Darners: It's What's For Dinner

[Click on image(s) to see larger version(s). All photos copyright Tony Leukering 2011.]

Recent photo ops from the Hawkwatch Platform illustrating the gustatory uses to which many -- and surprisingly varied -- birds put those large dragonflies known as darners.

[Merlin is a well-known on-the-wing predator of dragonflies, with this view repeated uncountable times during the course of every Hawkwatch season. Picture from 7 September.]


[Gull-billed Tern -- this individual of which is getting toward late for the season -- is another well-known dragonfly predator, though this view has been, in my experience, very rare from the platform. Picture from 9 September.]


[This one surprised all of us on the platform, as Snowy Egret is NOT well-known as a predator of, at least, adult dragonflies. Picture from 9 September.]

George Myers

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz!!

There was a huge buzz around Cape May today. At last, those annoying southerly winds were swept aside by a swing to the north and the World famous Cape May bird machine was out of the station and rolling down the line. And what a buzz it's been today! It seems that everyone has great stories today, wherever they went birding. It started with the insomniac Tom Johnson alerting us to a wealth of overhead calling migrants at 05:15AM (Thanks Tom!!) which included a good number of thrushes. At dawn, Bobolinks became apparent in large numbers, and sizeable flocks of these birds were still wheeling around the fields at Higbee's Beach as our regular Friday walk took place. Higbee's was interesting as there was a nice push of birds first thing, but variety was rather low. Good numbers of Black-and-white and Yellow Warblers, American Redstarts, Red-eyed Vireos and Common Yellowthroats were soon apparent and we notched up a very brief encounrter with a Connecticut Warbler (which Mike Fritz increased to two). Both Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos were at Higbee's too.

Before long, it was the Hawkwatch Platform's turn to be the center of attention and, as I write, birds are still passing through there at a heady rate. Ospreys, Bald Eagles, Northern Harriers and American Kestrels are dominating skies and seemingly interminable parties of shorebirds are whipping through, with an American Avocet so far being the highlight. But what of the real highlight for today? That began with a phone call from Gail Dwyer which really knocked us sideways. Gail had found her life Magnificent Frigatebird, hanging out wuth the gulls at Avalon!!! Once that message had come through, there was a mass departure from offices and homes as those in the know headed for the Hawkwatch Platform. A little over an hour after Gail had originally seen the bird at Avalon, Tom Johnson awesomely picked out the frigatebird - which at the time was way out there, over Second Avenue Jetty! Panic ensued but all eventually got on the bird, including those enjoying our Fall Migration Workshop. Gradually, the reason for heading for the Hawkwatch became clear, as the bird drifted slowly but surely towards us, before disappearing into the low clouds! Worrying moments followed, then Glen Davis pulled the bird out of the bag again and this time it drifted right past the platform and off towards Delaware. What a day; what a Cape May Day!!

Always menacing, the distinctive outline of a male Magnificent Frigatebird drifts past the Cape May Hawkwatch Platform [photo by Mike Crewe].

Weather-beaten

The hope of a good flight for Labor Day Weekend was snuffed out by the weather, which continues to pulse soggy air from the south into Cape May - not good weather for any of our seasonal counters or our visitors!

A few birds are here to be enjoyed though (after all, this is Cape May!) not least of which is the female Brown Booby which continues in Jarvis Sound. I heard today that the bird has moved further out across the saltmarsh towards the parkway, so may longer be viewable from Two-mile Landing. Bob Lubberman tells me that The Osprey boat trips are still finding it daily though. Running through the last few days, an American Moorhen seen at The Meadows on Friday evening has not been reported again but should certainly be looked for. Apologies, but I just can't call it Common Gallinule - since it isn't one!! Common Moorhen was split recently and for some reason, someone in a stuffy office somewhere who clearly doesn't get out much and look at birds decided that, although all the other 'moorhen-like' birds in the genus Gallinula are called moorhens, the one in the Americas should have the same name as birds in the genus Porphyrio - whacky eh?!! Incidentally, people have been trying to catch me out by suggesting that there are no moors here. True, but clearly they don't know that the moor in moorhen is a corruption of the Old English mere, which means lake - and we do have those, and moorhens do live on them, which separates them from gallinules which live in reedy fringes... OK, end rant and back to the birds!

