BirdCapeMay.org

Karl and Judy Lukens sent me the list below for this morning's CMBO Beanery walk. Karl also shared this picture he took of the Ruff that visited Bunker pond. FYI- the Ruff was seen flying off with the group of Lesser yellowlegs and to my knowledge is no longer at the Cape May Point State Park. Thanks for the photo Karl!

"Slow going on a calm, foggy morning at the Beanery. A Kestrel, a Merlin, and a couple of E. Phoebes kept us interested. Still Flickers moving about, several Savannah Sparrows in the back field, and a female type Blue Grosbeak were also noteworthy."

SPECIES SEEN ~ CMBO TRIP

10/6/2007 ~ in Beanery ~ New Jersey Checklist ~ 31 seen

Green Heron 1
Mute Swan 1
Canada Goose 20
Wood Duck 2
Mallard 2
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 1
Killdeer 1
Laughing Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 10
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 5
Eastern Phoebe 2
Carolina Wren 5
Gray Catbird 4
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
Carolina Chickadee 1
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 10
European Starling 30
House Sparrow 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Palm Warbler 2
Northern Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Savannah Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 5
Blue Grosbeak 1
Red-winged Blackbird 5

There is currently a juv. RUFF (found by Tim Lenz from Cornell University) being viewed on a little "island" near the dirt road between the dune and Bunker pond. We went to view the bird (finally one more nemesis bird down!) and it is easily seen with a small group of Lesser yellow-legs and a Pectoral sandpiper. The bird actually obliged us with flight views as we were walking away. Don't worry, the birds landed back in the same spot on the "island." We are working on getting some photos up on the site. If you need further help to find the bird once you get to the state park, head up to the CMBO hawk watch platform and ask one of the Interpretive Naturalists. They can point you in the right direction.


Also, the Calliope humming bird is still being seen today. Karen Johnson called to report that the bird was seen at about 11:15 a.m. this morning.

UPDATE: Evidently the Calliope is being seen also at the back feeder behind the Johnson residence. The home owners have graciously opened up visitation the back part of the yard for viewing. So, make sure you are checking the back feeder and not spending all your time looking at the front feeders.

Good luck to all who try for these birds!

CAPE MAY BIRDING HOTLINE October 5, 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 Friday October 5, 2007. Highlights this week include sightings of ROSEATE SPOONBILL, CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, LARK SPARROW, EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE, COMMON EIDER and AMERICAN SWALLOW-TAILED KITE.

We are sorry for the lack of hotline coverage in the last weeks. This was an unavoidable lapse and hope that this has not caused our readers any inconvenience.

The long staying ROSEATE SPOONBILL continues to be seen at the Brigantine NWR, in the gull pond area as of 10/4.

On 10/1 a report of an AMERICAN SWALLOW-TAILED KITE seen soaring low over the fields Higbee Beach WMA came into the Northwood Center late in the day. There has been no further sighting of this species since the initial sighting at 9:00 a.m.

Found at a feeder on 10/2 at 1695 Rt. 47 in Eldora, an adult male CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD has been teasing birders with brief views. This bird is not visiting on a regular basis. It seems that morning is the best time, between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. The home owner asks that you park along Rt. 47 and walk down the drive way. There is a sign pointing visiting birders to the approved viewing area. Since the hummingbird is visiting the salvia near the residence, please to not approach to closely so that all may be able to catch a glimpse of this sporadic visitor. The last reported sighting was at 10:10 a.m., today, 10/5.

A COMMON EIDER was seen from Poverty Beach in the first row of pilings on the Coast Guard Base, on 10/3.

A EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE was reported to be seen sitting on the wires on Cambridge Ave. in Cape May Point on 10/2.

Lastly, a LARK SPARROW was photographed at Stone Harbor Point on 10/3.

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 has returned to a seven day a week schedule. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Center for Research and Education on Rt. 47 in Goshen is open Tuesday- Sunday 9:30- 4:30.

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 $39 per year; $49 for families. You can call either center to become a member or visit. Become a member in person and youll receive a FREE gift (in addition to member discount in the stores).

Good Luck and Good Birding!

Just received a call that the hummingbird was seen at the same location at 10:10 a.m. on Friday 10/5/07.

Good luck for all who try for this bird, hopefully you'll have better luck than we did this morning. Thanks for the call Lloyd!

Below is our list of species seen at the Cape May Point State Park on Tuesday 10/2. Sorry this post is a little belated, our walk was cut short by the news of the Calliope up in Cumberland County. Which we did not see, of course. Since my days off are in the middle of the week this can make for a slightly delayed posting when domestic duties take precedence.

For those keeping tabs on weather and migration, well, there really has been no weather conducive to pushing migrants down to the Cape May peninsula. It's looking like next Tuesday and or Wednesday should bring about more weather for some good migration. Keep checking into the Birding Forecast for more updates.


Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 10/2/07
Number of species: 45

Canada Goose 5
Mute Swan 12
Gadwall 6
American Wigeon 15
Mallard 4
Blue-winged Teal 27
Northern Shoveler 15
Northern Pintail 5
Green-winged Teal 17
scoter sp. 15
Great Egret 1
Snowy Egret 20
Osprey 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 4
Killdeer 2
Greater Yellowlegs 5
Lesser Yellowlegs 130
Pectoral Sandpiper 21
Stilt Sandpiper 6
Short-billed Dowitcher 1
Laughing Gull 660
Herring Gull 43
Great Black-backed Gull 45
Common Tern 35
Forster's Tern 25
Royal Tern 32
Parasitic Jaeger 4
Rock Pigeon 55
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
American Crow 10
Fish Crow 15
Carolina Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 3
Carolina Wren 8
Gray Catbird 8
Palm Warbler 5
Eastern Towhee 1
Savannah Sparrow 2
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 70

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

Just received a call from our Center for Research and Education in Goshen. The humming bird is still being seen as of around 8:00 a.m. this morning. Birder's are still invited to look for the bird. See below posts for more detailed directions and information on viewing the bird.

Good Luck!

Karen Johnson just called me (7:00 a.m.) to report her Calliope Hummingbird is BACK. Details and photos are below, just scroll down. Karen says folks are still welcome to come look for it. Just park along Route 47, walk down her driveway, and BE SURE not to trample any plants. The bird has been in the sage to left of the house as you face the house from the driveway. The bird may have "disappeared" yesterday because too many people were looking for it, so anyone looking today should be sure to be still, wear neutral colors, and give the bird plenty of room to get to the sage and other nectar plants.

About the bay - continuing my pre-dawn "study" of nocturnal migration (which is really a pilot study for next year, and a chance to sharpen some flight-call i.d. skills), hardly anything was migrating this morning so I devoted one clicker to flight notes of any description (48 total), and one to the Black-crowned Night-Heron fly-out (42). The night-heron count jived very well with yesterday's running-total-in-my-head of 38, and I also detected 2 Gray-cheeked Thrushes and one Swainson's in re-directed flight at 6:23 a.m., headed east-northeast.

But there were some differences from just yesterday - no egrets, three Great-horned Owls instead of two, a screech-owl not heard yesterday, a Seaside Sparrow in the marsh giving it's long, high zeeeeeeeeeeezz note, some Sanderlings feeding along the shore. The tide was a bit higher, the sky a bit cloudier, and it all reminds me of one of my favorite things about birding: you never know what you will see.

The Calliope Hummingbird reported below has not been seen since 9:45 a.m.

The Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday hosted this's and that's adding up to 66 species. My personal favorite was the elegant drake Northern Pintail, still mostly in eclipse plumage, though the Peregrine over the lot at the end of the walk was certainly a bonus. The list is below.


Location: South Cape May Meadows
Observation date: 10/1/07
Notes: CMBO's Monday Meadows Walk
Number of species: 66
Canada Goose 50
Mute Swan 5
Gadwall 5
American Wigeon 10
American Black Duck 1
Mallard 35
Blue-winged Teal 5
Northern Shoveler 15
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 20
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 150
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 10
Little Blue Heron 1
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 10
Osprey 5
Northern Harrier 2
Cooper's Hawk 2
American Kestrel 5
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Killdeer 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 50
Sanderling 25
Semipalmated Sandpiper 2
Least Sandpiper 2
Pectoral Sandpiper 5
Long-billed Dowitcher 1
Laughing Gull 250
Ring-billed Gull 15
Herring Gull 50
Great Black-backed Gull 100
Common Tern 10
Forster's Tern 5
Royal Tern 25
Black Skimmer 2
Rock Pigeon 15
Mourning Dove 15
Chimney Swift 1
Belted Kingfisher 1
Northern Flicker 5
Eastern Phoebe 2
American Crow 10
Fish Crow 5
Tree Swallow 100
Carolina Wren 2
House Wren 1
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 5
Brown Thrasher 2
European Starling 200
Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Palm Warbler 10
Common Yellowthroat 5
Savannah Sparrow 5
Song Sparrow 5
Swamp Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 5
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 50
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

[Male Calliope Hummingbird, Karen Johnson's house north of North Dennis, October 2, 2007. Photo by Don Freiday. Click to enlarge.]

I started a little study this morning, armed with a clicker in each pocket, a red-beam flashlight, a notepad, and a can of Dr. Pepper. The right clicker was for Gray-cheeked Thrushes, the left for Swainson's Thrush; the rest I hoped to record on the notepad.

Standing on the Delaware Bayshore near a salt marsh, I counted nocturnal migrants and other birds from 5:37 to 6:37 a.m. Almost no warblers were flying, which is just as well since I can only identify a few of them by flight note, but quite a few thrushes were. I clicked 97 Gray-cheeked notes, and 46 Swainson's, but my sense was that the Gray-cheeked's were calling more often, so I was probably hearing each bird 4 times on average.

Everything was flying south, based on changing position of the calls, until about 6:15 when a group of 6 or so Gray-cheeked Thrushes came over very clearly heading northeast, towards land. This was very interesting, because the thrushes are not part of Cape May's diurnal morning flight, wherein warblers and others are seen flying northward in an apparent effort to find suitable habitat for the day before continuing migration. The thinking is that the thrushes engage in this re-directed flight, too, but they do it before dawn. If this is true, and it seems to be, I wonder if it is because thrushes, with their big dark eyes, see better at night? Or perhaps because the thrushes are faster fliers than warblers, they realize they are not where they want to be as light begins to lift, the same as other birds, but the thrushes make it back to suitable habitat faster.

The morning's list is below.


Location: Norbury's Landing
Observation date: 10/2/07
Notes: Began observations at 5:37, last nocturnal migrant heard was at 6:15, daytime calling began at 6:25 with mockingbird, winter wren and house wren, sunrise was 6:56. Tide low at 7:56, 66% of moon visible and waning, stationary high since front 3 days ago, winds light and tending to be from the nnw, less than 5% cloud cover.
Number of species: 22
Canada Goose 10
American Black Duck 1
Mallard 5
Great Blue Heron 5
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron 38 flyovers heading south along bayshore pre-dawn, probably to a roost rather than migrating
Clapper Rail 5 all in the marsh, not flyovers.
Semipalmated Plover 1
Great Horned Owl 2
House Wren 1
Winter Wren 1
Veery 5 nocturnal migrants, all apaprently going south, pre-6 a.m.
Gray-cheeked Thrush 25 Clicked 97 call notes, figure heard each bird average 4 times. Nocturnal migrants, most going south, but at 6:15 a group of about 6 passed definitely headed northeast, apparently pre-dawn re-directed flight.
Swainson's Thrush 15 clicked 46 call notes, but seemed to call with less frequency than Gray-cheekeds. Nocturnal migrants, all apparently heading south. Last one heard 6:15 a.m.
Hermit Thrush 2 Nocturnal migrants
Wood Thrush 2 Nocturnal migrants
Northern Parula 1 Nocturnal migrant
Blackpoll Warbler 1 Nocturnal migrant. Also 5-6 Warbler sp., this could have been one of the other zeeps, too
Savannah Sparrow 5 nocturnal migrants
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 5 nocturnal migrants
Purple Finch 3 nocturnal migrants
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Well first and foremost, those of you wishing to come to Cape May to see Monarch butterflies, you should come soon. We are at about peak and if this morning was any evidence, there are plenty of monarchs around. The winds over the next few days will not be very conducive to much migration at all but hopefully the monarchs will stick around. In thinking back about the walk this morning, I should have been keeping track of the number of monarchs we saw.

