Big Sit, Big Success!

The annual Big Sit event took place on Sunday, October 12.  Each year, teams across the country and around the globe participate in this 24 hour birding extravaganza.  The goal is to see and hear as many different species of birds as possible, and all the birds must be counted from within a 17-foot diameter circle.

Cape May's Big Sit takes place on the Hawkwatch platform at Cape May Point State Park.  It is a great location because a variety of nearby habitats provide a great diversity of birds.  The team had a goal to beat the North American Big Sit record of 146 species. This record was established in 2009 at Cape May.

A few very dedicated and valuable birders showed up at the Hawkwatch platform right at midnight to begin the count.  They were able to start the list off strong by listening to nocturnal flight calls.  They even heard a Barn Owl!  As the sun came up, more birders arrived and more species were counted.   All were thankful that the weather cooperated, especially after having so much rain the day before. There was definitely a possibility of breaking the record!

Big Sit birders scan the sky in all directions as they continue to add species to their list. 
[Photo by Mary Raikes.]

Around 5:00 pm, it happened.  David La Puma spotted a Baltimore Oriole (species  number 147), and the record was broken!  The Big Sit 2014 was officially an incredible success.  But the count did not end there.  Three more species were observed, setting the new record at 150!!  (A new goal to try to beat next year :))

Special thanks to Skye and the crew at the Avalon Seawatch for giving the Big Sit birders a heads up on some birds that were headed their way.  Also thanks to team captain Tom Reed for getting Cape May involved in the event.  Congratulations to everyone who participated!

Big Sit species list:
Waterfowl: Brant, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Wood Duck, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Ruddy Duck
Quails to Grebes: Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, Red-necked Grebe
Petrels to Pelicans: Northern Gannet, Double-crested Cormorant, Brown Pelican
Herons to Ibises: American Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron
New World Vultures to Eagles: Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Golden Eagle
Rails to Cranes: Common Gallinule, American Coot
Shorebirds: Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, American Oystercatcher, Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Wilson's Snipe, American Woodcock
Gulls to Auks: Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Common Tern, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Black Skimmer, Parasitic Jaeger
Pigeons to Nightjars: Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Common Nighthawk
Swifts to Falcons: Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, American Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon
Tyrant Flycatchers to Vireos: Eastern Phoebe, Red-eyed Vireo
Crows to Wrens: Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, House Wren, Carolina Wren
Gnatcatchers to Snow Bunting: Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Veery, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Bicknell's Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, European Starling, American Pipit, Cedar Waxwing
Wood-warblers: Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler
New World Sparrows to Dickcissel: Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting
Blackbirds to House Sparrow: Bobolink, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Rusty Blackbird, Common Grackle, Boat-tailed Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole, Purple Finch, House Finch, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow

Vermilion Flycatcher makes it a triple platinum season

When the Whiskered Tern showed up at Cape May Point on September 12th, we were ecstatic; a fabulous bird to see and enjoy - and clearly a bird that was going to be the star prize for the autumn. Only the third record ever for North America, it was high on the wanted list for us newcomers, as the species had been seen in Cape May before.

Roll forward to September 27th and there was suddenly competition for 'bird of the year'; a Zone-tailed Hawk passed through our air space. Better than the Whiskered Tern from a local perspective, as it was a first record for New Jersey - but not as good as the tern in that it breezed right on through and didn't pay proper dues to all who would have loved to have been there.

Could this amazing run of staggeringly good birds continue and see Cape May go 'triple platinum'? After the temptation of a Common Raven (a common bird, but rare in Cape May, this being the first here for quite a number of years), there was a brief respite, but patience paid off. Richard Crossley did the birding community an enormous favor this morning by having far too much on his mind and turning left instead of right on his morning coffee run. This took him up past the Rea Farm fields on the intersection of Stevens Street and Bayshore Road. Fate is a funny old thing sometimes and Richard's tiny slip resulted in him finding a Vermilion Flycatcher, perched all perky atop a nearby shrub. As I write, the bird is still performing for a steady trickle of admirers as it feeds around the area just north-east of the Rea Family farm stand and to the east of the main pond there.

A male Vermilion Flycatcher was found at the Wetlands Institute at Stone Harbor in May 2003, so those of us that missed that bird have had a long wait to plug a gap in our lists. But the wait was well worth it. This constitutes only the second record for New Jersey, though there has been a handful of records of this species throughout the north-eastern US over the years. The species is widespread and common from Mexico south well down into south-central Argentina and extends northward across the border into the southern and south-westernmost corner of the US. Despite being common in its natural range, this is such a stunning bird that it is always a phenomenal species to see. Let's hope it decides to stay for a few days - we'll keep you posted via our Twitter feed.

Though rare birds are not the first priority when it comes to conservation, wandering migrants during the fall are prone to the same weather displacements as other birds. As large numbers of tired and hungry migrants descend on Cape May - through a chance combination of weather and geographic influences - we should all be grateful of sites such as the Rea Farm, that remain as islands of prime habitat amid a slowly creeping sea of development. Hopefully we can continue to support legislation and funding that allows for such places to be preserved. Migrants not only need safe breeding and wintering grounds, they need safe migration stop-overs too.

Male Vermilion Flycatcher at the Rea Farm today. The white throat and largely gray crown show this to be a hatch-year bird who is certainly a long way from home [photo by Mike Crewe].

Into October...

Though September is awesome for birds at Cape May, October can be truly spectacular. September is most often the month that provides the widest range of species for those chasing bird diversity. But October is the month that provides the migration spectacles - species diversity tails off, but sheer migratory exuberance kicks in as huge numbers of birds from the boreal forests start to head south with the first cold fronts. The past two days at Cape May Point have been wonderful for those lucky enough to be here - though it's always annoying when such things happen on a week day!

 

The first really impressive run of birds accompanied by a north-west front has provided an October treat in fine style. The season's first Golden Eagle put in a fly by at the Hawkwatch, the Morning Flight provided watchers with a fabulous fall out of Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, and the Seawatch started to crank up its daily dose of ducks, cormorants and more (including some great jaeger counts!). Check out our Seasonal Research blog to get regular updates on how the various counts are going (for example, 1004 Sharp-shinned Hawks yesterday) - it really is the best way to keep up to date on bird movements through Cape May.

 

If you are heading this way this weekend, the weather looks a bit touch and go for Saturday, but rainy weather at this time of year can not only hold down birds that have already arrived, but can produce some good views of birds in the wetland areas too - how about getting out on a boat trip? Sunday promises good things again, so we are keeping fingers crossed as it is the day that we shall be taking part in The Big Sit - a nationwide, 24-hour competition to see how many species can be recorded from a single location. As ever, Cape May birders will be taking part at the Hawkwatch Platform, courtesy of Cape May Point State Park, so do stop by, see how the count is going - and maybe even add a species to the count.

 

The now expected trickle of Eurasian Wigeon through Cape May Point has began with the bird on the left here being one of three males currently gracing Bunker Pond in front of the Hawkwatch Platform [photo by Mike Crewe].

Perhaps a little earlier than expected, this Rufous Hummingbird turned up at Bill & Edie Schuhl's garden on Coral Avenue today. Though a western species, small numbers of Rufous Hummers are now expected in the East, with some attempting to overwinter most years [photo by Mike Crewe].

Surprises come thick and fast at Cape May and the past two days have seen a lot of birds feeding in trees around the Northwood Center and the north end of Lake Lily. In addition to three species of vireo from my office window today (I know, bragging again!) this adult Peregrine dropped in and perched in one of the Siberian Elms at the store during a wet spell. It just goes to show, you never know what you are going to see when you get up in the morning... [photo by Mike Crewe]

Ravenous for a Raven?

 Common Raven flying over the lighthouse at Cape May Point State Park. [Photo by
Tom Johnson.]

October 1, 2014 brought Cape May its first Common Raven of the 21st century!  It was first spotted from the Hawkwatch platform around noon by the hawk counter, Tom Reed.  The raven circled around the state park for about 20 minutes, and made a second appearance later in the afternoon.

The most recent previous sighting of a Common Raven in Cape May was during the summer of 1997. Since then, incredible birds like Yellow-nosed Albatross, Ivory Gull, White-tailed Tropicbird, Black Swift, and two Whiskered Terns have made appearances in Cape May before another raven did.

Coincidentally, Common Raven was the featured bird on the Sibley calender for October 1.
 [(c) copyright David Sibley.]

Historically, ravens were not uncommon in New Jersey, but numbers declined dramatically as humans settled the land.  By the early 1900s they were considered very rare. However, ravens are intelligent birds and are adapting to living with humans.  They have a diverse diet and can live in many different types of habitats.  They are now increasing and expanding their range back in to New Jersey.

Common Raven. [Photo by Tom Johnson.]

Ravens are larger than American Crows and often soar like hawks. They have a wedge-shaped tail, a large beak, and long, narrow wings.  Our Cape May raven is a juvenile, which can be determined by the uniform appearance of its feathers and the jagged look to the trailing edges of the wings.  Several people reported hearing the raven's unique call.

Common Raven is another bird to add to the list of rare sightings this season.  I can't wait to see what will be next!

Week in review: 20 – 26 September, 2014

CMBO is pleased to provide weekly summaries of the Cape's birding highlights. Coverage is limited to sightings in Cape May County. Readers should keep in mind that some reports may not be confirmed. The vast majority of information utilized in these reports comes from eBird data and "Keekeekerr" text alerts. Observers are encouraged to send reports and photos to compiler Tom Reed (coturnicops at gmail dot com).

Location Abbreviations/Explanations: ASW (Avalon Seawatch); CMP (town of Cape May Point); CMPSP (Cape May Pt. State Park); Higbee Dike (dredge spoils at northwest corner of Cape Island, site of CMBO's Morning Flight count); SCMM (South Cape May Meadows).

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WATERFOWL THROUGH RAPTORS

       Waterfowl migration continued to become more obvious in recent days. Numbers of Northern Shovelers, American Wigeon, and Northern Pintail increased at CMPSP and SCMM (m. ob.), and 49 Northern Pintail migrated past ASW on 22 Sep (TR). The first southbound Brant passed ASW on 22 Sep (TR) and 25 Sep (SH). The season's first Red-throated Loon shot past ASW 23 Sep (TR). Brown Pelicans were seen from ASW on multiple days (SH, TR), though the period's max of 8 was notched at CMP 20 Sep (LM). A pair of Cattle Egrets took up residence at West Cape May 25–26 Sep (m. ob.), and small numbers of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons lingered in Atlantic Coast marshes, e.g. 6 at Jarvis Sound 20 Sep (WC). Peak daily totals for various migrant raptors at CMPSP included 554 American Kestrels on 22 Sep, 284 Sharp-shinned Hawks on 23 Sep, 116 Osprey, 129 Cooper's Hawks, 68 Merlins, and 32 Peregrine Falcons on 26 Sep (MR).

RAILS THROUGH TERNS
       Multiple Virginia Rails were found at CMP/CMPSP during stormy conditions 25 Sep (m. ob.), and at least 1 Sora occupied SCMM on multiple days (m. ob.). Notable shorebirds included single American Golden-Plovers at ASW 22 Sep (TR) and South Seaville 25 Sep (CS), multiple Marbled Godwits in the Stone Harbor area on several days (m. ob.), and Baird's Sandpipers at Cape May NWR 20 Sep (MB), SCMM 24 Sep (MG), and the Higbee Dike 26 Sep (TR). A juv. Long-tailed Jaeger was an exciting find at ASW 25 Sep (SH), one of only a handful of records at that site. Parasitic Jaeger was seen from CMP on a daily basis (m. ob.), and 4 migrated south past ASW 22 Sep (TR). A Little Gull was traveling with a flock of Forster's Terns offshore CMP 22 Sep (SH), the second recorded this season. The season's first Bonaparte's Gulls were a bit early when they passed ASW 24 Sep (SH). The WHISKERED TERN was last seen at CMP 20 Sep (m. ob.), and Black Tern was last reported the same day (MG).

COLLARED-DOVE THROUGH SONGBIRDS
       At least 1 Eurasian Collared-Dove continued at CMP this week (m. ob.). Red-headed Woodpeckers have been quite scarce this fall; at least 2 were found at HB 26 Sep (m. ob.). The Higbee Dike played host to a flight of 451 Northern Flickers 23 Sep (GD, m. ob.). A Black-capped Chickadee, possibly the same individual seen earlier in 2014, was detected at CMPSP 22 Sep (MO'B, m. ob). Songbird diversity remained high through the period-- recent sightings of uncommon migrants included Warbling Vireo at the Higbee Dike 26 Sep (TR), Philadelphia Vireo at HB 26 Sep (m. ob.), and Connecticut Warbler at HB/Higbee Dike on multiple dates (m. ob.). Clay-colored Sparrows were noted at CMPSP 25 Sep (m. ob.) and at Del Haven 26 Sep (HT). The season's first Rusty Blackbird arrived at CMPSP 24 Sep (TR, m. ob.). Small numbers of Purple Finches were reported throughout the county (m. ob.), and Cape Island's first Pine Siskin of the season flew over HB 26 Sep (MC, m. ob.).

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Contributors:

Margaret Barbuty (MB), Warren Cairo (WC), Mike Crewe (MC), Glen Davis (GD), Mark Garland (MG), Skye Haas (SH), Larry Meade (LM), Michael O'Brien (MO'B), Mary Raikes (MR), Tom Reed (TR), Clay Sutton (CS), Harvey Tomlinson (HT).

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References:

*eBird. 2012. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Accessed 27 Sep 2014. Available: http://www.ebird.org.

*Fogg, B. 2013. Keekeekerr: Recent Text Alerts. Accessed 27 Sep 2014. Available: http://keekeekerr.com/textalerts/keekeekerr

ZONE-TAILED HAWK....

