I don't know that bird...

Don Freiday gave an excellent talk on Friday night at the Cape Maygration Spring Weekend, entitled 'How to identify birds like an expert'. In this talk Don covered - among many other things - the subject of how experts have the acquired knowledge to simply be able to recognize a bird; in other words, they can know what a bird is without having to actually go through a lengthy process of identification steps.

This was a very timely comment for me. On Thursday morning, while leading a Higbee Beach walk, I called people's attention to a flock of roosting shorebirds on the stone jetty at the mouth of the Cape May Canal. Hmm, I knew there had been a couple of Purple Sandpipers around recently, but this flock of 30 or so birds was probably more likely to be Sanderling, or perhaps Semipalmated Sandpipers, since such a high number of birds would surely not be Purple Sandpipers in May; after all, this is a wintering species here. The problem I had was that when I got a better look through the scope, I could have sworn that I could see pale legs. That's going to rule out so many of the peeps and left me in a quandry. I wasn't sure what these birds were - and yet I know Purple Sandpiper, I see them every year, up close and personal.

The birds were there again for the Friday walk. I was shaken! I had to point these out to people and call them Purple Sandpipers, and yet I didn't 'know' these birds, they weren't right somehow. I didn't recognize them. Time for closure, time to settle this once and for all! Tony Leukering and I walked down the jetty, right to the end, on Friday lunchtime, and we were amazed. Here they were, 30 Purple Sandpipers on May 18th - and all (of course!) in very unfamiliar breeding plumage. Gone were my usual cues - the flat gray upperparts contrasting rather weakly with the slightly paler underparts to give an overall rather plain bird. Instead, here were birds with dark, blackish, feather centers on the back and heavy blotching and streaking on the head and breast. A very unfamiliar bird, and a wonderful learning curve for me. Sibley's The Birds of Cape May lists a flock of 40 Purple Sandpipers on May 28th 1983, so this is no recordbreaker, but if you can get down to Higbee Beach and have a look at these birds, it really is quite a treat.

A surprising sight in May: 23 of the 30 or so Purple Sandpipers on the canal jetty this week [photo by Mike Crewe].

A most unfamiliar bird to most of us - a Purple Sandpiper in its May plumage. All the birds present had large black centers to the mantle and scapulars, but almost no warm, rufous tones. This seems to suggest that they were all first-summer birds (ie hatched in 2011) so perhaps they are loitering this year well south of the breeding range and will return to the Arctic to breed in 2013. This was a particularly dark bird with just a tiny amount of pale olive at the base of the bill and pretty dark legs [photo by Mike Crewe].

This individual has more olive on the legs and bill and at least some warmer margins to the upperparts [photo by Mike Crewe].

Another bird which looks somewhat intermediate between the two above [photo by Mike Crewe].

For reference, here's everyone's idea of a standard Purple Sandpiper - taken at Barnegat Light in December 2009 [photo by Mike Crewe].

The day you go out birding and don't learn something new, is a poor day indeed...

It's all about the birds, it's all about the people...

Apologies to regular readers of our blog, I can't believe it's been a whole week since I sat down and let you know what's going on in Cape May. Well, what is going on, of course, is that we are at the peak of spring activity here - and that's the peak for both birds and for people.

Saturday May 12th was our 29th annual World Series of Birding event - and what a day that was! Spring migration has been a little hit and miss here this year so far, with little in the way of westerly winds to drift birds our way, but we're used to that and there really isn't a bad day to go birding at Cape May this time of year. Indeed, it's such a great place that they even named a month after it! Despite early worries though, Word Series day was near perfect and we even had a good run of spring migrants right on the day that we needed it! As ever, it was a fabulous day, with 63 teams taking part and turning in some great counts, all of which help to raise money not only for Cape May Bird Observatory and New Jersey Audubon, but also for many other worthy causes by way of sponsorships and pledges.

