An misty grey early-morning turn around the point was not without reward today.

The biggest surprise was an apparently juvenile Brown Pelican flying relatively high seaward, just over the jetties. It kept on heading due south-southeast as far as I could watch. It was in headed in the same direction as a decent Gannet flight (ie almost without exception heading out of the bay-but the Gannets were a bit further out.)

Several hundred Surf Scoter were also headed the same way. There was one notable in-bound migrant species today, however, and that was the first Bottlenosed Dolphins I’ve seen in 09. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Walking around Lilly Lake also provided a real surprise, in the form of a female Yellow-throated Warbler creeping around the heavier limbs of an Oak with a good mixed flock of Butterbutts, Palms Kinglets, and Gnatcatchers. Yellow-throateds are not at all common spring migrants on Cape Island (in fact they are not at all common fall migrants!) The Yellow-throated was also surprising in being one fo the yellow-lored (dominica) race, which is interesting. While I nearly always turn up an albilora in the State Park at some point in the spring, the local breeders usually just seem to arrive on the breeding grounds, and the local birds have been around for several weeks at this point. She did seem rather beat, I imagine the incredible, torrential thunderstorms of the night before had something to do with this-poor girl was downright sluggish.

A female Orchard Oriole feeding in some very low ornamentals, and a couple of Parulas, Prairies, Yellows, and Common Yellowthroats here and there around the point were a bit more expected.

Swallows continue in good number and variety around Lilly Lake, an Eastern Kingbird was on a stub at Cape Island Creek, and there were dueling House Wrens at the Point and the fields at Higbee’s. Ditto for White-eyed Vireos. There were also excellent numbers of Brown Thrashers singing all over the point.

There were far fewer finches and sparrows about today, and while the sea-watching started out great, it shut off once the rain started-which is kind of odd.

There were still thousands of Scoter and Gannets, and lots and lots of Red-throated Loons first thing, but by mid afternoon, they were nowhere to be found really. Also worth mentioning were a fair number of Forster’s Terns, more Royals going by than one might think considering the date, and a nice gang of Skimmers (nearly entirely young of the year) which were hanging out near second ave. Six Great Corms on the pilings at Poverty Beach were the largest congregation I have yet to see in a favoured wintering site.

One Yellow-breasted Chat at Higbee’s was still hanging in, but the large numbers of White-throats, Song Sparrows, Goldfinches and Siskins of yesterday seem to have moved on.

There were, however, a sizeable bunch of about 60 American Goldfinches hanging out around the pines at the Point. and a few small groups of Siskins- but nothing like the streaming flocks of yesterday. Most interestingly, the Goldfinches were all feeding on the cones themselves again, like so many diminutive White-winged Crossbills. One can easily see how this sort of adaptation might have been rapidly derived by the very plastic Carduelines.

A couple of Fox Sparrows were here and there, and a young female Sapsucker livened up a damp turn around the Point. She seemed to think the Basketball hoop at the Pavillion Circle was a fine place to forage, so perhaps not the sharpest tack in the Sphryapicus box, and I have my doubts if she will make it back to the breeding grounds next spring…

Cave Swallows were easy enough to see today, and were over Lilly lake, but really put on a show over the Ponds in the State Park. In the light rain, they came very close to a solitary observer standing still, and it was even possible to age them.

Firstly, apologies for a lack of updates-it is that busy time of year, with little time for living, let alone writing. Following are a couple of thoughts from the week past (which, from the protestations of readers, one would think was an eternity! Kidding aside, I extend a sincere “Thank you”, it is nice to know that folks are reading, and the disappointment voiced by a lack of updates is certainly flattering!)

By far the most inteteresting thing I saw as a result of Tropical Storm Hannah was a Manta Ray (!!!) which breached three times just off South Cape May on Saturday. The first spalsh was all I saw at first, which I automatically assumed was a result of a cetacean or five. When the culprit leapt again, I (nearly) involuntarily yelled a resounding “Wholly SHIT!! as it was clearly a nice-sized Manta, with a disk spanning approximately 8 feet or so. I’ve never seen a Manta Ray in Jersey, and never seen one from shore ever. The flattened “horns”, wire-thin tail, and perfectly bi-coloured pattern were easy to see, albeit in mid air- the impressive animal cleared the water completely. I was most surprised, as the water has only recently gotten into the seventies.

The other really surprising sighting I’ve had during the last week was of an Eastern Mole, which, before the rain of this weekend, must’ve been driven in desperation by hunger, and dry, compacted soil to the surface.

Prior to Hannah, the last time it rained in Cape May was the tenth of August, believe it or not, and I imagine the Mole was having a hard time finding subterannean earthworms. It was squirming around in the grass, using its fossorially adapted form to sort of swim/burrow through the matted roots and stems. A free-ranging, live mole above ground is a rare sight, and despite the numerous Mole-hills seen and stepped on daily, this is the first one I’ve ever seen like this at Higbee’s. Just shows to go you what novelties one can find, even in the most familiar and well-trodden of patches.

Likewise, the day after the storm, the biggest thrill I got was out of a Silver-haired Bat which flew over the ponds at the point, while I was admiring Buff-breasted Sandpipers with some friends. A largish bat, and though not a Lasiurus proper (bring a Lasionectyris), still in the group of vespertillionids commonly refered to as “leaf-bats”. The large-size, dark pelage, angled, Tringa-like wrist, and confident flight style all readily identified the solitary limb-rooster.

Now the last time I was able to hoof out to Stone Harbor Point was Thursday last, and there was still a large creche of Royal Terns waddling around Champagne Island. I suppose the Cape May birding mafia is entirely too engaged in the masturbatory exercises of rarity hunting, compulsive web-site promotion, and photo-posting to actually pay attention to nature in these parts to care…..

While last year the colony was too small to produce a proper creche, last week there was a group of 60-80 waddling around, like a proper Royal Tern Colony. For those who may not be acquainted with the breeding biology of Royals, they are a communal, altruistic species, and the adults surround the flightless nestling, in a defensive “herd” which travels with the colonie’s earth-bound young. They are fed by everyone. Kind of like the groups of young penguins one sees on nature shows…but not quite.

Despite the hype, tropical storm Hannah produced next to nothing compared to other storms which were completely ignored by birdwatchers recently and unashamedly trying to make names for themselves in Cape May. While I hear there were a very few of the “tropical” Terns after I left Sunset Blvd. a darkish juv Pomarine-type Jaeger was the only storm waif of note I saw on Sunday.

And while I left for work before a Frigate occurred at Higbee’s this morning, and very much should’ve liked to have seen it, a few Sternas and a frigate make for a pretty lame storm-bird total! Frigates are a casual occurence which one may expect in NJ after any good bout of southerlies, really.

The real show was the incredibe American Redstart flight at Higbee’s this morning. If there was one there was easily a thousand. Red-eyed Vireos had a decent flight as well. Other noteworthies included Dickcissel, a Golden-wing, Connecticut, and some spectacular views of Blackburnians, Black-throated Greens, Chestnut-sideds, BT- Blues, Cape Mays, Nashvilles, etc. etc…

Otherwise, and in no particualr order, Egrets and Herons have been around the point in impressive numbers. Waterfowl increase daily, with Shovelers, Green-winged Teal and Wigeon turning up with greater frequency, and Blue-winged Teal in impressive numbers. Eastern Kingbirds have diminshed to a trickle while Bobolinks are still going strong. Empids have well-passed their peak, and despite a nice showing of Yellow-bellieds late last week, have been replaced by Pewees. Great Crests are also scarce. Pectoral Sandpipers are difficult to miss, a handsome Juv. Baird’s Sandpiper had been hanging around, until recently, Buff-brested’s are on the dry beach Grass, and CMBO and continues to obviously be threatened by its own incompetence, and my mere presence.

As has been observed by many, Cape May is hardly what it once was. I am reminded of the “Reign of Thirty Tyrants”, the period which followed the glories of the Julio-claudians and Flavians, in Rome. Without Sibleys and Lehmans, and with most of the better birders and naturalists either eschewing the nasty birding “scene” or being too busy traveling for tours (or like myself, just plain earning a living) the current Cape May birding establishment of CMBO/NJAS is clearly suffering from the effects of its own mediocrity, and I may say, the pathologies of its research associates, Shop-keepers, and other administrators and directors.

Pity really.

There were some birds to be had in Cape May today. However, perhaps the oddest “bird” of the day was a surprise Giant Swallowtail along the Plover Ponds and dune int he state Park. A southern species which overshoots, its chocolate background colour and the bold horizontal yellow bar across the upperwings showed very nicely.

Birdwise, a bit of spishing right by the car park at Hidden Valley early this morning quickly drew in a flock of no fewer than 48 Baltimore Orioles. Seeing that many orioles pour in to basically one cherry tree in droves was kind of something else.

Otherwise, given the relative paucity of Warblers, there were a surprising number of Red-eyed vireos just about everywhere. Even more surprising than that were the two Philly Vireos in the hedgerows at Hidden Valley. One was, typically, trailing a pod of Red-eyes as they worked their way north. The other, was all by its lonesome. Sweet-faced little things, Philly Vireos are an understatedly attractive bird we don’t get to see enough of. I do find it interesting that it often happens that they turn up on a bum wind.

There were plenty of sport-fishing boats just off the point today, and they, and the terns were apparently over a decent shoal of fish. While other more expected terns were well-represented in the swarm, there was a very nice concentration of 30 Black Terns in the mix. apparentyl as good as fish finders, one boat had ten alone around it, and another was being circled by 8. more than half were young of the year.

Other Black Terns were sitting on the beach, or the Bunker Pond.

Otherwise, a Common Nighthawk heading north at Higbee’s Beach was only the second I’ve seen this fall, and though unimpressive in numbers, there was a fine diverstiy of Warblers about, including Canada, Parula, Black-throated Blue, and dwindling numbers of the more summery migrants. And a white-eyed drake Shoveler was hanging out on the Bunker Pond with both teal and some Gadwall.

And while Philadelphia and Red-eyed Vireos are heading south, some local White-eyes are still feeding young. Likewise, though bran and cinnamon coloured migrant juv Blue Grosbeaks are turning up, local adults are still singing, and newbie fledgling Indigo Buntings are still barely flying. And speaking of the nesting season-some fledgeling cowbirds are still being fed by hapless surrogate Cardinals and Carolina Wrens. Even as migrant gangs and flocks of Cowbirds (and other Icterids) are independent and heading south.

Today was largely underwhelming bird-wise in Cape May, at least as far as I could tell.

That being said, I did manage to find:

5 or six Gannets
1 Light-morph Parasitic Jaeger
1 Black-billed Cuckoo-which was fliying directly and like a bat out of hell down the length of Higbee’s Beach, just over tree-top level.
10 Yellow Warblers- more or less.
and a fine bunch of migrant shorebirds, including a couple of Pectorals, and a few more Juvenile Spotteds.

Gnatcatcher numbers were no great shakes today, however, juvenile Yellow-breasted Chats were seen about as easily as Chats can be.

Also worth noting were some lovely red-scapulared adult Western Sandpipers at the overflow pond at the base of Stone Harbor Point.

CJV

While I really only gave it a quick turn today I managed to come up with a few sightings worth mentioning.

