BirdCapeMay.org

CAPE MAY BIRDING HOTLINE August 11, 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 Saturday August 11, 2007. Highlights this week include sightings of MANX SHEARWATER, SOOTY SHEARWATER, ROSEATE SPOONBILL, WILSON’S PHALROPE, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, SANDWICH TERN, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, SEDGE WREN and LARK SPARROW

The ROSEATE SPOONBILL continues at Brigantine NWR as of 8/8. Early morning or evening remains the best time to try for this bird.

A MANX SHEARWATER was seen feeding in the rips off Cape May Point on 8/4.

Also on 8/4, a SOOTY SHEARWATER was seen from the second dune crossing at the Cape May Point State Park.

An unexpected find was a WILSONS PHALAROPE at Stone Harbor Point on 8/6.

There have been various reports of RED-NECKED PHALAROPE at Brigantine NWR in the last week. The most recent report was of two birds seen from the east dike in the east pool on 8/10.

Two SANDWICH TERNS were observed from Cape May Point on 8/5 and 8/6.

Coldspring Campground played host to a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH on 8/4.

A SEDGE WREN was heard singing at Brigantine NWR, from on the left side of the south dike near the beginning of the auto loop road on 8/7.

Lastly, a LARK SPARROW was observed at the first metal bridge on the red trail at the Cape May Point State Park, today, 8/11.

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; summer hours, Wednesday- Monday 9:30-4:30. The Northwood Center will be closed on Tuesdays. The Center for Research and Education on Rt. 47 in Goshen is open Tuesday- Sunday 9:30- 4:30. At least one CMBO center will be open everyday to serve our members needs.

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 $35 per year; $45 for families. You can call either center to become a member or visit. Become a member in person and youll receive your choice of a FREE gift (in addition to member discount in the stores).

Good Luck and Good Birding!

Took a quick jaunt to the State Park to look for the Lark sparrow soon after posting the previous.

We headed straight for the metal bridge and waited and waited and waited. Finally about 4:45 pm. we heard a faint call note (not sure if it was the sparrow) and a bird flew in over head (from the S-SW) and gave a nice flash of the white in the tail as it went to land in the dead tree immediately to the NE of the bridge. It hung around in the tree giving great views and then about 4:50 pm. it flew off to the W and landed (out of sight) on the mudflat area on Lighthouse pond at the end of the creek.

Now this is not a mega rarity but a good find. It's especially gratifying to me since I've missed six or so in my few years living in Cape May and my years as the hawk counter. Even better, this is a four ticker; new for my year list and state, county and Cape Island list. Ah, what we do to wile away the hours.

Chances are that the bird will hang around a bit so if your down in Cape May you might try for the bird. While your there check out Lighthouse pond. There's a good amount of mud opened up with a good number of shorebirds. Karl said they had a White-rumped sandpiper this morning on the CMBO walk and I thought I had three flying around when the group got up and circled. I'll have to lug the scope through the park tomorrow on my morning wander.

Remember if your trying to figure out what you might have a chance to see while your visiting Cape May, you can check out the checklist which gives rough times (spring, summer, fall and winter) you can expect to see certain species. Or, check out the Naturalist Calendar for historical sightings. These are the ones with the blue tabs. Interestingly Laura just today put in a post on the calendar for Sept. 16 about a Lark bunting and sparrow seen in the area way back in 1993. I'll find out what historical sightings goodies she is posting to the calendar next so we'll know what to look for.....

Just looked at a photo recently taken at the Cape May Point State Park of a LARK SPARROW. The bird was seen from the first "new" metal bridge on the red trail. Basically, since the short cut trial is still closed, walk the mail trail until you come to a metal bridge. The bird was observed on the ground near the water and flew off. I'm headed out to see if I can relocate and will post if successful.

Birds observed listed below;

Finally getting a chance to get a post about what was seen today. Sorry for the delay, noting earth shattering. I birded the Beanery and then headed over to the Cape May Point State Park for a little check on the shorebird situation at Bunker pond.

Nothing extraordinary was seen but good numbers of birds feeding at Bunker pond. My pick of the day would the be the Louisiana waterthrush that flew in to the wet woods railroad trail at the Beanery. This bird sat for quite some time and afforded excellent views of exactly why it was a Louisiana (buff flanks with diffuse streaking, bold white supercillium especially behind the eye, less dense streaking on the breast...)instead of a Northern. Love those pink legs! I am not sure if banding measurements would support this but it always seems to me that Louisiana has a more than slightly larger beak than Northern. Maybe it just my eyes as well, they just seem to have a pretty big honking beak. Sibley indicates "with longer bill", but I wonder how much longer? Anyone with measurements or ideas feel free to email.

Anyway since I'm posting two lists I'll let the sightings speak for themselves.

Location: The Beanery
Observation date: 8/10/07
Number of species: 30
Green Heron 2
Osprey 1
Laughing Gull 12
Rock Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 4
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
American Crow 3
Purple Martin 4
Tree Swallow 4
Barn Swallow 8
Carolina Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 13
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
American Robin 4
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 82
Cedar Waxwing 2
Yellow Warbler 2
Louisiana Waterthrush 1
Northern Cardinal 8
Indigo Bunting 6
Bobolink 2
Red-winged Blackbird 8
Common Grackle 16
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 4
House Sparrow 18
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 8/10/07
Number of species: 37
Mallard 12
Great Blue Heron 4
Snowy Egret 3
Green Heron 4
Osprey 2
Semipalmated Plover 23
Killdeer 6
Greater Yellowlegs 8
Lesser Yellowlegs 12
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Sanderling 3
Semipalmated Sandpiper 48
Least Sandpiper 27
Stilt Sandpiper 13
Short-billed Dowitcher 12
Laughing Gull 35
Herring Gull 25
Great Black-backed Gull 15
Common Tern 4
Forster's Tern 10
Least Tern 45
Rock Pigeon 4
Mourning Dove 4
Eastern Kingbird 4
American Crow 2
Purple Martin 12
Tree Swallow 4
Barn Swallow 26
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
Cedar Waxwing 2
Yellow Warbler 2
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 16
House Finch 6
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 12
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

I spent a brief half hour near sunset at Bunker Pond, hoping for two things: to study terns and maybe find something unusual coming in for the night, and to listen to Stilt Sandpipers.

The hoped-for tern study was in vain - there were NO terns at all roosting on the Bunker Pond Islands, except since Black Skimmers are in fact terns I suppose I can't quite say the Islands were ternless. Two skimmers rested there briefly and a total of 5 foraged over the pond during the time I was there. The only other terns I saw were fly-bys.

The Stilt Sandpipers were more obliging. 2 or 3 were present on the pond as I walked up, but several were in the air and calling, so I'm not sure how many there were in total. Stilt s.p. calls don't jump out at you - they deliver a soft, Lesser Yellowlegs kind of call, something easy to listen right past.

Semipalmated Sandpiper numbers have increased in recent days, and single White-rumped and Western Sandpipers fed among them. Perhaps the largest Greater Yellowlegs I've ever seen foraged in fairly deep water, clearly a female with a sweeping godwit-like bill and seeming as big as a duck. Tonight's list, just a half hour's observation from a single point, is below.


Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 8/10/07
Number of species: 23
Canada Goose 9
Mute Swan 1
Mallard 10
Great Egret 1
Semipalmated Plover 12
Killdeer 2
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Sanderling 3
Semipalmated Sandpiper 150
Western Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 35 2 juvs, the only juvs in the lot of shorebirds tonight
White-rumped Sandpiper 1
Stilt Sandpiper 5
Laughing Gull 100
Common Tern 10
Forster's Tern 1
Least Tern 5
Black Skimmer 5
Purple Martin 5
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Cheetah, Maasai Mara, Kenya. Photo (c) Don Freiday

First off, I forgot to mention one of the cooler birds we saw while up at Brigantine NWR the other day. While on the last leg of the loop we spotted a sub-adult male Northern Harrier (my guess given the amount of brown still notable on his back, but I'm not a harrier expert.) Between this sighting and the Sedge wren, my day was made.

But I digress...... Now for today's sightings.

With the N to NW winds overnight one might have expected a number of early migrants to be hopping around the woods. Well, this seems to have not been the case this morning. While migrants were around, they were not too plentiful. Mind you, we did only have a short time to bird this morning as Laura had to work on a few last elements in the updating of Bird Droppings and Birding Fieldcraft.

We had a few Yellow warblers in the trees and calling as they flew over head. Also, a few American redstarts were in evidence as well. We did notice that Blue-grey gnatcatcher are being more vocal lately and observed all by hearing them today.

Aside from what we encountered, I did hear that there was a Blue-winged warbler near the parking lot at Higbee the last couple of days, as well as, an Ovenbird in the same area today. In the "no it's not that late in fall yet" category; I heard that the first Yellow-rumped warbler of the fall has been tallied. Well, it's all down hill from here you might be telling yourself. Not quite. Actually, as I understand a few early-ish Yellow-rumped warbler is not all that uncommon in these parts, The Birds of Cape May lists the early date as 8/1. While it is a bit of pain to have to sort through the hordes of yellow-rumps later in the fall there are plenty of redstarts to sift through in the earlier fall. In fact I find it to be fun some days, like a scavenger hunt. But then again isn't most all birding like a scavenger hunt?

None the less you take what you get. The important part is getting out to enjoy, right? If you'd like to get out with someone, try one of the weekend walks that CMBO offers. Friday 8/10 is Sunset Birding at the Meadows; starts at 6:30 p.m. Or, on Saturday 8/11, Birding Cape May Point; meets at the hawkwatch platform at 7:30 a.m. There are no scheduled walks on Sunday until next week when on 8/19 the first Villas WMA Walk starts. For more info check out Programs/Daily Walks.

Oh, almost forgot to mention the butterflies seen today: (in no particular order) Monarch, E. Tiger swallowtail, Spicebush swallowtail, Cabbage white, Clouded sulphur, a nice find was a Cloudless sulphur, Summer azure or E. tailed-blue (some sort of little blueish butterfly, I didn't take the time to solidify the i.d.), Red admiral, Pearl crescent, Common buckeye, Common wood-nymph, Silver-spotted skipper and Least skipper. 13 species, not too bad for a short jaunt.

The short list of birds observed is below;

Location: Higbee Beach
Observation date: 8/9/07
Number of species: 26
Green Heron 2
Osprey 2
Laughing Gull 15
Mourning Dove 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2
Downy Woodpecker 2
Eastern Kingbird 1
White-eyed Vireo 6
American Crow 3
Purple Martin 12
Barn Swallow 4
Carolina Chickadee 3
Carolina Wren 8
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 6
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
Yellow Warbler 8
American Redstart 2
Eastern Towhee 1
Song Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 15
Indigo Bunting 4
Bobolink 8
Red-winged Blackbird 4
American Goldfinch 2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Since we had to head north for some errands today, we figured we should try and see the Roseate spoonbill again. As luck would have it, the spoonbill was nowhere to be found. Not even a Least bittern in flight to enjoy. Surprisingly, Gull-billed terns were absent as well. When we were there a few weeks ago the gull pond area seemed to be filthy with them.

We did however, find a Don Freiday who happened to be up there birding a bit before a meeting. He mentioned finding a few good birds but had no luck with the spoonbill either.

Mentioned in the log book were a Red-necked phalarope on 8/6 and a Hudsonian godwit on
8/5(?), neither of which we saw today. We did have one nice find, a Sedge wren was sounding off not too far down on the left after the start of the loop. This is about the time you should expect a Sedge wren to just show up in the proper habitat. Unpaired or failed nesters are known to move around in the mid to later summer. In fact,the grassland I worked on prior to working for NJAS, we had two males take up territory in late July. These birds furiously (with song) defended their territories for about a month, maybe a bit longer.

It was a lower tide so the channels on the right were filled with sandpipers. Also abundant were the ubiquitous greenheads! And as usual, they pushed the mind toward the breaking point with bounces and bites. Why should there be such good birding in the same vicinity as these lovely insects, is anyone's guess.

While between the increasing heat and the green heads we did not stop to count every singe bird, we did happen to rack up some large totals of some species.

One last point, go out and buy your 2007-2008 Federal Duck Stamp http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps/stamps.htm . Help to preserve some much needed habitat. It boasts a beautiful image of a drake and hen Ring-necked duck. The new year for the duck stamp just stared on 7/1/07 by the way.


