We punted this morning and took the Bird Walk for All People to Sunset Beach and its covered pavilion. The wind was southeast 15-25 mph, the rain heavy at times, and the birding not so bad at all. Four Wilson's Storm-petrels appeared, about 10-15 minutes apart so I am presuming they are different birds (I hear a boat trip yesterday yielded 17 or so). One storm-petrel actually flew on the land side of the concrete ship for great views.
A single immature Northern Gannet appeared in the fog far offshore, and a wise Peregrine waited out the rain perched on a cross member tucked under the water tower along Sunset Boulevard. A first cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull stood on the beach next to Great Black-backeds for a nice comparison, and a lone Ring-billed Gull in full adult plumage but missing most of the primaries on its left wing obviously will be spending the summer near here. A Snowy Egret flew in, apparently having just crossed the bay despite the rain, and three Black Skimmers skimmed past.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Cape May Point: Brown Pelicans and Yellow-billed Cuckoo
This morning's Cape May Point State Park walk yielded 4 Brown Pelicans far offshore, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo along the red trail between the bird blind and the first platform, and the usual good stuff like scoped immature male Orchard Oriole and Indigo Bunting. I thought I heard a Least Bittern, and may have, along the Red Trail, but was not certain. The full list, bittern-less, is below.
Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 6/17/09
Number of species: 55
Canada Goose 75
Mute Swan 15
Mallard 35
Brown Pelican 4
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Egret 4
Snowy Egret 1
Tricolored Heron 1
Green Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 5
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 3
Osprey 5
Piping Plover 4
American Oystercatcher 2
Laughing Gull 152
Herring Gull 10
Great Black-backed Gull 25
Least Tern 110
Common Tern 5
Forster's Tern 19
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 10
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Chimney Swift 25
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Willow Flycatcher 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 3
Eastern Kingbird 2
Blue Jay 3
Fish Crow 10
Purple Martin 50
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Barn Swallow 10
Carolina Wren 3
American Robin 20
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 10
Cedar Waxwing 20
Common Yellowthroat 2
Yellow-breasted Chat 3
Song Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 8
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 86
Brown-headed Cowbird 15
Orchard Oriole 1
Baltimore Oriole 1
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 15
House Sparrow 20
Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 6/17/09
Number of species: 55
Canada Goose 75
Mute Swan 15
Mallard 35
Brown Pelican 4
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Egret 4
Snowy Egret 1
Tricolored Heron 1
Green Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 5
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 3
Osprey 5
Piping Plover 4
American Oystercatcher 2
Laughing Gull 152
Herring Gull 10
Great Black-backed Gull 25
Least Tern 110
Common Tern 5
Forster's Tern 19
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 10
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Chimney Swift 25
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Willow Flycatcher 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 3
Eastern Kingbird 2
Blue Jay 3
Fish Crow 10
Purple Martin 50
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Barn Swallow 10
Carolina Wren 3
American Robin 20
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 10
Cedar Waxwing 20
Common Yellowthroat 2
Yellow-breasted Chat 3
Song Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 8
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 86
Brown-headed Cowbird 15
Orchard Oriole 1
Baltimore Oriole 1
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 15
House Sparrow 20
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Back Bay Skimmers, Terns, Herons and Loons: Don't Miss the Boat
We did a pilot run of what undoubtedly is going to be a popular weekly boat trip out of Somer's Point tonight - we being CMBO naturalists aboard the Duke O' Fluke. More info on this trip will be forthcoming - in the meantime it should be noted that we saw more Yellow-crowned Night-Herons tonight than I've seen all year, as well as the first Herring Gull chicks of the year, and the Black Skimmer colony on Malibu Beach near Longport. And a Common Loon, apparently summering, resting on a sand bar. And Seaside Sparrows, oystercatchers, a lingering Black-bellied Plover, Willets. . . In the meantime, there's still room on our first back bay breeding bird survey by boat (scroll down to June 20 if you follow this link) this Saturday, June 20, which will be awesome, with a similar group of birds in the back bay area from Cape May up to Herford Inlet and Stone Harbor Point.
Strong East Winds = Shearwaters in Cape May
The continuing, steady east winds today produced a number of shearwaters and gannets that were visible from shore this evening.
Around 5:00pm, I saw a relatively close Greater Shearwater flying east offshore of the South Cape May Meadows, as well as at least five other shearwaters farther offshore that were quite likely Cory's. Bob Fogg saw two Cory's Shearwaters from St. Mary's during the same timeframe, and then tallied several dozen shearwaters from the Cape May Convention Center, with the identifiable ones all being Cory's.
Later on, an hour spent at the 8th Street Jetty (at the north end of Avalon) produced another Cory's Shearwater and another unidentified shearwater, as well as an excellent June count of 54 Northern Gannets. I had seen at least 25 Gannets from the Meadows earlier.