A Greater Shearwater which came in from the South was remarkable on two counts:

Firstly it is the first Greater Shearwater I’ve seen this summer; and secondly-

A dark Parasitic Jaeger quickly rose from the surface to harry the Shearwater for a very brief bit. It quickly ended, as the Shearwater gave a remarkably agile evasive manouvre, and then just high tailed it in the direction it had been headed to begin with. The Jaeger just settled back down on the water once it clearly passed out of grasp.

I don’t know which is more fortuitous, the mere presence of a Greater Shearwater, or the fact that the Shearwater randomly crossed the path of a roosting jaeger. If the Shearwater hadn’t passed that way, I never would’ve been able to see the Jaeger.

Two Gull-billed Terns which flew over Sunset Blvd just near Steven’s St., clearly intent on Pond Creek at low tide to hunt Fiddler Crabs, caused me to do a bit of “holistic birding”, and follow them. (In this case, “holistic” applies to Dirk Gently and his style of driving. For those not familiar with holistic detecting as per Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently, the holistic detective, just randomly followed the cars ahead of him,rather than get directions, reasoning that eventually, they would take you to where you wanted to go.

A Bobolink, a nice showing of Shorebirds, a juv Little Blue Heron, and a Gull-billed Tern just walking on the mudflats hunting Fiddler Crabs were what I found.

Now, the Little Blue was the second juvenile I’ve seen around the last couple of days, and among the shorebirds were at least five Spotted Sandpipers on the creek. Noteworthy among them was the first juvenile Spotted I’ve seen this fall.

There was also a very nice clock-wise movement of Swallows rounding the dune in the Sunser Beach neighborhood. Mainly Barn and Tree Swallows, it was the largest movement of Trees thus far. Probably cause Tree Swallows are so abundant, and migrate well into late fall, many do not realize that the bulk actuallly go through in late Summer- the flocks of October are a but a shadow of those of August.

The most interesting behavioural note, Shearwater and Jaeger interactions notwithstanding again goes to the Kleptoparasitism of a Common Tern in the Meadows.

This time, the Tern turned on a Kingfisher, and vainly tried to get the anxiously rattling thing to give up the fish. While most fish thievery is Larid on Larid, or Stercorarid on Larid at least I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a Common Tern try to rob a Kingfisher before.

Like the Gulls in Finding Nemo so very well illustrated, there must just be something of the “MINE!” inherent in the personality of Larids. Somebody’s got something they want, they just try to take it.

CJV

The most interesting birds I could squeak up around Cape May today were a couple of Gannets off the Point, a continuing Hooded Merg at the Meadows, and a single Gull-biled tern there as well.

Now, Gull-billed Terns are one of my favorite creatures, and though for a time they were unimaginatively lumped and lost, like Hydropogne and Thalasseus, in with most other American terns into “Sterna” the AOU has restored its monogeneric status, and the bird again is known scientifically as Gelochelidon nilotica.

I have always loved this name. In Greek, Gelochelidon quite literally means Laughing Swallow. I can imagine few monikers more charming, or more poetically apt to describe the call and form of these predatory terns.

The nilotica part of course refers to the River Nile, the delta of which is excellent Gull-bill habitat, and from whence the type was collected.

“Laughing Swallow of the Nile”?

The charm of this name is only exceeded by the living animals themselves- dashing, hidden-eyed bandits of beasts possessed of more than their fair share of personality.

Gull-billed Tern is rather boring in comparison, and not at all descriptive really. Stout-billed Tern, or Laughing Tern would defintiely get my vote over “Gull-billed” any day.

CJV

There was excellent birding and excellent birds to be had in Cape May today, and it also happened to be a spectacularly pleasant one on which to be out and about doing just about anything out-of-doors.

By far the most exciting find were three Sandwich Terns among the 200 Royal Terns and well over a thousand Black Skimmers on Champagne Island. While three Sandwich terns here in late June is not all that surprising, the exciting thing was that two were breeding plumaged adults, apparently going through some kind of courtship manouvres.