Sunday saw a couple of reports of Olive-sided Flycatcher from Villas Wildlife Management Area - now renamed Cox Hall Creek WMA, so take note as we shall try to use that name from now on. The site has a new interrpetive map and color-marked trails so if you find a bird there, let us know the trail it's on and that should help to reduce the search for other folks. The same day, a Clay-colored Sparrow was at the Hawkwatch, a Gull-billed Tern flew over and Sam Galick reported 82 Western Willets and four Marbled Godwits on Nummy's Island. On Monday, Tom Reed spent time working through the amazing show of gulls and terns that continues on South Cape May Beach and out in The Rips; Tom's counts totalled: 1755 Common Terns, 1310 Laughing Gulls, 305 Royal Terns, seven Sandwich Terns, four Black Terns and eight Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Two American Golden Plovers, swiftly followed by two Buff-breasted Sandpipers, flew past the Hawkwatch and ensured that Tom Reed set a new record for a New Jersey year list - 338 and still the Fall to go!

This morning, Glen Davis reported both Black and Surf Scoters off Coral Avenue (the first reported from there for several months) and a possible Gray Kingbird was seen in the state park - despite much searching it hasn't been re-located yet. Gray Kingbird is a Caribbean species with northerly populations in the extreme Southeast and Southern USA but has a track record of occasional vagrancy up the East Coast. The discovery of this bird reminded me of some emails I had from Sam Galick recently, flagging up several regional sightings of birds that may well have been misplaced by Hurricane Irene. Such sightings include a number of 'probable' Black Swifts, a Brown-chested Martin at Cape Charles, VA and a Great Kiskadee in New York Harbor. It is certainly worth keeping an eye on the skies for large swifts - if nothing else, you might spot a reorienting frigatebird!

Higbee's Quiet but Beaches Bountiful

On light southerly winds, Higbee's Beach remains not surprisingly quiet, but on the up side, the small flock of warblers that holds an interesting ensemble of both Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers - and apparently some intriguing hybrids between the two - continues to hang out around the margins of the first field (today seen on the edge of New England Road, near the main parking lot). Much of today's action has centered around South Cape May Beach, where a great array of gulls and terns can currently be found. Laughing, Ring-billed, American Herring, Lesser Black-backed and Great Black-backed Gulls, Sandwich, Royal, Caspian, Black, Common and Forster's Terns have all been seen today and numbers of Black Skimmers are gradually building too. A single Buff-breasted Sandpiper continues to hang out on the wet area at the back of the beach behind the South Cape May Meadows. Shorebirds are good up at Stone Harbor Point at the moment too, I hear and counts of up to 27 Caspian Terns have been made there recently.

A beach showcase - South Cape May Beach today [photo by Mike Crewe]

Five Lesser Black-backed Gulls - all second calendar-year birds - were found on the beach today, here's number one of three that I managed to photograph [photo by Mike Crewe].

Lesser Black-backed number 2 - the scruffiest of the three I saw today, but still with classic features that included very dark outer greater wing coverts and mostly blackish-brown tertials with paler tips. [photo by Mike Crewe].

Lesser Black-back number 3. Note the extra amount of pale markings on the terials on this bird. Note also how variable the amount of pink on the bill is in these three birds [photo by Mike Crewe].

A flight shot of bird number 3, showing a typically dark tail with pale markings towards the base of the outer feathers only (somewhat intermediate between typical American Herring and Great Black-backed tail patterns). Note also the smoky gray color of the lower back and note that the inner primaries are more or less as dark as the outer primaries, not obviously paler which would be typical for American Herring Gull. [photo by Mike Crewe]

For a spectacle of a different kind, keep an eye out for the ball of thousands of Tree Swallows currently building up which can be anywhere from Cove Bay (behind 2nd Avenue on the edge of town) to the state park. These birds are swirling around and descending on the Bayberry bushes to eat the berries and rest before migrating southward. It's always kind of weird to see swallows sitting in bushes and eating berries, but it's a food source used by few other species (Yellow-rumped Warblers the obvious exception) and gives them feeding opportunities that other don't utilize. Some 5,000 birds are currently present so it's a spectacle well worth looking out for.

