBO Bird Walk for All People, led with Chuck and MJ Slugg and Bert Hixon
Number of species: 45
Canada Goose 50
Mute Swan 10
Gadwall 2
Mallard 5
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 2
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 1
Black-bellied Plover 20
Piping Plover 2
American Oystercatcher 1
Greater Yellowlegs 7
Sanderling 2
Semipalmated Sandpiper 2
Short-billed Dowitcher 5
Laughing Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull 50
Least Tern X
Common Tern X
Forster's Tern X
Royal Tern 2
Black Skimmer 3
Rock Pigeon 20
Chimney Swift 10
Eastern Kingbird 1
Fish Crow 5
Purple Martin X
Tree Swallow X
Barn Swallow X
Carolina Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 2
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 3
Cedar Waxwing 5
Common Yellowthroat 1
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle X
House Finch X
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow X