I don’t mind trading birds… it’s only fair. Last night the winds over the region turned northeasterly which can only mean one thing: INSIDE PASSAGE. Here’s the radar from 7:30pm last night through 5:00am this morning. UPDATE: Looks like some of the New England birds DID make it to Cape May- this place is hopping!
Frames are every 1/2 hour. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
High pressure parked over the region last night caused strong NW flow over New England, turning NE over the mid-Atlantic. The effect of such a system was that heavy migration out of New England headed SE down the coast, only to head back inland over the mid-Atlantic. Birds originating over NJ, of course, headed straight for the SSW throughout most of the night and continue into this morning. Without any major weather system present to concentrate birds, we’re dependent on geography as the major stopover factor- so inland spring migrant traps will be best this morning. Hotspots along the Delaware River such as Wheelabrator wildlife refuge and Palmyra Cove should be excellent choices for today. Inland ridges too should be holding birds, including Chimney Rock in Central NJ. Hawk Mountain should be seeing some Broad-winged Hawks today- and I’m a little sad to think that Cape May won’t be getting much of them this year given the current wind forecast. But, such is the give and take of migration. On that note, enjoy the birds Sandy!
Good Birding
David
4 responses to “It’s a ‘Sandra Keller’ morning (UPDATE)”
Yep! A nice change with excellent variety inland here. My usual mid morning Sat. start. I hit the Greenwald park area again to see the changes from Friday morning. Many changes plus I hit Evans Pond and the Croft Farm area which are 1/4 mile if that to the east along the same waterways.
1 YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER
1 LEAST FLYCATCHER
3 EASTERN KINGBIRDS
1 GNATCATCHER
2 SWAINSON’S THRUSHES
1 HERMIT THRUSH
10 ROBINS – low number!
1 PHILA. VIREO
2 RED-EYED VIREOS
1 NASHVILLE WARBLER
1 PARULA
1 YELLOW WARBLER
2 CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS
1 MAGNOLIA WARBLER
1 CAPE MAY WARBLER
1 BLACK-THROATED BLUE
2 BLACKPOLLS
4 REDSTARTS
1 NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH
1 COMMON YELLOWTHROAT
2 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS
25 0r so GOLDFINCHES
One of these mornings I will get backto Wheelabrator.
As an addendum to yesterday, re: birds at Sandy Hook. Was there today and in talking with other birders the total warbler species count for yesterday stands at 24 species instead of 19 species. One of the additions is a Mourning Warbler. Also yesterday was flyover Dickcissel.
For today our species count was 11 sp. of warbler including nice looks at Tennessee and male Wilson’s. We also had crippling views of a Philadelphia Vireo that caught 2 insects and ate them as we watched. Another Philly V. was seen by others. We had a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Eastern Wood Pewee, number of Red Eyed Vireo,Indigo Bunting and Field Sparrow. There were absolutely no sparrows seen yesterday so some birds must have stopped at Sandy Hook today. The other birds may well be holdovers from yesterday. With NE winds forecast for awhile its back to waiting for better conditions.
In eastern PA, I had a pretty decent morning. Only a handful of warblers were on the ground, but many, many more were way overhead engaging in inland “morning flight” and could be heard calling throughout the morning. I had two warbler firsts for the season, a Cape May Warbler and a Palm Warbler. Other warbler species included Black-throated Green, Black-throated Blue, Northern Parula, Magnolia, Blackpoll, Nashville, and Black-and-white. Other migrant birds included Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and lots of moving Blue Jays. The Broad-winged Hawks started up very early, and were already forming kettles in the early morning hours. Red-eyed Vireo numbers have definitely decreased since last week, but I did manage to find a single Philadelphia Vireo in a flock with several REVIs.
At DeKorte park in Lyndhurst, Bergen County, I had my first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the season. In the morning, there were hundreds of Double-crested Cormorants on the mudflat out by the NJ Turnpike. I couldn’t get a very precise count as I was only using binoculars, but I would estimate it the numbers at around 500. All through the morning and early afternoon, there was a lot of Cormorant activity in the area. I imagine it continued after I went home. 🙂
Other warblers: Yellow, Common Yellowthroat, Magnolia, Redstart, Palm
Raptors: 2 Peregrines, 3 Kestrels, 1 Adult Bald Eagle, 1 Harrier, and at one point I had 4 Ospreys at once.
Only a handful of shorebirds – the water at DeKorte has been very high post-August and post-Irene. Still, fewer than I saw last week.
No other obvious migrants.