The results? I thought you might ask! Well, my boss's team won so I'm hoping for an easy week as he's bound to be in a good mood for a while! Yes, Team Zeiss, sponsored by Carl Zeiss Optics and consisting of Pete Dunne, Tom Reed, Will Russell and Luke Seitz, hit the top rung with a total of 207 species logged on the route around New Jersey. Pretty good I reckon! There were other worthy winners too in the various categories, among them team Zen Zugunruhe (don't ask, it's a migration thing!!) who notched up an impressive 173 species just in Cape County, while the Monarchists scoured the small area south of Cape May Canal on bikes and found an amazing 155 species - Cape May has the birds folks! In all, a grand total of 260 species of birds was logged by the various teams in New Jersey - great testament to the bird diversity here in what is often considered to be a heavily-populated state for us Human types.

As for me? Well I was out there heading up the Cape May Century Run and, with a change of route this year, we achieved a count of 146 species - a personal best for me, but I reckon with our new route we can push for 150 next year!! Huge thanks are due to everyone who took part, either as a participant or as a helper with the organisational side of things. If you have never taken part - think about being part of our Century Run next year - it's crazy, of course, but it's just for one day of the year, everyone has survived it so far and it all goes towards the greater good!

With another World Series safely behind us, we now find ourselves plunged headlong into Spring Weekend and our Cape Maygration festival. Yet again the streets, fields, woods and marshes (not to mention the backbays!) echo with the sound of happy birders, just being out there and enjoying the natural world. It is particularly good to see so many new faces coming to Cape May for the first time, having taking the plunge and dived headlong into birding in the past 12 months or so. We welcome you all - so far it's been fun, it can only continue to be so!!


Recent Reports
Bird news has come thick and fast this past few days so here's a quick round-up of what has reached my ears. Typically for the time of year, Mississippi Kites have continued to make the news, with the open skies overlooking the Rea Farm on Stevens Street being prime location for them. Up to three appeared there on May 10th and further sightings have been made since then, according to weather conditions. Generally an element of NW winds creates the best conditions to see these birds as they hunt dragonflies over the treetops. Both Broad-winged and Red-shouldered Hawk have been seen thermalling with the kites too.

The usual spring competition between Heislerville in Cumberland County and Brigantine (Forsythe NWR) in Atlantic County has been going on, with Brigantine weighing in with a Curlew Sandpiper on 11th, the day after Heislerville had a Glaucous Gull on 10th. The latter was somewhat controversial at first as Don Freiday had seen and photographed a very interesting, very pale, American Herring Gull there which at first had been thought to be a Glaucous Gull. But photos confirmed the gull on 10th was a different bird and a good, white-washed, third-summer Glaucous. Heislerville had its own Curlew Sandpiper on 13th, which was joined the next day by a White-faced Ibis and a Wilson's Phalarope then four Black-necked Stilts showed up there on 16th.

White-faced Ibises have continued in the news with one noted at Stipson Island Road on 11th while Eurasian Collared Doves seem to finally be making their mark in the region with three continuing at Cape May Point, one at Heislerville (found by Cornell Lab of Ornithology's World Series Team on a scouting mission) on 11th, one at Indian and West Street in Cape May on 15th and two flying east over the South Cape May Meadows on 16th. A Sooty Shearwater was reported flying past Stone Harbor Point on 13th, single Black Terns were at Cape May Point on 12th and Thoroughfare Island on 16th, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was seen briefly at Hidden Valley off New England Road on 17th while today (18th) two Mississippi Kites have again been gracing our skies around the point.

In general, winds have not favored mass movements of birds through Cape May, but there is still much to enjoy. Horseshoe Crab numbers are building nicely along the bayshore from Miami Beach north to Reed's Beach (and no doubt onward into Cumberland County) and will most likely peak with the New Moon around the 19th; though shorebirds are slow to build up there at present, there are good numbers of Red Knot to be seen right now at Nummy's Island, along with plenty of Short-billed Dowitchers, Ruddy Turnstones, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Black-bellied Plovers, Whimbrel and so much more. Heislerville - of course! - is proving fabulous once again - though things were slow due to a tricky sluice gate that couldn't be opened properly. I'm told that this has been fixed now so there are shorebirds a-plenty to be seen there.

Belleplain has all its usual goodies in place, including a Whip-poor-will that we had calling loudly right at Sunset Bridge on World Series day. Bobolinks have been few and far between this year, but at least 15 were along Sumner Avenue just south of Woodbine on 12th, along with a singing Eastern Meadowlark.

Soggy weather - but weekend looks promising...

Dreary rain dampened proceedings around Cape May this past 24 hours, which is always a shame when so many people are out there trying to scout for their World Series of Birding teams - just two more days to go now!! The weather seems to have supressed bird movements through the area temporarily too, but the forecast for the weekend currently looks quietly promising, with dry weather and a light SW wind hinted at. Hmmm, sounds good for Higbee Beach!

Despite the rain, small parties of shorebirds and other waterbirds trickled through Cape May Point today, with our state park walk turning up a very smart breeding-plumaged Tricolored Heron and three Black Skimmers as well as some passing Willets, Short-billed Dowitchers, Dunlin and Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Some of the highlights that I have heard of over the past few days have included King Rails reported from Heislerville and Turkey Point (both Cumberland County), a White-winged Dove at Whilldin Avenue, Cape May Point on 5th, singing Lincoln's Sparrow at Higbee Beach on 7th, Clay-colored Sparrow at Swainton, the occasional Parasitic Jaeger in the rips on and off and a Brown Pelican off the point today. Heislerville continues to attract good shorebirds, though water levels are higher than intended there this year due to a faulty sluice gate system, which is being worked on I hear. Still, White-faced Ibis, Stilt and White-rumped Sandpipers, Ruddy Duck and a number of other species have been there of late so let's hope they hang on until the weekend!

One of the most remarkable events of the past few days has been the unprecedented numbers of Whimbrel reported from the Nummy's Island/Stone Harbor area. On May 5th, Sam Galick and Tom Reed counted a remarkable 1,144 Whimbrel flying in to roost in the area in the evening, which I believe sets a new reocrd count for New Jersey and must have been a fabulous sight.

Driving along Fishing Creek Road on Tuesday and heading towards Villas, I noticed a bird of prey feeding gracefully over the tops of some tall Sweetgums right next to the old Pappa John's pizza store. A quick emergency stop and a grab for the camera were in order and I managed this passable shot of a Mississippi Kite before it worked its way off towards the east - you never know when you are going to need that camera handy! [Photo by Mike Crewe]

Snakes have been on my mind a lot lately - mostly because I have seen five different species in just the last seven days. This Rat Snake got me marvelling at the amazing climbing skills of an animal that has no limbs! Here it is just hanging out on an old wall - you can see its tail at top left - but just how do they do that?! [photo by Mike Crewe].

Seeing something new for your life list is always fun and Tony Leukering and I were especially pleased to find this King Snake which hung out with us for quite some time. It eventually crossed the track right next to Tony - who was able to put out a hand and tickle it as it glided quietly by. As with all of Cape May County's snakes, this species is harmless to man [photo by Mike Crewe].

Twomile Landing now off limits

In a bit of a blow to Cape May birding, the marina and restaurant area at Twomile Landing has changed ownership, with the new ownership not permitting birding access to the area. This restriction is effective immediately; please pass the word.

Grosbeaks, more butterflies...

It's been a mixed week weatherwise, though not unusual for the time of year; after Tuesday - with its balmy temperatures - produced a spectacular butterfly flight, things took a turn for the worse for insects on Wednesday and Thursday as temperatures dropped again and the insects found themselves grounded. Indeed, it was rather sad to see so many thousands of Red Admirals just too cold and tired to move, being gobbled up by birds or simply trampled under foot. You normally expect a butterfly to get out of the way and in this instance I think that their rather cryptic underwing markings meant they went un-noticed by most people while sitting helpless on the ground. On Thursday at Higbee Beach, we were picking them up off the trails and placing them out of harm's way, but of course these boom and bust populations are part of nature's way of ensuring that the species survives.

Will Kerling, who has been studying butterflies in the USA far longer than me, mentioned to me that this is the biggest movement of spring butterflies that he can remember. Interestingly, I checked up on Red Admiral ecology in the eastern US States in the excellent Butterflies of the East Coast by Cech and Tudor, published in 2005. I was impressed to discover that they had effectively predicted this year's major movement by stating that such large migrations typically occur approximately once every ten years, with previous events noted in 1981, 1990 and 2001. So maybe we could have expected it last year, but perhaps weather trends weren't quite right last spring.