Sit down, take a deep breath. Read the blog title again, rub your eyes, take a walk around the garden and look again. It's not going to change. The impossible happened at Cape May today, but it happened in the worst possible way.

Shortly after 10:45am at the Swarovski-sponsored Hawkwatch Platform in Cape May Point State Park, a black shape appeared overhead. When I first saw it, it was already pretty much overhead, perhaps slightly to the north over Lighthouse Pond. The shape was familiar, and yet unfamiliar. It sort of looked like a Turkey Vulture, but something wasn't quite right. A closer look with binoculars was startling - the bird had extensive white areas across all the flight feathers and - even more worryingly - a white base to the tail. I called out for people to get on this bird, then realized that several already were; most especially, Vince Elia and Steve Bauer, stalwarts of the hawkwatch - and hawk counter Mary Raikes I think got on it around the same time. I think Vince and Steve were ahead of me, but I hadn't heard a call yet. It seems nobody wanted to shout the impossible - and yet it was becoming increasingly unavoidable...

Everyone will have their own story to tell, subtle differences to the chain of events, but the call eventually went out "Get on this bird, it looks like a Zone-tailed Hawk!!" For those who were there, the moment was memorable - 100+ people on the platform, including a Pete Dunne, CMBO raptor workshop and a great bunch of naturalist docents from Cobbs Creek, Philadelphia, a magical moment for so many - and yet, as I hinted above - it happened in the worst possible way... The 2009 Ivory Gull did it right, so did this year's Whiskered Tern. They hung around, developed more or less predictable routines and allowed many, many people to enjoy their presence. Sadly, today's Zone-tailed Hawk chose to do a couple of wide circuits over the state park, then headed out over the beach near Coral Avenue. Around 20 minutes later, a cheer could be heard in Delaware as the bird arrived over Cape Henlopen. Knowing that some of one's friends missed such a rare bird really takes the edge off the moment - good times are for sharing with all.

So, why all the fanfare? Well, Zone-tailed Hawk is a completely crazy bird to turn up at Cape May, and yet it was predicted just recently by Tom Reed. This species' range largely stretches from northern South America to northern Mexico, with the northernmost part of its range stretching up into Arizona, New Mexico and south-west Texas. Though northern populations are migratory, there is not a big track record for vagrancy for this species, but a few birds have wandered, with accepted records east of the Mississippi coming from Louisiana in 1984, Florida in 2000 and - believe it or not - Nova Scotia in 1977. Wind forward to 2014, and things really get exciting!

Fast forward to 2014, and we find that a Zone-tailed Hawk was seen and photographed on April 25th at Martha's Vineyard, Massachussetts - a place with a well-established track record for turning up remarkable rarities. An extraordinary find for the two happy observers and the start of an amazing summer for this species. On June 1st, Rick Whitman and Richard Stern located a Zone-tailed Hawk on Brier Island, Nova Scotia and this was followed by a sighting back in Massachussetts on July 8th, this time on the mainland near Halifax. For Cape May birders this was getting exciting, for it looked like the bird was starting to head back south. All we needed was the right winds and the right concentration of eyes.

For those that were there, the moment was glorious, for others, well, why do these things have to be so untimely....

Zone-tailed Hawk over Cape May Point State Park, September 27th, 2014 [pictures (C) copyright Mike Hannisian].

Zone-tailed Hawk over Cape May Point, off Coral Avenue, September 27th, 2014 [picture (C) copyright Michael O'Brien].

Based purely on plumage, a Zone-tailed Hawk can appear diagnostic, but other species can be confused with it, and black morphs (color forms) of other species of Buteo hawk need to be ruled out. Key to identifying the Cape May bird on plumage was the need to see fine, close, black barring on the whitish flight feathers and narrow black bars in the white base to the tail feathers. Both can be seen in the pictures above. However, more diagnostic than plumage markings is the uncanny resemblance to a Turkey Vulture at some angles, though this was not caught in these shots. In its usual range, the Zone-tailed Hawk hunts by flying with the wings in a slight dihedral, a shallow V shape - with the same rocking motion that Turkey Vultures display. They also often seem to 'hide' themselves within groups of roaming Turkey Vultures and it is believed that this is a type of cryptic behavior which allows them to spring a surprise on potential prey. The white marks in the plumage and the heavier, fully-feathered head serve to tell this species apart from Turkey Vulture quite readily with a little practice. Note that the tail pattern makes this an adult bird and, since all the other extralimital, north-east sightings were also adults, it seems very likely that all sightings involve the same individual bird.

What a day, what a place - come and enjoy the Cape May Magic!

Who's Watching Who?

I suppose if we spend time watching them, it's only fair that they spend time watching us - the view from my office window this evening... the Northwood Center has it all, maybe this guy just wanted to be a part of it! [Photo by Mike Crewe]