BirdCapeMay.org

CAPE MAY BIRDING HOTLINE August 18, 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 18, 2007. Highlights this week include sightings of ROSEATE SPOONBILL, WHITE IBIS, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, ARCTIC TERN, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, GRATER SHEARWATER, BAIRD SANDPIPER, and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH


The ROSEATE SPOONBILL continues to be seen at Brigantine NWR in the gull pond area. The latest sighting of this bird was on 8/16 around 7:00 p.m.

An immature WHITE IBIS found at Brigantine NWR on 8/13 has not been reported again in this area. Though, an imm. ibis was spotted form the Skimmer boat on Sunset Lake in Wildwood on 8/15. Also, an imm. White Ibis was seen flying over the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge on 8/17.

Continuing the Brigantine NWR thread, an AMERICN WHITE PELICAN was spotted over the NWR on 8/11.

A report came in today, 8/18, of an ARCTIC TERN on the beach at the Cape May Point State Park. This sighting has yet to be verified. Keep this bird in mind if you are birding the state park in the next few days.

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE reports continue to come in from Cape May and Brigantine NWR. A juvenile bird flew by the Cape May Point State Park on 8/12. The most recent report of this species from the Brigantine NWR was on 8/11.

A GRETER SHEARWATER was spotted off Cape May Point on 8/10.

An adult BAIRD SANDPIPER was seen on Lighthouse pond on 8/16. There have been no further reports of this bird since the initial sighting.

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH sightings continue to increase. Three were heard at Higbee Beach this morning, 8/18, and one at CMBO’s Northwood Center.

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. Starting September 1, the Northwood Center returns to a seven day a week schedule. 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 Society’s 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!

While a group of CMBO staff and volunteers were taking a tour of TNC's Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge, Don Freiday spotted an imm. WHITE IBIS flying in from the west and over head. We were on the east trail nearing the new raised platform (walking west, toward Sunset Blvd.) The bird flew over giving good views to all and headed toward the east-northeast. I did not watch the bird long enough to see if it made any attempts to land in the near by vicinity.

With the finding of a imm. White ibis at Brigantine NWR and one seen roosting at Sunset Lake in Wildwood in the recent past; it would seem prudent to keep ibis in mind if you are visiting Cape May or South Jersey anytime in the near future.

I should mention that while we were not really "birding" on our tour this morning we did find among other peep, four Pectoral sandpipers off the east trail. Also a young, dark Peregrine falcon made a brief appearance; long enough to stir up the shorebirds before it headed to the south. Probably going to see if it could scare any birds into flight off of the ponds at the State Park.

On another topic, I gleaned a sighting of an adult BAIRD SANDPIPER at the Cape May Point State Park, posted to the New Jersey Birding listserv. The bird was seen yesterday 8/16, on the small mudflat on Lighthouse pond across from the overlook platform. This area (Lighthouse pond) has been very good for shorebirds in the last few weeks. In fact between Bunker pond and Lighthouse, these are the most productive shorebirding spots around.

This morning's walk at Cape May Point State Park was "interrupted" by a dark Merlin that blew overhead and briefly scattered the shorebird flock on Bunker Pond. Unfortunately, it came and went before most of the folks on the walk were able to see it, as Merlins sometimes do. August 16 is early for a Merlin, but not precedent setting. The earliest date listed in Sibley's Birds of Cape May is August 5. Merlins nest as close as the Adirondacks and I seem to remember something about recent nesting in northern Pennsylvania. Wouldn't it be fine to have them nesting in New Jersey someday!

One of the park's young Cooper's Hawks perched and preened in the far treeline, and then made an obvious hunting pass at a crow. All these baby birds have to learn, and the Coop learned that crows are too big and agile and it had best stick to easier quarry.

Shorebirds were thin and herons and egrets were even thinner, with only a single Snowy Egret. I wonder if the Cape May Point ponds are being fished out - with the water so low from the drought, fish have a hard time hiding.

