Long-billed Curlew (!), Swallow-tailed Kite, Painted Buntings (!), Good Flight Today

[What a gorgeous bird the Swallow-tailed Kite is. Michael O'Brien photographed yesterday's bird from Stevens Street on Cape Island. Click to enlarge.]

A Long-billed Curlew report has emerged in the back bay area in the vicinity of Jarvis Sound/Reuben's Thorofare/Two-mile Landing, via Ginny Powell of the Skimmer. There is also a Marbled Godwit and the continuing Harlequin Duck in the area. Your best bet is to try one of the boat trips that visit the back bays.

Gail Dwyer's Painted Bunting continued at her Avalon feeder through at least yesterday afternoon, and remarkably I hear there is another at a private feeder on the bayshore right now! Gail's at 165 38th Street in Avalon and graciously said birders can come by; please be quiet and courteous, and don't arrive too early in the day. The bird has been regular at the pagoda style feeder in the backyard, but was first seen in the side yard, at feeders visible from the street.

The Swallow-tailed Kite was not seen to leave Cape Island yesterday, far as I know. For whatever that's worth. Michael O'Brien reports that the immature male King Eider continues, remarkably, at Poverty Beach this morning.

Other than looking out the window, I haven't been doing much birding the past couple days - that's about to change in a big way with the coming World Series of Birding, though I will be "stuck" (not!) in northwestern NJ scouting. There's a reason we do our Appalachian Birdsong Immersion workshop up there - or 140+ (species) of them! But I did hear migrating White-throated Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, and American Redstarts over my deck at 3:00 a.m. this morning, and hear from Vince Elia that Higbee was quite good: 2 Yellow-billed Cuckoos, 2 Eastern Wood-Pewees, 6 White-eyed Vireos, 1 Blue-headed Vireo, 3 Red-eyed Vireos, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 2 Wood Thrushes, 6 Northern Parulas, Magnolia Warbler, 5 Black-throated Blue Warblers, 2 Blackpolls, Black-and-white Warbler, 5 American Redstarts, Ovenbird, 3 Yellow-breasted Chats, 3 Scarlet Tanagers, 2 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, 2 Blue Grosbeaks, 3 Baltimore Orioles, &c. Vince also had the Blue-winged Teal and multiple Solitary Sandpipers on the Shunpike Pond, a.k.a. Mcpherson's Pond, a.k.a. the pond on the right side of Shunpike Road if headed south from New England Road on Cape Island. Add 2 Cattle Egrets in the back of the horse pasture west of Bayshore Road, north of the Beanery.

CMBO-CRE in Goshen isn't such a bad place to look out the window - yesterday I had a pair of Yellow-billed Cuckoos chasing each other around, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting and Orchard Oriole song is constant, at least once a day someone calls "Bald Eagle!" down the hall, and yesterday Dale Rosselet had a Cooper's Hawk pursue (unsuccessfully) one of the neighbor's chickens! This morning there are multiple Blackpolls and probably other warblers in the oaks here, too, perhaps a little stroll is in order. . .

Swallow-tailed Kite on the island

Michael O'Brien has just reported a SWALLOW-TAILED KITE over the Beanery heading for Cape May Point. We'll keep you apprised!

Countdown To Spring Weekend

Tony Leukering reported a Northern Bobwhite this afternoon - calling from right beside his modest yard in Villas. You never know what might turn up in spring, and a bobwhite in built-up Villas is pretty surprising. After an hour or so of silence, I was in the right place to see the little ball of feathers rocket vertically into the air and shoot off over the roof-tops to who knows where. While I was there, Tony and I spent our time - while waiting for the bobwhite to appear - on the bayshore beach and the good news is - the Horseshoe Crabs are coming! So it's time to start counting down to Spring Weekend and all the excitement of peak migration at Cape May. If you haven't booked in on any of our walks or programs yet, please do follow the link and see what's on offer - you won't be disappointed! Let the fun begin!

Horseshoe Crabs trundling across the sand at Miami Beach in Villas, Cape May. Note how much larger the female is than her three male suitors. [Photo by Mike Crewe]

In other news, a Gull-billed Tern was present at The Nature Conservancy's Migratory Bird Refuge early evening and a Swallow-tailed Kite was reported circling over Eldora in the north-west of Cape May County. According to the ever-vigilant Tom Reed, shorebird numbers continue to grow at Heislerville in Cumberland County, and a Curlew Sandpiper continues there.

