Swainson's Continues, More Eiders, and Plan on Birding Sunday

Remaining perhaps the most chaseable Swainson's Hawk in history, the light morph juvenile at the Beanery/a.k.a. Rea Farm is still there today. I would hazard that it will still be there tomorrow morning, too. Here's map to the area it has been hanging out, click to enlarge:


In other bird news, the Common Eider count at St. Peter's in Cape May Point is up to 80, way the highest count ever for Cape May County. Three White-winged Scoters and two Purple Sandpipers are also there.

Some weather, eh? The tides have been amazingly high, higher than anything from Hurricane Isabel in 2003, according to Chris Hajduk over at the Coast Guard Base. But keep your eye on Sunday, because it will have been 5+ days of backed-up migrants from bad weather (which is one good reason why the Swainson's Hawk is still here) and good flight conditions are forecast for Saturday night and Sunday.

Rumors and Speculations while Waiting for Good Weather

We make our living off the birding news
Just give us something, something we can use. . .

With apologies to Don Henley.

If anybody is seeing any birds in Cape May lately, i.e. in this northeaster provided courtesy of Tropical Storm Ida, complete with gusts to 55 mph, we're not hearing about it here at CMBO. Other than a rumor that the Common Eider flock off Cape May Point near St. Mary's/St. Peters numbers more like 50 now, something worth checking, although good luck counting eiders in the big waves.

A few seabirds were moving at Avalon before our counter abandoned ship. A whopping two raptors were counted yesterday at the hawk watch before that, too, was sensibly abandoned.

If I were to go birding now, I'd find a sheltered spot to look offshore and hope for a wayward. . .ummm. . .tropicbird? I heard about a recent study that had non-breeding White-tailed Tropicbirds summering way north, as in off Newfoundland but out in the middle of the Atlantic. The only accepted White-tailed Tropicbird record for NJ was November 23, 1985 at Barnegat Inlet. Bring a camera. . .

Getting out the crystal ball, weak high pressure is supposed to bring northwest winds on Sunday. A cold front is supposed to then cross the area late Sunday, which in theory is good but it looks like the winds are forecast to go right around to east-northeast.

At 4 Golden Eagles thus far, we're way below our long term average of 13 per season for this species. You can find a summary of Cape May hawk data since 1976 on this web site, by the way, interesting to study while we wait for the next flight. Maybe Sunday?

Eiders Continue, Other Cape May Point Birds

[Two of the 26 Common Eiders off Cape May Point this morning. Photo by Karl Lukens.]

Karl Lukens reports the following from this morning's CMBO Birding Cape May Point Walk: "Rain and wind greeted us this morning. We decided to visit the pavilion dune crossover, Coral Ave. jetty, and the Sunset Grill porch for a seabird watch. There are still 26 Common Eiders (4 near adult drakes), both Black and Surf Scoters at the jetties, as well as 2 Purple Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones.

"From the state park, the Gannet count was 660, and at the concrete ship we found 2 Bonaparte's Gulls, 4 Long-tailed Ducks, and a couple of Parasitic Jaegers. - Karl (Warren, Steve, Bill, Tom)"

Swainson's Continues, Cave Swallow, King Eider, Late Season Pearls

[Winter Wren playing hide-and-seek at the Beanery this morning, one of five heard there. Click to enlarge.]

The Swainson's Hawk was perched in nearly the same place in the second/winery field at the Beanery this morning. Other Beanery birds of interest were Winter Wren, Rusty Blackbird, Pine Siskins (flyovers), a lingering Red-eyed Vireo, Eastern Meadowlarks, Eastern Bluebirds, and a flock of 40 American Pipits in the Stevens Street field.

The King Eider at Poverty Beach is a first-winter male type, and was still there today according to Chris Hajduk. While you're there, look for Snow Buntings - Doug Gochfeld had 7 southbound from Avalon this morning.