This morning's full list is below.
Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 8/16/07
Notes: CMBO Thursday walk.
Number of species: 34

Mute Swan 25
Mallard 3
Snowy Egret 1 General lack of herons - has the drought let herons fish the ponds down here out?
Glossy Ibis 3
Osprey 3
Cooper's Hawk 1
Merlin 1
Semipalmated Plover 10
Killdeer 5
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Semipalmated Sandpiper 30
Western Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 30
Stilt Sandpiper 3
Short-billed Dowitcher 7
Laughing Gull 50
Great Black-backed Gull 15
Royal Tern 40 incl. 3 recently fledged juvs
Common Tern 40
Forster's Tern 20
Least Tern 75
Black Skimmer 5
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 2
Eastern Kingbird 1
Fish Crow 1
Purple Martin 50 all out of the colonies now
Tree Swallow 20
Barn Swallow 5
Northern Mockingbird 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 5
House Sparrow 5

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

Bob Carlough, Captain of the Skimmer, just called and reported an immature White Ibis, seen from his boat, at the Sunset Lake Rookery between Wildwood and Wildwood crest. It's conceivable this bird could be relocated from land - Sunset Lake is off New Jersey Avenue in Wildwood Crest and the rookery itself is on an island on the west side of Sunset Lake,(Delorme Atlas K-8), too far to view well from land. It might be worth checking any "heron-y" looking access points in the vicinity, such as Nummy Island. Or check out one of the CMBO-sponsored Skimmer tours, held every August Monday at 10:00 and on Sundays and Mondays in September.

Karl Lukens reports that, "There is still good variety of shorebirds at the Bunker Pond, including Stilt, Western, White-rump, Semis and Least Sandpipers, Semi-plover, Piping Plover, Killdeer. Nice close-up Cooper's Hawk. Land birds still scarce." The list from this morning's CMBO walk, provided by Karl, is below:

SPECIES SEEN ~ CAPE MAY ST PRK
8/15/2007 ~ in Cape May Point ~ New Jersey Checklist ~ 59 seen

Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 1
Mute Swan 4
Canada Goose 10
Mallard 20
Turkey Vulture 5
Osprey 3
Cooper's Hawk 1
Semipalmated Plover 30
Killdeer 8
Piping Plover 2
Short-billed Dowitcher 10
Greater Yellowlegs 3
Lesser Yellowlegs 10
Ruddy Turnstone 2
Sanderling 20
Semipalmated Sandpiper 25
Western Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 40
White-rumped Sandpiper 1
Stilt Sandpiper 8
Great Black-backed Gull 20
American Herring Gull 15
Laughing Gull 100
Royal Tern 14
Common Tern 15
Forster's Tern 12
Least Tern 20
Black Skimmer 1
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 6
Chimney Swift 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
Purple Martin 8
Tree Swallow 15
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 10
Cedar Waxwing 4
Carolina Wren 6
House Wren 1
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
American Robin 1
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 1
Fish Crow 1
European Starling 10
House Sparrow 10
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 6
Yellow Warbler 3
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 6
Indigo Bunting 1 /h
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Common Grackle 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 8

"Ithaca is Gorges" as the saying goes. In fact you almost can't look in any direction without seeing that phrase.

Well, they are right! Ithaca is gorgeous in part because of the gorges. Situated at the southern end of Cayuga Lake (in the Finger Lakes region) is well known for it's wineries. So why am I writing about being away from Cape May? Well, why not, there are birds up here too.

We came up for a meeting at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and have had some time to fit in a little birding. Fit in some birding? Well, get out and actually take notice (observe), count and log on to eBird our sightings. After all isn't this supposed to be the mecca of avian research; just as Cape May is the mecca of birdwatching?

The birding has not been the most spectacular I have ever experienced but getting up here to see the "Lab" has compensated for any avian short comings. After all it's hard to top birding in Cape May. Need I remind you of the quote from Alexander Wilson; "If birds are good judges of excellent climate, Cape May has the finest climate in the United States, for it has the greatest variety of birds."

If you haven't made a trip to Sapsucker Woods, you should. The property is beautiful (the weather has been awesome) and the small history lesson you receive through the signage in the building is worth the stop by. I for one did not realize that Louis Agassiz Fuertes was a resident of Ithaca. I guess that I should have but you learn something new every day. It was interesting to make some connections in this way. I realized that Cornell/Ithaca are as steeped in an ornithological past as Cape May. Again, something that should have been obvious and I guess that it was but the pieces just seemed to fall into place by making this visit.

Speaking of Fuertes, seeing original oil paintings made quite the impression. Couple that with the original Charley Harper (the one he did for the Lab a few years ago) on the wall and you have quite a bit of eye candy for the bird enthusiast.