They were marching together in circles, quick-step time, side by side, wings slightly drooped, bushy crests raised, and necks arched. They kept this up for some time.

The interesting thing is that Sandwich Terns apparently form pair-bonds well before arriving on breeding turf. However the biirds showed no aggressive interaction, and stayed glued to each other’s side the entire timeI watched, even when not marching around together.

The other Sandwich was a first year, ousted from the middle of one cluster of Royal Tern nests by a garrulous Royal. The young Sandwich just flew a few feet to the edge of the nesters, and stayed within very close proximity to the colony. Last year, Sandwich Terns were landing among the actual nesting Royal Terns too, not just hanging out with the loafers as is typical of misfit terns.

I should not at all be surprised if Sandwich Tern is not among the next, if not the next bird added to NJ’s list of breeding birds.

Otherwise, there were 11 Brown Pelicans in that neighborhood, two roosting on the inlet side of Great Channel, the others all winging north off-shore, six of those being in one flock.

A young Great Cormorant left the flock of 50 roosting Double-cresteds roosting on the sandbars on the west side of the point, and headed to the north over the sea. This is the first I’ve seen or heard of an over-summering Great Corm at Hereford Inlet this year.

There was a decent little flock of shorebirds at the overflow pond at the base of Stone Harbor Point, including, 3 Red Knot, 9 Ruddy Turnstones, 11 Black-bellied Plovers, 13 Semipalmated Plovers, 3 Short-billed Dowitchers, 12 Western Sandpipers, and 5 Semipalmated Sandpipers.

One Tricolored Heron was at Nummy’s Island, but otherwise, the place belonged to the flies.

Cape Island was its effervescent summertime self and very birdy today.

I get the feeling that Yellow-billed Cuckoo eggs must’ve hatched. One because Yellow-billed Cuckoos were incredibly obvious, flying back and forth around the fields at Higbee’s in a way which they weren’t even just yesterday, and carrying food; and two because I found the discarded shell of a hatched Yellow-billed Cuckoo egg just near the Pond there today.

One Roseate Tern-beautiful bird, was hunting off the Point this morning, and the same bachelor flock of 4 Surf Scoters persists. Gannets also seemed to be a bit more in evidence today, I managed about 6, including one second-year type. Later, towards evening, there was a most unexpected, adult Black Tern hunting the rips. Odd time of year for one.

There were 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the South Cape May Beach front this evening, including the dark near-adult and two second summers.

A first-summer Yellow-crowned Night Heron at the Meadows was a bit unexpected as it came in from the north and circled the place two or three times before settling in. A first summer Black-crown was also there and an adult Black-crown was in the park.

The same footless Lesser Yellowlegs was in the Meadows, but the Willets of the last fortnight have apparently departed.

Best of all, there were two broods of four Piping Plovers, one very new- maybe a day or two old, the other a couple of weeks old, and maybe a week away from fledgeling, give or take. With the 8 chicks there were 16 Pipers on the Beach tonight.

Numbers of endangered species aside, the scene at South Cape May was just about idyllic this evening.

In a lowering sun, with a perfect breeze, the adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, flushed by a walker, unwittinlgy settled too close to the newborn Piping Plovers. As they ran behind his bright yellow legs and the parents mobbed his ankles, one of the Dolphins, unaccompanied by newborn calves, decided smacking his flukes was the best idea to come into his delphinic mind, and began pounding the waves with all his might, like a beaver on steroids, to the tune of 30 smacks.

I don’t know which was better, four adorably wide eyed newborn Piping Plovers incongruously behind a well-plumaged European stray, or the echoing cetacean ebullience. Perhaps its best not to try and tease it apart-the whole scene was a gesamtkunstwerk of Maw Nature at her finest.

CJV

A bit of sea-watching off the Point this morning produced 4 Brown Pelicans, and a first summer Northern Gannet, and some decent mixed Tern flocks, but little out of the ordinary.