Winds will continue out of the east overnight and into tomorrow, which bodes well for shearwater searching. I'd suggest trying St. Peter's, St. Mary's, the 2nd Avenue Jetty, the Convention Center or Poverty Beach tomorrow morning.
Around 5:00pm, I saw a relatively close Greater Shearwater flying east offshore of the South Cape May Meadows, as well as at least five other shearwaters farther offshore that were quite likely Cory's. Bob Fogg saw two Cory's Shearwaters from St. Mary's during the same timeframe, and then tallied several dozen shearwaters from the Cape May Convention Center, with the identifiable ones all being Cory's.
Later on, an hour spent at the 8th Street Jetty (at the north end of Avalon) produced another Cory's Shearwater and another unidentified shearwater, as well as an excellent June count of 54 Northern Gannets. I had seen at least 25 Gannets from the Meadows earlier.
Winds will continue out of the east overnight and into tomorrow, which bodes well for shearwater searching. I'd suggest trying St. Peter's, St. Mary's, the 2nd Avenue Jetty, the Convention Center or Poverty Beach tomorrow morning.
Monday, June 15, 2009
June Birding on the Bayshore
An evening walk down Reed's Beach Road did not yield the pelican of yesterday, but did provide a number of neat sights and sounds of the season.
Orchard Orioles are just about impossible to miss in the area right now- we came across four pairs during our mile-long walk, and found three nests. Marsh Wrens and Seaside Sparrows were both audible and visible, and a careful count of Laughing Gulls produced 1,067, with many still feeding on horseshoe crab eggs along the beach.
Closer to dusk, a Great Horned Owl flew out across the marsh, blackbirds and kingbirds hot on its tail feathers the whole way. At least one Chuck-will's-widow started calling from the forest edge, and a few Black-crowned Night-Herons squawked from overhead as they headed out for the evening.
Location: Reed's Beach
Observation date: 6/15/09
Number of species: 43
American Black Duck 2
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron 3
Glossy Ibis 18
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 1
Clapper Rail 18
American Oystercatcher 1
Willet (Eastern) 16
Laughing Gull 1067
Herring Gull 35
Great Black-backed Gull 9
Forster's Tern 4
Black Skimmer 2
Mourning Dove 15
Great Horned Owl 1
Chuck-will's-widow 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Eastern Kingbird 3
Fish Crow 4
Purple Martin 20
Tree Swallow 4
Barn Swallow 9
Carolina Chickadee 2
Carolina Wren 4
Marsh Wren 8
American Robin 6
Gray Catbird 4
Northern Mockingbird 4
Brown Thrasher 2
European Starling 12
Chipping Sparrow 2
Seaside Sparrow 8
Song Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 6
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Common Grackle 6
Boat-tailed Grackle 18
Orchard Oriole 8
House Finch 18
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 25
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
Orchard Orioles are just about impossible to miss in the area right now- we came across four pairs during our mile-long walk, and found three nests. Marsh Wrens and Seaside Sparrows were both audible and visible, and a careful count of Laughing Gulls produced 1,067, with many still feeding on horseshoe crab eggs along the beach.
Closer to dusk, a Great Horned Owl flew out across the marsh, blackbirds and kingbirds hot on its tail feathers the whole way. At least one Chuck-will's-widow started calling from the forest edge, and a few Black-crowned Night-Herons squawked from overhead as they headed out for the evening.
Location: Reed's Beach
Observation date: 6/15/09
Number of species: 43
American Black Duck 2
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron 3
Glossy Ibis 18
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 1
Clapper Rail 18
American Oystercatcher 1
Willet (Eastern) 16
Laughing Gull 1067
Herring Gull 35
Great Black-backed Gull 9
Forster's Tern 4
Black Skimmer 2
Mourning Dove 15
Great Horned Owl 1
Chuck-will's-widow 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Eastern Kingbird 3
Fish Crow 4
Purple Martin 20
Tree Swallow 4
Barn Swallow 9
Carolina Chickadee 2
Carolina Wren 4
Marsh Wren 8
American Robin 6
Gray Catbird 4
Northern Mockingbird 4
Brown Thrasher 2
European Starling 12
Chipping Sparrow 2
Seaside Sparrow 8
Song Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 6
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Common Grackle 6
Boat-tailed Grackle 18
Orchard Oriole 8
House Finch 18
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 25
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
Villas Yesterday - Protho, Brush Birds, and Little blue
Kathy and Roger Horn had some good stuff at Villas yesterday:
"On a Villas WMA walk this AM, Roger and I had 2 singing Prothonotary Warblers, 3 Blue Grosbeaks, 3 Orchard Orioles, a Bald Eagle, and a Little Blue Heron perched high on a snag. - Kathy and Roger"
"On a Villas WMA walk this AM, Roger and I had 2 singing Prothonotary Warblers, 3 Blue Grosbeaks, 3 Orchard Orioles, a Bald Eagle, and a Little Blue Heron perched high on a snag. - Kathy and Roger"
South Cape May Meadows: Least Bitterns, MIKI, and Blue Grosbeak
Detecting any one Least Bittern makes for a red letter day, so the three we had this morning at the TNC Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge were very fine indeed: one pokpokpok -ing in the west pool, one seen by some of the group in the middle pool, and one seen by all as it made a long flight in the east pool, winding up in the cattails close to Sunset Boulevard.