So, many of you are probably asking, did you see any sapsuckers? No, we went sapsucker-less today. Actually I was thinking that the area should have been named Red-eyed vireo Woods given that they were everywhere, singing today. We did have a number of other good sightings. (see below) Like I said to some of the folks we were meeting with today, coming from the south, it's just nice to see Black-capped chickadees and hear Purple finches sing. It all relative.

To finish off this most excellent and very productive trip we went to dinner at the legendary Moosewood Restaurant. Like the Lab, a place that one must go when in Ithaca. That is if you are into healthy (mostly organic), vegetarian/vegan cooking. I've used their cookbooks for years and still do even though I am no longer a vegetarian. But somehow my cooking just pales in comparison. Either way, a most excellent restaurant, but I digress........

I'd like to say that I have photos to post with this but being the goofball that I am, I forgot the cable you need to download the photos from the camera. That just means you'll have to visit for yourself. (Maybe if a I get a few moments after we get back I'll edit in some photos.)

So as usual, the bird list is posted below. One last thing, having met with most of next years (probable) WSB Cornell Lab team, I think that Don and Pete will have their work cut out for them.

Location: Sapsucker Woods, CLO
Observation date: 8/14/07
Number of species: 31
Mallard 2
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 1
Mourning Dove 6
Belted Kingfisher 1
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 15
Eastern Kingbird 8
Red-eyed Vireo 23
Blue Jay 3
Black-capped Chickadee 14
Tufted Titmouse 4
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
House Wren 2
Veery 1
American Robin 44
Gray Catbird 12
Cedar Waxwing 28
Yellow Warbler 1
American Redstart 6- still a few singing
Common Yellowthroat 1
Song Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Northern Cardinal 11
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Bobolink 1
Baltimore Oriole 1
Purple Finch 13
American Goldfinch 27
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/)

Given the weather (and my birding prediction from last night) I pretty much had to wake early and try Higbee Beach before work. I'm glad I did. At first it seemed pretty quiet, with only one Yellow Warbler and one Northern Waterthrush to show for the first half hour, migrant wise.

Then an empid popped into view underneath the canopy on the edge of the first field, and I said right away (to myself) very un-scientifically, "Hey, a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher!" Not exactly the right way to identify non-calling empids, especially since this one did not even have a yellow throat! But Yellow-bellieds are little with a compact, round-headed look, making them reminiscent of Least Flycatcher - which this bird definitely was not since it was washed with olive-yellow below and was overall olive-yellow, not gray like a Least. The bill was too narrow for Least, and for Acadian, too. A little more scrutiny revealed an eye-ring widest behind the eye but complete all the way around. When I finally got a look at the wing tips, I was satisfied it was a Yellow-bellied - I couldn't exactly count the number of primary tips sticking out past the tertials (a trick I think may be useful with photographs but not so much in the field), but my impression was of significant but not exceptional primary projection - in other words, the bird was too long-winged for Least and too short-winged for Acadian.



Later I met up with a couple other birders and we enjoyed a long, close look at a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and a low flyover by a juvenile Cooper's Hawk, perhaps one of the local brood from Cape May Point State Park, or perhaps a migrant.

The morning's list is below.

Location: Higbee Beach
Observation date: 8/14/07
Notes: One hour walk, first-third fields. Dry front passed last night, winds north 10ish.
Number of species: 35
Snowy Egret 1
Cooper's Hawk 1 juvenile, perhaps a local
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Laughing Gull 10
Mourning Dove 10
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1 worn-looking adult
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1 singing
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1 worn adult, early
Great Crested Flycatcher 2 calling
Blue Jay 2
Purple Martin 5
Carolina Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 3
Carolina Wren 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 10
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 1
Blue-winged Warbler 5
Golden-winged Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 5
Black-and-white Warbler 5
American Redstart 10
Ovenbird 1
Northern Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Field Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 5
Indigo Bunting 2
Bobolink 10 flyovers
Red-winged Blackbird 30
Baltimore Oriole 1
American Goldfinch 2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Paul Lehman's Birding Forecast will be up on www.birdcapemay.org soon, but in the meantime (given that the winds are light and northwest in Cape May right now) I thought I would quote the National Weather Service's forecast discussion:

"AS OF LATE THIS AFTERNOON THE COOL FRONT IS PUSHING INTO NORTHERN PA AND COOLER/DRIER AIR IS FILTERING IN BEHIND IT. LOOKS LIKE THE FRONTAL PASSAGE THIS EVENING WILL BE DRY...AS THE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN . . .A LIGHT NORTHERLY BREEZE SHOULD PERSIST THROUGH THE NIGHTTIME. OTHERWISE FALLING TEMPS AND DEWPOINTS SHOULD MAKE FOR A VERY PLEASANT EVENING AND NIGHT."

