juv. RUFF @ Cape May Point State Park and Calliope still kicking....

There is currently a juv. RUFF (found by Tim Lenz from Cornell University) being viewed on a little "island" near the dirt road between the dune and Bunker pond. We went to view the bird (finally one more nemesis bird down!) and it is easily seen with a small group of Lesser yellow-legs and a Pectoral sandpiper. The bird actually obliged us with flight views as we were walking away. Don't worry, the birds landed back in the same spot on the "island." We are working on getting some photos up on the site. If you need further help to find the bird once you get to the state park, head up to the CMBO hawk watch platform and ask one of the Interpretive Naturalists. They can point you in the right direction.


Also, the Calliope humming bird is still being seen today. Karen Johnson called to report that the bird was seen at about 11:15 a.m. this morning.

UPDATE: Evidently the Calliope is being seen also at the back feeder behind the Johnson residence. The home owners have graciously opened up visitation the back part of the yard for viewing. So, make sure you are checking the back feeder and not spending all your time looking at the front feeders.

Good luck to all who try for these birds!

CAPE MAY BIRDING HOTLINE October 5, 2007

CAPE MAY BIRDING HOTLINE October 5, 2007

You have reached the Cape May Birding Hotline, a service of New Jersey
Audubon Societys Cape May Bird Observatory. This weeks message was prepared on Friday October 5, 2007. Highlights this week include sightings of ROSEATE SPOONBILL, CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, LARK SPARROW, EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE, COMMON EIDER and AMERICAN SWALLOW-TAILED KITE.

We are sorry for the lack of hotline coverage in the last weeks. This was an unavoidable lapse and hope that this has not caused our readers any inconvenience.

The long staying ROSEATE SPOONBILL continues to be seen at the Brigantine NWR, in the gull pond area as of 10/4.

On 10/1 a report of an AMERICAN SWALLOW-TAILED KITE seen soaring low over the fields Higbee Beach WMA came into the Northwood Center late in the day. There has been no further sighting of this species since the initial sighting at 9:00 a.m.

Found at a feeder on 10/2 at 1695 Rt. 47 in Eldora, an adult male CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD has been teasing birders with brief views. This bird is not visiting on a regular basis. It seems that morning is the best time, between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. The home owner asks that you park along Rt. 47 and walk down the drive way. There is a sign pointing visiting birders to the approved viewing area. Since the hummingbird is visiting the salvia near the residence, please to not approach to closely so that all may be able to catch a glimpse of this sporadic visitor. The last reported sighting was at 10:10 a.m., today, 10/5.

A COMMON EIDER was seen from Poverty Beach in the first row of pilings on the Coast Guard Base, on 10/3.

A EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE was reported to be seen sitting on the wires on Cambridge Ave. in Cape May Point on 10/2.

Lastly, a LARK SPARROW was photographed at Stone Harbor Point on 10/3.

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 has returned to a seven day a week schedule. 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!

Calliope still hanging in there.......

Just received a call that the hummingbird was seen at the same location at 10:10 a.m. on Friday 10/5/07.

Good luck for all who try for this bird, hopefully you'll have better luck than we did this morning. Thanks for the call Lloyd!

Cape May Point State Park- slightly belated

Below is our list of species seen at the Cape May Point State Park on Tuesday 10/2. Sorry this post is a little belated, our walk was cut short by the news of the Calliope up in Cumberland County. Which we did not see, of course. Since my days off are in the middle of the week this can make for a slightly delayed posting when domestic duties take precedence.

For those keeping tabs on weather and migration, well, there really has been no weather conducive to pushing migrants down to the Cape May peninsula. It's looking like next Tuesday and or Wednesday should bring about more weather for some good migration. Keep checking into the Birding Forecast for more updates.


Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 10/2/07
Number of species: 45

Canada Goose 5
Mute Swan 12
Gadwall 6
American Wigeon 15
Mallard 4
Blue-winged Teal 27
Northern Shoveler 15
Northern Pintail 5
Green-winged Teal 17
scoter sp. 15
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 20
Osprey 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 4
Killdeer 2
Greater Yellowlegs 5
Lesser Yellowlegs 130
Pectoral Sandpiper 21
Stilt Sandpiper 6
Short-billed Dowitcher 1
Laughing Gull 660
Herring Gull 43
Great Black-backed Gull 45
Common Tern 35
Forster's Tern 25
Royal Tern 32
Parasitic Jaeger 4
Rock Pigeon 55
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
American Crow 10
Fish Crow 15
Carolina Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 3
Carolina Wren 8
Gray Catbird 8
Palm Warbler 5
Eastern Towhee 1
Savannah Sparrow 2
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 70

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

Calliope still humming....

Just received a call from our Center for Research and Education in Goshen. The humming bird is still being seen as of around 8:00 a.m. this morning. Birder's are still invited to look for the bird. See below posts for more detailed directions and information on viewing the bird.

Good Luck!

Lark Sparrow at Stone Harbor Point, and Refurbished Calliope Pics

[Calliope Hummingbird photo from Tuesday, fixed up by Karl Lukens. Photo by Don Freiday. Click to enlarge.]

I ran into a gentleman last night at the South Cape May Meadows who showed me, on his digital camera, a picture of a Lark Sparrow he took earlier that day at Stone Harbor Point. The bird apparently was near the pond reached by walking south from the parking lot at the second avenue jetty along the trail inside the dunes.

Karl Lukens photoshopped the Calliope pictures I hastily snapped on Tuesday - thanks, Karl! Pat Sutton provided some additional, more refined instructions for seeing the bird (which I have heard no more about since yesterday (Wednesday) morning, when it was being seen about once an hour):

"Karen has given permission for birders to come see the bird. FROM THE SOUTH: proceed north on Route 47 to where Route 347 splits off. Turn left at this light onto Route 47. Karen & Brian's is the 4th house on the left, 1695 Route 47. Her driveway is lined with Red Cedars. Do not drive down the driveway, instead park safely along Route 47. Walk down the driveway A SHORT DISTANCE and step carefully through the vegetation on the left (where there is a bit of an opening, well before the arbor entrance, also on the left) to access the front yard garden, chairs, & benches Karen & Brian have set up (these chairs back onto Rt. 47 & face the house, salvia gardens, and feeder). The bird is being seen primarily feeding in the 2 salvia/sage gardens in front of the house (1 round garden of Tropical Sage [tiny red flowers] is just ahead of the benches and the 2nd garden bed of Tropical Sage & Salvia subrotunda, which is quite tall, is behind it & closer to the house). There are Ruby-throated Hummingbirds there as well. From this vantage point viewers can observe without keeping the bird from feeding."

[Another angle on the Calliope, photoshopped by Karl Lukens. Photo by Don Freiday.]

Calliope - YES - and you can't step in the same bay twice

Karen Johnson just called me (7:00 a.m.) to report her Calliope Hummingbird is BACK. Details and photos are below, just scroll down. Karen says folks are still welcome to come look for it. Just park along Route 47, walk down her driveway, and BE SURE not to trample any plants. The bird has been in the sage to left of the house as you face the house from the driveway. The bird may have "disappeared" yesterday because too many people were looking for it, so anyone looking today should be sure to be still, wear neutral colors, and give the bird plenty of room to get to the sage and other nectar plants.

About the bay - continuing my pre-dawn "study" of nocturnal migration (which is really a pilot study for next year, and a chance to sharpen some flight-call i.d. skills), hardly anything was migrating this morning so I devoted one clicker to flight notes of any description (48 total), and one to the Black-crowned Night-Heron fly-out (42). The night-heron count jived very well with yesterday's running-total-in-my-head of 38, and I also detected 2 Gray-cheeked Thrushes and one Swainson's in re-directed flight at 6:23 a.m., headed east-northeast.

But there were some differences from just yesterday - no egrets, three Great-horned Owls instead of two, a screech-owl not heard yesterday, a Seaside Sparrow in the marsh giving it's long, high zeeeeeeeeeeezz note, some Sanderlings feeding along the shore. The tide was a bit higher, the sky a bit cloudier, and it all reminds me of one of my favorite things about birding: you never know what you will see.