It’s just past dawn. You hear a weak, thin note from somewhere
overhead. Your eyes catch sight
of a small bird flying by rapidly.
What was it?
Impossible, you say? Not for elite birders! Sure, you won’t catch
every field mark, and the sounds aren’t full songs or even familiar
chip notes. But experts combine knowledge of flight calls with
observations of shape, flight style, snippets of color pattern, and
a thorough understanding of seasonal migration patterns. CMBO
researchers will be utilizing all these skills as they conduct a
thorough, quantitative study of songbird migration. CMBO naturalists
will be on hand to point out birds, describe the research process,
and share some of the secrets of these difficult identification
challenges - called the “Cutting Edge of Birding” by Pete Dunne.
Many songbirds, particularly warblers, are nocturnal migrants.
However, in certain coastal areas such as Cape May, thousands of
songbirds make brief migratory flights just after sunrise following
fall cold fronts. What’s most fascinating about these morning
flights is that birds are not flying south as one would ex
pect.
They’re flying north! This morning flight phenomenon has caught the
attention of many birders and ornithologists over the years,
including Witmer Stone who referred to the massive northward
migration of flickers and smaller songbirds as one of the most
striking ornithological sights of the region.
Why morning flight occurs is still unclear. However, like other
migration events in Cape May, songbird migration is weather
dependent. On some days few birds are seen; on others, thousands may
be counted. Exceptional flights in excess of 100,000 birds have been
recorded (October 16, 1990 & October 18, 1995).
In recent years, ambitious birders have gathered at Higbee to
sharpen their skills in what must be birding’s toughest challenge:
the flight identification of fall warblers. In 2003, after several
years of volunteer counts, CMBO institutionalized the morning flight
count by making it part of our research agenda.
We’ve counted hawks and seabirds at Cape May for many years. These
counts have provided crucial information on changes in bird
populations. Conservation decisions are based on the data from these
counts. The Mornin
g Flight project is part of a groundbreaking study
that will allow us to monitor migrating songbirds.
Morning flight counts provide one bit of information. Our
research team also uses sensitive weather radar to track the
movements of migratory birds. A third study uses acoustical
monitoring. Microphones pointed toward the sky actually record the
nocturnal flight calls of migrating birds. The recorded calls are
translated, resulting in solid data about what birds have migrated
over designated sites.
This three-part study will help us examine the abundance,
distribution, and species composition of the nocturnal flights. New
Jersey Audubon Society’s Cape May Bird Observatory is the only
organization in North America conducting this pioneering research.
Tom Johnson is CMBO's 2011 Morning Flight Counter. Tom has been watching and learning about birds since childhood. More recently, he has also enjoyed photographing birds, writing about birds, counting birds, and traveling to see birds, but he won't rule
out dinners by candlelight or long walks on the beach. Road trips across North America and southern South America were important in fueling his interest. Field research on owls, swallows, shorebirds, and gulls has helped focus his passion with a hint of science. In the future, Tom would like to work in a capacity to promote conservation both in North America and further afield.