The passage of this dry front should bring migrants to Cape May tomorrow morning. Even better than tonight's forecast of a weak frontal passage, however, the NWS goes on to say:

"A FAIRLY STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THOUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT OR FRIDAY MORNING...FOLLOWED BY MORE HIGH PRESSURE AND FAIR WEATHER FOR THE WEEKEND."

Cape May birders, indeed late-summer and fall birders throughout the mid-Atlantic, love to hear about strong cold fronts. The day or two after such a front can bring great birding - if the front passes this Friday, come to Cape May this weekend if you can and try Higbee Beach at dawn for early migrant landbirds, or try your local migrant patch. As Paul notes in his essay on early fall migrants (click on Birding Forecast to see it), "Many birders may be loathe to search out migrant passerines in the heat and bugs of early/mid- August, but that month may see a good variety of migrant warblers (up to 30 species may be present already by the middle of the month) at such well-known sites as Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area, including the best “autumn” chances at seeing such scarce transients as Golden-winged and Cerulean Warblers."

Also, northwest winds bring raptors to Cape May Point at any time of year, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear of Bald Eagles, Northern Harriers, or American Kestrels moving past the Hawkwatch Platform at Cape May Point State Park this weekend.

The Lark Sparrow discovered at Cape May Point State Park on Saturday has not been reported since, despite searching - including by me Sunday afternoon. Plenty of other birds were there to hold my attention, or distract it, depending on one's point of view about "chasing" rare birds. Among these were two of the world's most bedraggled Northern Mockingbirds, sitting right where the Lark Sparrow was supposed to be, in the snag at the north side of the metal bridge on the red trail at the park. The mockers, like most other birds, have finished up nesting for the summer, indeed we saw a family group of 7 together on the dune at the meadows this morning (more on the meadows below).

Other state park birds from yesterday afternoon included a Long-billed Dowitcher that "keeked" obligingly and alighted in Bunker Pond, and two Sandwich Terns reported there earlier in the day by other birders.

At least twenty-one sandpiper-and-plover species have been reported at Cape May Point in the past two days, so not surprisingly this morning's CMBO walk at TNC's Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge (a.k.a. the Meadows) was rich in shorebirds, including some in evident movement. The wind was west-northwest, and single Black-bellied Plover (the first I recall seeing or hearing about at Cape May Point this summer, which seems surprising somehow) and Whimbrel were flyovers. I'm fairly certain I heard an Upland Sandpiper, too, but none of the other leaders heard it so I'm a bit hesitant to claim the bird. An Uppie was seen on the grass edging Lighthouse Pond last week.

The plover ponds hosted higher numbers of shorebirds than they have in the recent past, including several groups of dowitchers with Stilt Sandpipers mixed in. In the wetlands west of the west path, there were 4 White-rumped Sandpipers with the usual assortment of peep. These were interesting in the fact that they were completely back-lit, the worst possible lighting, and that actually made them easier to pick out. You could do it naked eye at 40 yards, with a little practice, either "cheating" by finding another peep for a size comparison (white-rumps are over an inch longer than Semi-palmated Sandpipers, weigh almost twice as much, and it shows in side-side comparison) or by noting the white-rumpeds' attenuated rear end. Paul Guris one time put it to a group that white-rumpeds "look like someone grabbed their tail and pulled," and they do, very drawn out in back. It's their long wings, not tail, that gives them this profile, but the analogy is perfect.

Baltimore Oriole nests in Cape May County but is very scarce south of the canal outside migration, so the female we found foraging near the dunes was interesting.

Finally, with a bit of sadness I can report that the Least Terns have completed their nesting efforts and vacated the colony at the meadows - an American Crow sat in the middle of the roped-off area completely undisturbed. If it had tried that a few weeks ago, it would surely have wished it were somewhere else. The fledgling Least Terns are now all out and about with their parents, learning how to fish and stay out of trouble.

Today's full list is below.