With a warming of temperatures on Friday, butterflies were again in the news and I heard reports from as far away as Asbury Park in North Jersey, as well as throughout Cape May County. Text messages to my phone revealed a very widespread movement with numbers perhaps even more impressive than on Tuesday - Tom Reed, for instance, texting 500+ butterflies a minute passing Stone Harbor Point mid-afternoon. My own observations around Cape May Point were intriguing, since Tuesday had produced a movement largely of Red Admirals with a few American Ladies and Question Marks, but Friday seemed to be largely of the last two species, with Red Admirals in the minority. These movements are of course a successful strategy for the butterflies, which allows them to overwinter in the warmer south and avoid the worst of the cold weather in the north.

American Ladies and a Red Admiral fuelling up on Chives at Cape May Point [photo by Mike Crewe].

Debbie Hudson sent me this picture of Red Admirals at her bird feeders in Green Creek - which they were having to share with Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Baltimore Oriole!

As well as the butterfly migration, another highlight at the Northwood Center this past 10 days or so has been the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at the feeders. This species doesn't breed with us here, but migrants stop off each year and just for a short period it is possible to get really good views of what can be a rather retiring species here. Getting up close and personal with birds often gives an opportunity to take birding skills to the next level - so if you are at Northwood, see if you can tell the age of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak you are looking at. Here's some pictures to help you...

A typical adult male (ie more than 12 months old) Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Note that the wings are solidly black and white with no brown feathers [photo by Mike Crewe].

A typical second-year male (ie hatched last year) Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Note that the wings have light brown primaries, secondaries, primary coverts and median coverts. The head and mantle feathers also have brownish tips to them. These wing feathers are retained from the previous year, when the bird would have been all brown and looked very much like a female [photo by Mike Crewe].

Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Less showy than the males, the females are nevertheless nice birds. However, since they are always brownish, ageing them can be harder than ageing males and it is not always possible to do in the field. The molt is the same as that of the male so it would be usual to expect a second-year female to show a contrast between paler, more worn primaries and the fresher feathers in the rest of the wing. As this bird generally looks to be in all fresh plumage, I would guess that it is an adult - but in-the-hand would be the best way to check. [photo by Mike Crewe]

Recent Reports
Warblers and other assorted summer arrivals have been in the news here over the last 36 hours or so; locations around Cape May Point and at Cox Hall Creek WMA have all been good for a variety of warblers, with Cerulean and Blackburnian being sighted amongst the commoner species. Warbling Vireo, Yellow-breasted Chat, Wood Thrush and Blue-winged Warbler were singing well at Higbee Beach Friday morning and I hear that over 200 Whimbrel were logged on The Osprey boat trip. One or two reports of migrant Red-headed Woodpeckers are coming in from around Cape May Point, including The Beanery, where both Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos were seen this morning. Sam Galick reported a Tennessee Warbler from the state park today and a Cape May Warbler was reported from there by Stephanie Brown on 4th.

A White-winged Scoter was reported from the concrete ship on 4th and a Luna Moth became a star attraction at the Northwood Center today as it spent most of the day hanging in a juniper right over the road at the store entrance.

A day full of birds

Today was a great day to be in Cape May - and things are certainly starting to warm up for The World Series of Birding on May 12! This morning, our Bird, Bugs & Botany was great on Birds and botany, short on bugs, due to overnight rain and overcast skies. Most of the trees are well into leaf now and it's a lot easier sorting all those oaks out now. There was a wealth of plants to be enjoyed for the first hour, but after that we could resist all those birds calls and songs no more and our second hour (and beyond!) saw us focussing on some nice little feeding groups that were working their way through the canopy. Black-and-white, Black-throated Green, Yellow-throated, Blackpoll and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Northern Parulas, Blue-headed and Red-eyed Vireos, Scarlet Tanagers - it was a real treat, and all mixed in with the local Eastern Bluebirds, Chipping Sparrows and assorted woodpeckers. A couple of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds made rapid fly-bys and Green Heron and Belted Kingfisher both boosted our lists.

The Northwood Center was pretty busy today too, with Blackburnian and Blackpoll Warblers reported early on and at least one female and four male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks coming to the feeders. Wednesday evening at Northwood also provided me with great views of a superb male Scarlet Tanager and an adult male Baltimore Oriole in the birdbath. Wherever you go in Cape May right now, you are likely to find birds!