Red-headed Woodpecker in Avalon

Rafa Armada, a visiting Spanish birder, had a Red-headed Woodpecker in Avalon over the weekend - on a telephone pole! Not sure what street, but migrant RHWP's do this kind of thing sometimes, so keep an eye out.

Of Orioles & Snakes

Orchard Orioles continue to be plentiful along New England Road (the road to Higbee's Beach) today and we even had one singing in the garden. Indeed, it was through following up on the song of an Orchard Oriole this morning that I discovered a Black Rat Snake, on an old tree stump in our yard. As Megan and I watched, we witnessed the whole process of sloughing off the old skin as the snake quickly acquired a smart, shiny new coat. The process began with the snake rubbing its nose against the rough surface of the stump, until a split in the skin appeared. It then gaped widely a lot until the split became wide enough for it to start slipping out of the old skin. The snake then climbed up some old dead sprouts atop the stump and managed to hook itself over a small snag. This snag was then used to pull the skin off. An amazing spectacle, but not something I would like to have to go through myself!

Black Rat Snake slipping out of something less comfortable! You can see the thinner tail end of the snake still in the bag of old skin. [Photo by Mike Crewe]

In this picture, the snake appears to be checking on progress. The skin did falter at one point and ended up coming of in two pieces. I had the privilege in the end of holding onto the old skin while the rest of the snake slipped out. [Photo by Mike Crewe]

One of the weirdest things about snakes shedding their skin is that the skin even comes off from the eyes! Here the two cups that cover the eyes can clearly be seen. Indeed, often the first sign that a snake is about to shed its skin is when the eyes appear to go opaque, as the outer skin covering them becomes detached.[Photo by Mike Crewe] 

Bunting YES, Flycatcher NO, Jaegers, Snipe, &c.

[This breeding plumage Common Loon flew over the meadows parking lot for this morning's walk. It has been alleged that the way loons hold their feet in flight (vertical versus horizontal) can be used to tell Common from Red-throated - this one seems to be a hybrid, if so. . . click to enlarge photos.]

The Painted Bunting continues at Gail Dwyer's feeder in Avalon (see below for address and info), but there is no further word on the Fork-tailed Flycatcher, other than Mike Wolfe's note that only he and Jamie Glydon, both familiar with the species, saw the bird and were camera-less at the time. They will be sending a report to the NJBRC.

The Cape May County Airport's "scraggly-looking" young White-faced Ibis was not there when I drove by about 10:00 a.m. this morning, though there was a nice selection of shorebirds and Glossy Ibis. The Tabernacle Road pond had less action but nice views of Wilson's Snipe.

Dave Lord reports Kentucky Warbler was at the triangle near Sunset Bridge in Belleplain this morning, a FOS I believe.

More field trip reports, including this morning's meadows walk, are now posted. Note that the male Harlequin Duck continues near Two-mile Landing, that might be a boat-only bird. Note also the cool stuff from Turkey Point, e.g. display-calling Virginia Rail and many Whip-poor-wills and a Chuck-wills-widow.

The best part of my day was first thing this morning, when Dave La Puma and I watched 4 adult Parasitic Jaegers (3 light, 1 dark) absolutely hammering Forster's Terns out in the rips, as viewed from the Coral Avenue dune crossover in Cape May Point, sometimes not all that far out. Least Terns are in, with a few there and on the meadows walk, and also a very few Common Terns. Solitary Sandpipers have been anything but lately, with as many as 15 at the Shunpike Road pond on Cape Island, and smaller numbers elsewhere.

[These Wilson's Snipe plopped down in front of me at the Tabernacle Road pond/flooded field this morning.]

Gnatcatcher nest update

The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher nest found by Josh Nemeth in the building stage at Villas WMA 21 April continues active. The nest is now in the incubation stage, and on 1 May I photographed the female doing so, while the male was off singing and cavorting nearby. You can see her tail sticking out of the nest. Unless predated or infertile, the eggs should hatch soon.