Location: South Cape May Meadows
Observation date: 8/13/07
Notes: CMBO's Monday morning walk.
Number of species: 59
Canada Goose 40
Mute Swan 2
Mallard 30
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1
Green Heron 3 Perhaps a family group that moved over from the Beanery?
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 3
Osprey 3
Black-bellied Plover 1 First for this walk
Semipalmated Plover 30
Piping Plover 5
Killdeer 5
American Oystercatcher 1
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 5
Solitary Sandpiper 2 flyovers
Whimbrel 1 flyover
Sanderling 100
Semipalmated Sandpiper 20
Least Sandpiper 20
White-rumped Sandpiper 4
Pectoral Sandpiper 2
Stilt Sandpiper 3
Short-billed Dowitcher 35
Laughing Gull 200
Ring-billed Gull 10
Herring Gull 30 10 fresh juveniles in the plover ponds
Great Black-backed Gull 30
Royal Tern 5
Common Tern 25
Forster's Tern 5
Least Tern 10 the tern colony is officially empty; a crow sat within it unharassed.
Black Skimmer 10
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 5
Belted Kingfisher 1
Eastern Kingbird 2
White-eyed Vireo 1 singing; surprise, hasn't been there - migrant or wanderer
American Crow 1
Purple Martin 10
Tree Swallow 50
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Barn Swallow 20
Carolina Wren 1
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 7 a family group or groups on the dune, including some recently fledged juvenile
European Starling 2
Cedar Waxwing 5
Yellow Warbler 5
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Bobolink 1 flyover
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Baltimore Oriole 1 one female
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 5
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

I decided to get in some early morning cycling to beat the oppressive Sunday beach traffic, and left my house on the Delaware Bay side of the Cape May Penninsula when it was still dark, headed for Stone Harbor. A Great-horned Owl called from the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, just down the street.

I passed the big woods along Indian Trail just at first light, and slowed to listen for a bit. The woods produced only a Carolina Wren and the often overwhelming quiet of neotropical migrants that have finished nesting for the year. This spot has Kentucky Warbler, or had last May, among other quality nesters. Unfortunately, a sand mine proposal threatens Indian Trail, a project NJAS has been opposing under the leadership of Cristina Frank of our IBBA program.

One of the reasons for cycling to Stone Harbor is to get a chance to ride the only things that pass for hills down here: the bridges! The biggest of these is the one from the mainland to North Wildwood, and while it's not exactly High Point, the view from the top is an impressive landscape of salt marsh and channels, pocked with islands of shrubs where herons and egrets nest. The sun hadn't risen yet, and lots of egrets and a fair number of Black-crowned Night-Herons were in the air, going and coming, respectively. It reminded me of the good old days at the Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary, former home to a large rookery, where you could go at dawn or dusk to watch the "changing of the guard." The herons and egrets are still here (though Tri-colored numbers seem to have fallen), but now they nest in smaller, scattered colonies.

As I crested the bridge a Royal Tern passed carrying a ~4" fish, headed straight for Champagne Island where it must have a fairly big chick waiting for a fish that size. It was a little surprising to see a Royal that apparently had been foraging inshore, since they mostly feed in the ocean. Yesterday I saw an adult Royal with a recently fledged youngster on the bayside at Norbury's Landing, the first of this species I've seen out there this summer. That parent and young undoubtedly came up from a southern colony and are not part of the Champagne Island group.

I must have picked the right time to cross the bridge, because on the descent two Sandwich Terns passed headed in the opposite direction of the Royal - how lucky can you get. It was a bit of surprise to this species away from the barrier beach and ocean, too. There have been swarms of small bluefish in all the back channels and bays of late, pushing baitfish to the surface, perhaps that explains it.

Hordes of Boat-tailed Grackles chattered and squeaked in the cedars near the marina on the south side of the Nummy Island toll bridge. I thought for a moment I was hearing Purple Martins from the cedars, an odd place for such, and concluded the "cheewp" notes were coming from young boat-taileds.

Nothing unusual appeared on the run from the toll bridge north to Stone Harbor and back, which is to say "all" I saw were many Common Terns, Black Skimmers, American Oystercatchers, egrets, gulls, shorebirds in passing flocks pushed back by the rising tide . . . the whole complex of wetland/barrier beach/inlet and channel surrounding Nummy Island and Hereford Inlet is undoubtedly one of the most fertile and important bird areas in the state.