A Cave Swallow was seen from the hawkwatch at about 9:45 this morning, reported by Vince Elia. Melissa Roach, who is counting two days a week at the watch, had not counted a single raptor through 9 a.m., on a day with wind and water as still as glass. By days end only 28 raptors were recorded.

I was out fishing the Cape May Rips most of the day, and most birds, including about 6 Parasitic Jaegers, were sitting, waiting for some wind for motivation. Multiple flocks of Common Loons rested farther offshore, near Five Fathom Bank.

[One of the forty or so American Pipits at the Stevens Street field at the Beanery lingered on an above-ground perch.]

Chuck and MJ Slugg et. al. report "The Two Mile Beach walk was rather quiet although we had the "Two Mile" Peregrine eating breakfast on the radio tower and a "gray ghost" male Northern Harrier fly along the dune. A variety of ducks can be seen from the new platform looking toward Ocean Dr. Seaside Sparrows are present on the restaurant (Two Mile Landing) side of Ocean Drive."

Swainson's + Goshawk + Rails

[Watch this.]

[Big picture view of the "winery field" at the west side of the Beanery around 10:00 a.m. this morning. That's the Swainson's Hawk in the Sweet Gum tree at left, and if you squint you might find our seawatcher, Nick Metheny, sitting at the right side of field, out birding on his day off. Nick called us about the Swainson's, which has been hunting this field for a couple days. A number of people came to see the bird, and everyone was, happily, very respectful and kept their distance, letting the bird do its thing. Click to enlarge all photos.]

[The Swainson's flew down into the field - it's been catching big grasshoppers - and then. . .]

[The Swainson's gives Nick "the eye" as it passes.]

[Thanks, for the call, Nick! The Swainson's was seen from the hawk watch, but far, later in the morning.]

Other birds at the Beanery this morning included Winter Wren, Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Meadowlarks, Eastern Bluebirds , and Virginia Rail giving a weird, chattery call.

We also heard Virginia Rail at the Meadows during the next-to-last Monday walk of fall there, and even found the remains of one (see below), but the clear star was the Northern Goshawk sighted by David Lord as it perched at length in the treeline over at the boundary with the State park - looking west from the west path.

Hawks were flying this morning despite the light south wind, including many buteos, and at one point the hawk watch had 6 Northern Harriers in a kettle at the same time, with Turkey Vultures and others.

[Northern Goshawk, digiscoped at long distance by Karl Lukens. Big, prominent eyebrow, and more light spotting above than the other accipiters.]

The abundance and selection of ducks in Cape May right now is truly awesome, and I hear a King Eider was added today at the pilings near Poverty Beach by Chris Hajduk. All the ponds hold dabblers, including showy things like Hooded Mergansers. Tundra Swans have been seen migrating over in each of the last two days.

[This Red-tailed Hawk, photographed this morning in the pre-dawn fog along Bayshore Road, provided an interesting behavioral note. I "put it to bed" on the exact same perch last night while looking for the Swainson's in the fading light, and it obviously spent the entire night there, fairly exposed.]

[Proof of Virginia Rails in the meadows, or at least former occurrence. All the rails have long slender toes and a long hind toe. Virginia has pinkish-red legs. Not sure what got this one, one of the bigger accipiters seems a reasonable guess.]

Cape May Bird Chaos + Mammals

[This Northern Mockingbird was jerking the Swainson's Hawk's chain today . . . or is that its tailfeathers? I have it from reliable unnamed sources close to the situation that likely the same mocker was literally jerking the same Swainson's tail YESTERDAY, only then the identity of the hawk was unrealized by the observers, including the informant. Understandable - when you see a perched buteo in the east, you're not thinking about ruling out Swainson's. This photo was taken today at the Beanery by Michael O'Brien, click to enlarge all photos.]