A second-year male Blue Grosbeak sang and sang near the west dune crossover, and from there we also watched one of the Piping Plovers perform a distraction display to lure Fish Crows away from its nest - which was in an exclosure, but that doesn't mean it's safe, since the new chicks leave the exclosure soon after hatching.
Multiple Black-crowned Night-Herons were roosting in the shrub island in the center pool, near the parking lot, and I keep looking at that shrub island and the others nearby and wonder if a heron rookery could ever form there. Apparently, there never has been one in the South Cape May Meadows.
The Mississippi Kite was a subadult, soaring at 9:30 over Cape May Point. The full list from this walk is below.
Location: South Cape May Meadows
Observation date: 6/15/09
Number of species: 58
Canada Goose 50
Mute Swan 25
Gadwall 3
Mallard 10
Double-crested Cormorant 10
Least Bittern 3 1 calling in west pool, one seen in center pool, 1 seen in east pool
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 2
Green Heron 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron 5 roosting in shrub island in center pool, prospective rookery someday?
Glossy Ibis 15
Black Vulture 5
Turkey Vulture 5
Osprey 8 1 sitting on nest platform
Mississippi Kite 1 subadult over Cape May Point
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Piping Plover 5 1 adult did distraction display to lure Fish Crows away from exclosure, crows did pursue
Killdeer 2
American Oystercatcher 2
Willet (Eastern) 1 standing in center pool
Laughing Gull 161 actual count by clicker
Ring-billed Gull 3 1 second year, 2 first year
Herring Gull 30
Great Black-backed Gull 30
Least Tern 75
Common Tern 2
Forster's Tern 38 actual count by clicker
Black Skimmer 3
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 15
Chimney Swift 75
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 2
Fish Crow 20
Purple Martin 10
Tree Swallow 10
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 5
Carolina Wren 5
Marsh Wren 3
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 5
Yellow Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 5
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Song Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 5
Blue Grosbeak 1 second calendar year male, singing persistently
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle 50
Brown-headed Cowbird 10
Orchard Oriole 1 imm. male
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 20
A second-year male Blue Grosbeak sang and sang near the west dune crossover, and from there we also watched one of the Piping Plovers perform a distraction display to lure Fish Crows away from its nest - which was in an exclosure, but that doesn't mean it's safe, since the new chicks leave the exclosure soon after hatching.
Multiple Black-crowned Night-Herons were roosting in the shrub island in the center pool, near the parking lot, and I keep looking at that shrub island and the others nearby and wonder if a heron rookery could ever form there. Apparently, there never has been one in the South Cape May Meadows.
The Mississippi Kite was a subadult, soaring at 9:30 over Cape May Point. The full list from this walk is below.
Location: South Cape May Meadows
Observation date: 6/15/09
Number of species: 58
Canada Goose 50
Mute Swan 25
Gadwall 3
Mallard 10
Double-crested Cormorant 10
Least Bittern 3 1 calling in west pool, one seen in center pool, 1 seen in east pool
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 2
Green Heron 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron 5 roosting in shrub island in center pool, prospective rookery someday?
Glossy Ibis 15
Black Vulture 5
Turkey Vulture 5
Osprey 8 1 sitting on nest platform
Mississippi Kite 1 subadult over Cape May Point
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Piping Plover 5 1 adult did distraction display to lure Fish Crows away from exclosure, crows did pursue
Killdeer 2
American Oystercatcher 2
Willet (Eastern) 1 standing in center pool
Laughing Gull 161 actual count by clicker
Ring-billed Gull 3 1 second year, 2 first year
Herring Gull 30
Great Black-backed Gull 30
Least Tern 75
Common Tern 2
Forster's Tern 38 actual count by clicker
Black Skimmer 3
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 15
Chimney Swift 75
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 2
Fish Crow 20
Purple Martin 10
Tree Swallow 10
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 5
Carolina Wren 5
Marsh Wren 3
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 5
Yellow Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 5
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Song Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 5
Blue Grosbeak 1 second calendar year male, singing persistently
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle 50
Brown-headed Cowbird 10
Orchard Oriole 1 imm. male
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 20