A list of species is below;


Location: E B Forsythe NWR--Autoloop
Observation date: 8/7/07
Number of species: 60
Canada Goose 65
Mute Swan 8
Wood Duck 3
American Black Duck 16
Mallard 12
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 10
Great Egret 84
Snowy Egret 39
Black-crowned Night-Heron 11
Glossy Ibis 7Osprey 8
Northern Harrier 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Clapper Rail 4
Black-bellied Plover 1
Semipalmated Plover 93
Greater Yellowlegs 26
Lesser Yellowlegs 46
Willet 4
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Whimbrel 1
Semipalmated Sandpiper 1175
Least Sandpiper 230
Pectoral Sandpiper 2S
hort-billed Dowitcher 123
Laughing Gull 310
Herring Gull 25
Great Black-backed Gull 6
Common Tern 50
Forster's Tern 35
Black Skimmer 4
Mourning Dove 8
American Crow 4
Purple Martin 35
Tree Swallow 25
Barn Swallow 46
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Carolina Wren 3
Sedge Wren 1
Marsh Wren 23
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
American Robin 6
Northern Mockingbird 3
Yellow Warbler 4
Prothonotary Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 15
Eastern Towhee 3
Field Sparrow 8
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow 1
Seaside Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 12
Northern Cardinal 6
Blue Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 4
Bobolink 2
Red-winged Blackbird 250
Common Grackle 6
Boat-tailed Grackle 15
American Goldfinch 23
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/)

Karl Lukens reports some good birding at the Meadows (TNC Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge) this morning: "In the rain this morning . . .found some of the usual shore birds including 3 Piping Plover, 4 Spotted (with and without spots) Sandpipers, Semis-, Least, Yellowlegs as well as 1 Western and 1 White-rump Sandpiper. An immature Coopers Hawk sitting on a fence was interesting."

A large number of egrets and herons were concentrated along Ocean Drive opposite the Breezee Lee Marina this morning; unfortunately I didn't have time to inspect them, but viewed on the drive-by the majority were Snowy Egrets with Great Egrets and at least a few Little Blues. A place perhaps to check for something fancier.

The tern and skimmer colony on Champagne Island in Hereford Inlet continues to thrive despite continued boater pressure on the island. There were 120 people and about 25 boats at the island on Saturday evening with the usual attending coolers and grills, but I saw no dogs and no one inside the roped area from my vantage at the bottom of the Nummy Island toll bridge. Others have reported dogs there over the weekend. Whether boaters and birds could coexist on Champagne Island is a fair question, one that I don't know the answer to, but because this is by far the largest colony of Black Skimmers in the state, and the only colony of Royal Terns, any error on that question must be made in favor of the birds.

DEP officials report that as of July 25 there were over 1,600 Black Skimmers and a total of 719 nests, and 200 Royal Terns with 20-30 nests. On that date 70 Common Terns were still sitting on nests, the other 180 or so nests having fledglings, or in some cases having been depradated by gulls.

Today, there were many fledgling Common Terns, Black Skimmers, and Royal Terns in all stages of development - lots of begging, wandering about, being fed, and being brooded against the wind and rain by attentive parents. A few of the skimmer chicks walked along practicing by skimming the sand, quite a cute behavior. We watched a well-along Royal Tern that perched atop a hillock on the little island and stretched its wings, perhaps soon to become the first every fledged Royal Tern (that we know of) for NJ. Check the NJ section of the NYT on Sunday two weeks hence for an article by Kevin Coyne, who came down to see the island first hand. Special thanks are due to Mike Fritz for his insights and use of his boat. At some point we'll do a photo essay of the island in this space, so everyone can see what we're trying to protect.

An adult and juvenile Sandwich Tern were also out on the island, with a number of Western Willets and other shorebird species.

Janet Crawford reports that the Purple Martin show in Mauricetown has begun in earnest, with an estimated 20,000 there this evening. To see the show, go to the bridge at dusk, there is a parking area off to the right as you approach the bridge from the east/Route 47. This is another site listed in the Delaware Bayshore Birding and Wildlfie Trail, go to http://www.njwildlifetrails.org/BwtWeb/SiteDetails.aspx?si=17 for more info.

Three Great-horned owls flushed from the woods lining the east golf cart path at the Villas Wildlife Management Area, a.k.a the old Ponderlodge Golf Course, this evening. Two of them shrieked the begging call of juvenile GHO's. Dragonflies were in the zillions at Villas this evening (that's an estimate, not an actual count), setting me to wondering about migrating Merlins pausing at the WMA for a snack in just a few weeks.