As well as all the songbird action, I hear that shorebirds are building up nicely at both Stone Harbor/Nummy's Island and Heislerville and, with clear skies right now, I reckon things will be moving out there - what will tomorrow bring?!

Some recent pictures
It's been a while since I had time to put up a photo gallery of recent pictures, so here's a few that arrived recently.

Bob Fogg was the latest victim of the White-faced Ibis saga at Cape May. While this is essentially a western bird, White-faced Ibises are turning up with increasing frequency here, to the point where it isn't really safe to assume that all those fly-over birds are glossys!  Bob photographed these ibises near his home recently and it was only after he had downloaded the pictures onto a computer that he noticed the bird on the left - a White-faced Ibis, complete with pretty red eye and pale face!  [Photo by Bob Fogg] (Click on picture to enlarge).

Woodpeckers have their own little battles to contend with and if you are there with the camera, you might get lucky - here a Downy Woodpecker fancies its chances with a Red-headed Woodpecker and both provide a great photographic opportunity [photo by E J Nistico].

Having seen several incubating Great Horned Owls along the Delaware Bayshore marshes during the weekend of the Cumberland Eagle Festival, it was interesting for me to receive this photo which clearly demonstrates how much this year's youngsters have already grown. These birds are up in Salem County. [Photo by Jeff White]

For the first few weeks of the Osprey's return, they were certainly one of the most popular targets for camera-toting birdwatchers. I received a lot of photos of this species fishing, but I particularly liked this one as it shows off the Large-mouthed Bass that has been caught so nicely [photo by Joe Siekierski].

I haven't made it over to the back bays to look for birds for several months, so it was nice to hear today that the marshes are already filling up with shorebirds - here, just four of a larger flock of Whimbrel is shoe-horned into the frame - I'm told that there is still plenty of these smart shorebirds to be seen out there [photo by Beth Polvino].

This juvenile, molting into first-summer White Ibis was found at the Wetlands Institute near Stone Harbor earlier this week and typically didn't hang around too long [photo by Cathy Smith].

Another look at the young White Ibis at Stone Harbor. Such birds are a fine example of why you need to be out there and looking at this time of year! [Photo by Karl Lukens]

Someone flicked the switch...

Someone flicked the switch last night and the difference was palpable. April 30th hovered somewhere around 57F with something of the threat of rain in the air. May 1st, after a bit of a rainy night, temperatures zoomed up another 20 degrees at the point and I wouldn't mind betting that the north of the county touched 80F. Birds have been finding their way to Cape May in dribs and drabs so far, but that's pretty typical for April. There's been no major arrival of night migrants as yet, though day-flying migrants such as swallows and martins have certainly been arriving in good numbers. One of the things you can afford to do when you live in Cape May is experiment with your time, rather than needing to maximize birding time by sticking to the tried and tested locations. Having been out of the country for a week, I was keen to see what had been arriving in my absence so yesterday I was out at a little wetland on the 'unfashionable' east side of the peninsula and was surprised to find a nice selection of birds. At least 80 Barn Swallows, plus smaller numbers of other hirundines, were hawking insects over a grassy meadow and two Eastern Kingbirds argued with each other over a favored perch. Seven dapper Blue-winged Teals floated serenely on a nearby pond, a Green Heron flushed from the reedy margins and both Indigo Bunting and Orchard Oriole were in song - both firsts-of-the-year for me. Better still, warblers were mooching through the field edge and in a nearby piece of wet woodland. I could hear the soft 'sigh' of a Blue-winged Warbler, a startling male Prairie Warbler in full razzamataz showed up and a brief glimpse of a white eyering eventually fully evolved into a Nashville Warbler. Ahhh, spring migrants are here - and here now!