Jeesh, you daren't get out of range of Cape May sometimes. I was out on a pelagic trip today off the Cape and suddenly got within cell phone range of shore - and the text messages started flowing in, first featuring a Swainson's Hawk seen today from the hawk watch, then from the meadows, then from the Beanery, then from the Beanery yesterday. . .well, that last came courtesy of someone on board the pelagic who yesterday watched a tricky buteo get picked on by a mockingbird. He had a photo and. . .

[Small wonder the Swainson's tail looks so ragged, since the mocker was grabbing it in its bill and yanking on it. Photo by Michael O'Brien. The Swainson's is sleeping on Cape Island somewhere right now, and many will be looking for it tomorrow.]

[Other text messages were all over Western Kingbirds - one of which was this one found at the Villas WMA. From Roger Horn, who took the picture, plus Kathy Horn, Steve Weiss, MJ & Chuck Slugg, Dave Lord, Cindy & Shaun Bamford, and Janet Crawford, he was "in his usual (recently) place, off the east path by the red barn."]

And there was ANOTHER Western Kingbird today besides the one pictured above. The second was found the TNC Cape Island Preserve off Wilson Avenue, which is off of Broadway in West Cape May. The bird was at the far (east) side of the field off Wilson Avenue this afternoon, according to Glen Davis. Other bird news today included a Virginia Rail, reported by Vince Elia and apparently found by Michael O'Brien at the entrance to the Beanery today. And a Northern Goshawk was seen to go down in the South Cape May Meadows this afternoon.

[Tony Leukering photographed this Purple Sandpiper at Avalon today.]

[One of about a dozen Parasitic Jaegers during the Waterbird Society Meeting pelagic trip off Cape May today, this one was definitely visible from shore at Avalon, if anyone was looking. . .Photo by Don Freiday.]

[Easily 1500 Northern Gannets foraged within 15 miles of the Cold Spring Inlet today, this was one of them. Photo by Don Freiday.]

[We passed into several groups of Bonaparte's Gulls on the pelagic, which sometimes included other birds like Laughing Gulls and a few lingering Common Terns (the vast majority of medium-sized terns right now are Forster's). Here a first year bonie leads an adult. Photo by Don Freiday.]

[The best bird on today's pelagic was a mammal - a Fin Whale about 12 miles off Cape May. We had at least one other Fin on the trip. Fins look long, low, and have the prominet pointed fin that gives them their name. We saw one from shore off the meadows two Junes ago. Photo by Don Freiday.]

Speaking of mammals, I hear Doug Gochfeld et. al. had a big Coyote cross Bayshore Road this evening while they, and I and a bunch of others, sought the Swainson's after getting off the boat. And at dusk, Doug let me know about three River Otters in the meadows while he and others maintained an owl vigil.

Birds seen and heard about

This morning's Waterbird Society Meeting field trip at Cape May Point featured multiple Rusty Blackbirds perched with other blackbirds near Saint Mary's, a wave of mostly grackles heading out across the bay to Delaware, lots of seabird movement (scoters, gannets, both loons), and 29+ Common Eiders resting off Saint Mary's/Saint Peters. One nearly washed onto the beach when, while preening, it was inattentive to the waves. We also saw one of the Eurasian Wigeon in Lighthouse Pond, amidst the really nice collection of ducks there.

Pre-dawn I watched the skyline at Cape May Point and saw one medium-sized owl and multiple Wilson's Snipe and American Woodcock. Look into the sunrise. Rumor is at least 8 Saw-whet Owls were banded in Cape May last night by Katy Duffy, but I wish you well finding one on a roost in habitat-rich Cape May.

Vince Elia told me about Golden Eagle and 2 Tundra Swans over Cape Island, seen from multiple vantages, and Orange-crowned and Nashville Warblers in the first field at the Beanery.

I poked and prodded around Two-mile Landing along Ocean Drive for salt sparrows, and found all three candidates (Saltmarsh, Nelson's and Seaside) after a struggle and some very muddy boots.