While resting, the Tree Swallows can be approached with care, allowing the chance to study the plumage and molt of individual birds. Here's a typical youngster, hatched this year and still showing a complete set of fresh, brown feathers on the upper parts. [photo by Mike Crewe]

A slightly older bird which has started to molt into its first-winter plumage. Not the darker, grayer inner primaries, tertial (with neat white edge), and scattered lesser coverts at the top of the wing by the bill shadow. [photo by Mike Crewe]

A typical adult bird at this time of year - note the contrast between the newer, inner primaries and the older, worn, outer primaries. Four species of North American swallow (Tree, Cave, Violet-green and Northern Rough-winged) molt their primaries and secondaries in North America, before (or during) their southward migration. All other swallow species wait and molt on arrival in the wintering grounds. [Photo by Mike Crewe]

Always keep an eye out for something extra! I found this bird while reviewing my photos on my lap-top, but didn't notice it in the field! Notice how the bird at the back has pale tips and edges to its wing and upperpart feathers (compare with the bird half blocking it in front). Notice also that it has rather long and narrowly-pointed wings and the white from the underparts reaches up onto the neck below the face. This is actually a juvenile Bank Swallow, the only species here at Cape May that shows this suite of characters. So we can identify it, even without seeing the tell-tale dark chest band. [Photo by Mike Crewe]

No Weather - But Still Birds!

The forecast looked all 'wrong' for Cape May last night, and yet a nice suite of warblers delighted our Higbee's beach walk this morning. Both Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers were seen, along with Tennessee, Worm-eating and Canada Warblers, all making for a nice, early-season  movement. Reports suggest that most, if not all, of these birds had been present the day before too. Black-and-white Warblers and American Redstarts were present as ever and there was at least one shout of a Warbling Vireo.

For weekenders heading this way, the Brown Booby reamins in Jarvis Sound, though it seems to have been moving around a little today.

Hawkwatch: Day 1!

Yes, it really is September 1st and at Cape May that can mean only one thing - the start of another exciting season on the Hawkwatch Platform at Cape May Point State Park. Our Seasonal Naturalists started today, as did the Hawkwatch and, with the Morning Flight also now well under way, it's all systems go for another awesome Cape May Fall! Here at Cape May we are doubly blessed; we have a fabulous location from which to watch Fall migration in all its glory, and we have an amazing number of fabulous naturalists - both established and up-and-coming - from which to draw. And it's testament to the excitement of Cape May that we regularly have returning naturalists on our books who just can't break that Cape May spell.

All of our counters this year are old friends; Melissa Roach returns to be Hawk Counter, Tom Johnson is once again the Morning Flight Counter and Cape May's own, home-grown Tom Reed will be Seawatch Counter later in the season. Tom Magarian heads back to join the team as Swing Counter.

Seasonal Interpretive Naturalists at the Hawkwatch this year include two new faces, Lauren Richard and Kathy Hixson, while last year's Interpretive Naturalist, Tiffany Kersten, returns to be our George Myers Field Naturalist. We are lucky to have two Field Naturalists on the Monarch Monitoring Project this year - Rebecca Allmond and Tori Pocius (watch out for them in flower gardens around the point!) and last but by no means least, we have Alyssia Church returning, this year serving with the Hawk-banding team.

Unfortunately, some of our regular sponsors were not able to find it in their budgets to cover our fall research this year, understandable in the current economic climate; but we are extremely grateful to Swarovski Optik for stepping in and sponsoring the Cape May Hawkwatch for the season - come on down and try out some awesome optics folks!

What team, and what a great day to start, with a nice display by berry-feeding Tree Swallows all day, a slow but steady Hawk Flight and some 100 or more Bobolinks rounding off the day by wheeling around over the ponds late afternoon. The Brown Booby continues out at Jarvis Sound and it's all setting up to be a great weekend folks - see you here!!

This year's team: Back row - Tom Johnson, Pete Dunne, Kathy Hixson, Tiffany Kersten, Lauren Richard, Tom Magarian. Front Row - Rebecca Allmond, Melissa Roach, Tori Pocius.