Either way, a few good friends and I walked Cape May Point this morning. Ya know, that's one of the best things about fall in Cape May. Not only do the birds pour through, but friends migrate to the peninsula as well. It's always nice to become reacquainted with birds and friends alike at this time of year.

Since the winds were not ideal (though NNE is still ok for bringing migrants to Cape May) we had a leisurely walk around the point. In fact a good amount of our birding was done from the platform at the end of Coral Ave. While we were up on the platform terns danced around in the wind in front of us. Many seems to be Common terns but there were Forster's terns mixed about. I included these species as simply observed on my eBird checklist as I could not be sure of exact numbers per species without my scope. Suffice to say the rips (the turbulent waters at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean) were alive with terns and gulls. Literally hundreds upon hundreds. Defenitely, nearly impossible to count by species at the distances these birds are at. In the mix was two (possibly three) Parasitic jeagers chasing the terns and gulls, looking for a pirated bit of food for a morning snack.

There were also a few hawks up and about, we had three Peregrine falcons head out over the bay. Remember these birds (peregrines) don't mind the water at all. In fact I have seen a peregrine up to 60 miles out to sea. Given the time of year, (peak peregrine time is upon us) if the winds switch to the SE with a front moving through, the days before the front passage is when you want to be here for the peregrine show. It was a similar situation in 2002 when I had my record peregrine day on the hawk watch. Let's hope Jessie is just as lucky!

Other species of interest would be the imm. Little blue heron which is still at the south end of Lilly Lake. By still, I mean that the bird (or at least a imm. little blue) has been in the same area for a few weeks now. There were warblers flying over head but not many giving obliging views. One of our best birds of the day (don't roll your eyes) was a White-breasted nuthatch. The reason that this bird is "good", well they don't breed on Cape Island (that I know of) and are typically winter visitors. It's not that they are a rare bird by any means, just that they are not common. The best part was that the white-breasted was on the top of a limb and a Red-breasted nuthatch was working the underside of the same limb. Literally, right beneath the white-breasted. A neat view and one I am pretty sure I have never seen before.

So, there you have it. As usual, the list of species seen is below.


Location: Cape May Point
Observation date: 10/1/07
Number of species: 61

Canada Goose 65
Mute Swan 20
American Wigeon 75
Mallard 4
scoter sp. 4 (too far out to tell if they were surf or black with just bins)
Common Loon 1
Double-crested Cormorant 186
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 1
Little Blue Heron 1
Osprey 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 7
Cooper's Hawk 3
Merlin 1
Peregrine Falcon 3
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Ruddy Turnstone 6
Sanderling 25
Ring-billed Gull 4
Herring Gull 12
Great Black-backed Gull 45
Common Tern X
Forster's Tern X
Royal Tern 12
Parasitic Jaeger 2
Rock Pigeon 12
Mourning Dove 16
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 13
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 16
American Crow 1
Fish Crow 35
Tree Swallow 25
Carolina Chickadee 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 7
American Robin 22
Gray Catbird 11
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 128
Cedar Waxwing 18
Northern Parula 2
Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Palm Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
American Redstart 1
Common Yellowthroat 3
Northern Cardinal 4
Bobolink 1
Red-winged Blackbird 33
House Finch 22
American Goldfinch 12
House Sparrow 5

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

I've been fortunate enough to witness many big flicker flights here in Cape May over the years. Like clockwork, they have again graced the south Jersey skies. There were Northern flickers everywhere! And, it still thrills me to see that many flickers in the sky together at once. In fact there were groups flying out at the Morning Flight, by the 20's at some points.

Given the number of birds moving through Higbee this morning most of my eBird numbers are more estimates than typical counts. It's hard to bird watch, count and then write down totals with out missing a bunch. It was nice to have some friends along to help point out things while I was writing. In fact a couple of my World Series of Birding teammates (actually all of the team was here over the weekend at some point) have been gracious enough to give me there list of species seen (for yesterday 9/29) and allowed me to post their numbers here on View from the Cape. I am jealous because between all of them they had 23 species of warbler! The list is not complete but you'll get a good feel for the number of species and individuals on Cape island yesterday. You'll also see why they are on my WSB team (i.e. great field birding partners)!!