Jumping forward to today, the fully 180 degree turn-around in the weather was provided by a very welcome warm front from the south. Such fronts seem always to be accompanied by rain at this time of year, but the clouds slowly rolled away and with the improving weather came a fantastic migration of butterflies. I was slaving over a hot laptop when Tom Reed's initial text message came through, alerting us to a noteworthy northward movement of Red Admiral butterflies, but it wasn't until I took a well-earned cup of Earl Grey (old habits die hard don't you know!) later in the afternoon that I became aware of a steady stream of butterflies pressing northward wherever I loooked! Only one place to be right now I thought, so I took my trusty camera down to the wonderful Beach Plum bushes at Higbee Beach - and they were awesome! The early spring meant that many bushes were past their best but there was still plenty of flowers to keep these hungry travellers happy. Here's a few photos of the diners:

I am sure we will never know how many Red Admirals poured through Cape May today, but reports came from across the whole county and they provided a truly amazing sight as they plodded steadily northward. In some areas, flocks were streaming westward, perhaps individuals that had wandered out to sea during the Delaware Bay crossing. Red Admirals are easily recognized by their bright red wing bands, though these can be dully orangey in worn individuals [photo by Mike Crewe].

A pretty good number of American Ladies accompanied the Red Admirals (a ratio of about 1:20 where I was viewing from). As with the admirals, the vast majority were large-sized, brightly-colored and seemingly pretty recently emerged individuals - this year's first batch with the 'wanderlust' gene switched on [photo by Mike Crewe].

Each year we get a variable number of Painted Ladies accompanying the American Ladies, so here's a quick ID guide to telling them apart - you can do it on the upperside or the underside, but the underside works best. This is an American Lady - note the two large eyespots on the underside of the hindwing [photo by Mike Crewe].

This is the only Painted Lady that I managed to find this afternoon on the Beach Plums - maybe more will come later, but the last two years have been pretty poor for this species here. Note that Painted Ladies have four small eyespots on the underside of the hindwing [photo by Mike Crewe].

Not surprisingly perhaps, a few other species seemed to be caught up in the butterfly frenzy, the next commonest species being Questionmark. You may well have seen some of these already this year, but most likely you will have seen the form that hibernates with us as an adult (you will know it because the hindwing is the same color as the forewing). Individuals that emerged from a chrysalis in the current year have dark hindwings, like the one in the photo here; these will have emerged somewhere down in the Southern States - perhaps South Carolina or Georgia - and will be surging through to repopulate the North. My large Siberian Elm tends to weep sap at this time of year and at least 35 Questionmarks were lapping up this rich food source this evening - quite a sight! [Photo by Mike Crewe.]

Careful checking around the flowers might reveal something else lurking amongst the commoner species; this Snowberry Clearwing is a day-flying species that is related to the sphinx moths and clearly escapes predators by pretending to be a bumble-bee [photo by Mike Crewe].

Sunday I was up at Belleplain for the latest in our new series of wildlife walks. As ever, the wildlife did not let us down with Great Crested Flycatchers, Ovenbirds and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers clearly here in good numbers now and many other treats in store:

For most of the group, a chance encounter with a very docile and approachable Rough Green Snake was a real walk highlight as it crept stealthily through the bushes [photo by Mike Crewe].

Heading back from Belleplain via Cape May Court House, Tony Leukering and I discovered that eight Cattle Egrets were gracing the lawns of the Eastern Shore Care Home, near Avalon Golf Course. This site has a remarkable ability for attracting this species each spring [photo by Mike Crewe].

Cattle Egrets really are smart in their full breeding regalia [photo by Mike Crewe].

Now that May is here, you can look forward to the native flowers starting to take charge over the alien interlopers. I found these two 'kiss-and-tellers' at Cold Spring this evening. This plant is called Jack-in-the-pulpit (you can see Jack in the middle there) and the flower is followed by a cluster of brilliant red berries [photo by Mike Crewe].

Last - but probably not least... My dear wife will be pleased to hear that I finally caught the Black Widow in our basement!!! [Photo by Mike Crewe.]

Recent Reports

The greater number of our summer migrants are with us, at least in small numbers now; Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are at the Northwood Center feeders, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are whizzing through and Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Summer Tanager and assorted warblers all await you. Yellow-throated Vireos are typically scarce in the county, but have been reported from Peaslee WMA as have Red-eyed Vireo, Acadian Flycatcher and American Redstart. Tom Reed found two Least Terns at Stone Harbor Point on April 27th, while scarcer bird finds of late have included an American Golden Plover at Shephard Davis Road, Cumberland County on April 28th, a White Ibis at Brigantine on April 30th and an intriguing report of a Northern Wheatear at the state park on 27th but I have heard no further word on that bird.