Yesterday at Bunker Pond there were about 10 fledged juvenile Common Terns, easily distinguished from juv. Forster's by the dark carpal bar and half-cap, among other points. About the same number were there this morning. Just two days ago, on Thursday morning, there were none.

Along the same lines, Thursday's Bunker Pond shorebird herd lacked juvenile Least Sandpipers - today there were about a dozen.

This morning I ran into Tom Parsons who clued me in on a White-rumped Sandpiper on Bunker Pond just a few minutes before - which I then failed to find. There is a LOT of turnover of birds throughout the day at Cape May Point State Park, an interesting experiment would be to spend several hours parked there watching.

Cedar Waxwings were building a nest over the boardwalk trail to Lighthouse Pond, and over the pond itself was a wonderful fairy pageant of Least and Forster's Terns, plus one Gull-billed.

Okay, so I'm no Paul Lehman.The NW wind being predicted on The Weather Channel didn't seem to materialize much in the way of migrant bird species this morning. I guess I'll have to wait until a little later in August to get my fall Cerulean warbler.

While the species diversity and numbers at Higbee was a little less than impressive, we did manage a few very interesting sightings. In fact this is one if the things that I love most about living and birding in Cape May. Even though this place is celebrated as on of the best birding locations in the world; when Cape May is slow, it can be agonizingly slow (today wasn't quite that bad though.) But, there is always something interesting to see or to discover.

When the birding is a little slower it gives you chance to take note of various other aspects of species identification. Like this morning, we happened upon a Spotted and Solitary sandpiper on the little pond at the back of Higbee. I am familiar with the fact that these birds are structurally similar and in some respects very similar in basic plumage. If you'd like a pictorial reference check out The Shorebird Guide on page 102, at the bottom is a comparison picture that illustrates my point.

So, as we saw these birds they took flight and flew directly way from us to the bank across the pond. This afforded us the opportunity to study these birds in flight, side by side. Surprisingly, to me at least, was how similar this birds are in flight as well. Their shape and position in which they hold their wings in flight is very similar. Even the shallow flapping style that the Spotted sandpiper is known for was exhibited in the Solitary sandpiper. The major difference was that the Solitarys' flap was a little deeper and drawn out in comparison to the spotted. This is due in part to the size difference. Larger birds have to flap a bit more and harder than smaller birds. Simple, right? But one thing you may notice is that a Solitary sandpiper does not fly in this manor when observed high overhead in flight. My guess would be that the bird is using a different flight style to get across the little pond versus a longer distance flight. Whether I'm right or wrong in my hypothesis, this is the first I've observed this particular similarity in flight style between the two birds. Something to continue looking for when given the chance.

Other interesting observations, a couple of different Carolina wrens singing a soft drawn out warbley, bubbly song. One I did not recognize as being associated with this species. Keep your ears tuned in the next time your out and see if you hear this, I guess it's associated with communications between mate and possibly young. Though, I have no proof to support my theory mind you.

The last observation was of a Peregrine falcon which took a dive or two at an Osprey passing by. I remember a photo taken from the hawkwatch platform in Cape May Point State Park, a few years ago, where a Peregrine falcon was seen taking a fish from an Osprey. This morning, this seems to have been an unprovoked attack, the Osprey held no fish. Probably just a bird trying to throw its' weight around.

After Higbee we went up the the platform at St.Peter's jetty to look for the Manx shearwater that was reported yesterday. No luck with this or any shewawaters. There were large numbers (100's) of gulls and terns feeding in the rips. Certainly a spectacle that should not be missed if you are down, birding Cape May.

A list of species observed is below. Stay cool, tomorrow is supposed to be a doozy!


Location: Higbee Beach
Observation date: 8/5/07
Number of species: 33
Canada Goose 25
Green Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Laughing Gull 8
Mourning Dove 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 4
Eastern Kingbird 5
White-eyed Vireo 2
Purple Martin 12
Tree Swallow 4
Barn Swallow 7
Carolina Wren 6
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 2
European Starling 5
Cedar Waxwing 8
Yellow Warbler 6
American Redstart 1
Northern Waterthrush 2
Northern Cardinal 2
Indigo Bunting 4
Red-winged Blackbird 6
Common Grackle 12
Orchard Oriole 3
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)