So as the birding goes here in Cape May, today was pretty darned good. Birds were actually sitting in the trees even if for a brief moment or two. Long enough to identify the species at least. I did hear that the birding was equally as spectacular at the Cape May Point State Park. One theory discussed was wind switch to the NE early on helped in this location.

As usual, the list of birds today is below. The second list at the bottom is the list mentioned from friends. Suffice to say, the birding has been great the last few days. I hope that you were able to get out, where ever you may be and have enjoyed a bit of migration.

Location: Higbee Beach
Observation date: 9/30/07
Number of species: 50

Mallard 1
Great Blue Heron 13
Black-crowned Night-Heron 3
Osprey 2
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 6
American Kestrel 2
Merlin 1
Semipalmated Plover 12
Mourning Dove 6
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 225
Empidonax sp. 1
Eastern Phoebe 6
Red-eyed Vireo 8
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 3
Tufted Titmouse 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch 30
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 18
Veery 1
American Robin 2
Gray Catbird 35
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 1
Cedar Waxwing 35
Tennessee Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Magnolia Warbler 12
Black-throated Blue Warbler 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 12
Black-throated Green Warbler 8
Palm Warbler 3
Blackpoll Warbler 15
Black-and-white Warbler 8
American Redstart 12
Common Yellowthroat 6
Scarlet Tanager 2
Eastern Towhee 6
Northern Cardinal 5
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 2
Bobolink X
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Baltimore Oriole 2

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

Location: Cape Island
Observation date: 9/29/07
Notes: Jared, Zach, Dan & Maren's list for 9/29/07
Number of species: 66

American Wigeon X
Blue-winged Teal X
Great Egret X
Snowy Egret X
Osprey X
Bald Eagle X
Northern Harrier X
Sharp-shinned Hawk X
Cooper's Hawk X
American Kestrel X
Merlin X
Greater Yellowlegs X
Lesser Yellowlegs X
Sanderling X
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 2
Eastern Screech-Owl 1
Great Horned Owl 2
Whip-poor-will 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker X
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 4
Northern Flicker X
Eastern Wood-Pewee 6
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1
Least Flycatcher 1
Eastern Phoebe 11
Blue-headed Vireo 4
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch 21
House Wren 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10
Gray-cheeked Thrush 8
Swainson's Thrush 3
Wood Thrush 4
Brown Thrasher 7
Tennessee Warbler 3
Nashville Warbler 2
Northern Parula 40
Yellow Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 6
Magnolia Warbler 73
Cape May Warbler 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 48
Yellow-rumped Warbler 25
Black-throated Green Warbler 10
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Pine Warbler 1
Prairie Warbler 2
Palm Warbler 240
Palm Warbler (yellow) 15
Blackpoll Warbler 14
Black-and-white Warbler 39
American Redstart 52
Ovenbird 2
Northern Waterthrush 6
Common Yellowthroat 32
Hooded Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Scarlet Tanager 3
Savannah Sparrow 15
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow 1 (in Cape May Point)
Song Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal X
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 3

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

George Myers sent this note to me about the CMBO Villas WMA walk, which was held this morning.


"It was a morning for Palm Warblers! They were constantly overhead and in the trees. Lesser numbers of Yellow-rumps and a few Blackpolls. Northern Flickers continued to be numerous.

Other goodies:
2 Red-headed Woodpeckers
8+ Red-breasted Nuthatches
4 White-breasted Nuthatches
4 Eastern Phoebes
2 Hairy Woodpeckers
3 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers
1 Blue Grosbeak
2 Indigo Buntings
1 Cooper's Hawk
5 Sharp-shinned Hawks
4 Osprey
1 Peregrine Falcon
10 Wood Ducks

On a butterfly note: One Willow Oak had at least 2 dozen Red Admirals roosting in it.
Also, White-throated Sparrows (2) in the yard."