Perhaps given the very mild day, and cooling breeze, birds seemed to be singing a bit today, and I think Indigo Buntings, judging from the numbers of dueling, song-flying males, and well-mature fledgelings about, are presently engaged in brood number two.

There were no fewer than 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the beach at South Cape May, including two second summers, and the very blackish-mantled just about adult. He seems to prefer the area just to the east of the bunker, and has reliably been found foraging in the surf here for some time now.

By far the most unexpected bird though was a White-rumped Sandpiper in the second Plover Pond at the State Park, foraging on the mud just near the resident Killdeer and Piping Plovers. I don’t have much faith in this bird’s reproductive success this year!

CJV

Providing a very odd late June record, an immature male Hooded Merganser was admirably found by Keith Seager this morning in the Cove Pool at the Meadows, reached from the dead-end Mt. Vernon Avenue.

The bird was most convincingly imitating a clod of marsh while it slept among the little islands there.

While odd late-summer records of non-breeding Hooded Mergs are not entirely unheard of (like the one who was in the State Park last summer), breeding-season records are more unusual. While clearly a non-breeder, the 19th of June is a downright odd time of year for one to be on Cape Island.

Otherwise, a bit of seawatching from the Point revealed a most cooperative hunting Roseate Tern. While Forster’s are very long-tailed, the stream-linedness of this bird made it stand out immediately. While Forsters seem to show a bit of rough edge on the vent, the lines of a Roseate are all aerodynamic. If the elegance of the jizz, and the black bill were not enough, the concolorous whitish of the beast, with no contrasting rump, made it more than a bit obvious as it flew by.

Wonderful bird.

Three male Surf Scoters were around Second Avenue, and I think there are a few more Gadwall around Cape Island than I had thought. There were five in the Cove Pool today, and there were five in the Lighthouse Pond the last time I looked. When added to the duos and trios in the Meadows and the Plover Ponds, it seems like there are more like just shy of 20 hanging out at Land’s End.

CJV

keep looking »

Recently Written

• Excellent Bayshore Birding: Lots of Shorebirds, Gulls, Silly numbers of Turkeys, and a Vesper Sparrow
• Dolphins, a Brown Pelican, A Cape Island Yellow-throated Warbler and a nice little “fall” around the point in the mist
• Some Eagle notes, etc.
• LAGU in Cape May, and a few other early spring notes
• After the snow in Cape May
• Lots and lots of ducks around Cape May
• Flowering Maples
• News and Notes from Cape May; Black-headed Gull, White-winged Crossbills, continuing Eurasian Wigeon, etc.
• Some nice looks at Short-eared Owls, etc.
• A seal, a balmy day, and the colour of a randy Mallards feet

Categories

• Beach Nesters
• behaviour
• birding norms
• Black Skimmers
• Breeding Birds
• Butterflies
• Champagne Island
• conservation
• Fall Migration
• Fish Crows
• Gulls
• Hawks
• Herons
• Herps
• ID
• Jaegers
• Mammals
• Not-birds
• Owls
• Piping Plovers
• raptors
• Rarities
• Royal Terns
• Rusty Blackbirds
• Seawatching
• Shorebirds
• Spring Migration
• Terns
• Uncategorized
• Warblers
• Waterfowl
• Winter Birds

Archives

• April 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• December 2008
• November 2008
• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008

Blogroll

• ABA “Peeps” - excellent birding updates from the American Birding Association
• American Bird Conservancy - dedicated to bird conservation
• American Museum of Natural History - specimen-based evolutionary, & biological research at its finest
• American Ornithologists Union
• Art & Science Collaborations, Inc. (ASCI) - Collaborations in…you guessed it!
• Ben Johnson Art - some fine photo-realism from a local artist
• Bent’s Life Histories-familiar birds - an edited and synoptic version of Bent’s volumes, an invaluable resource nevertheless
• Bill Hubick Photography - exceptional photos and website from a fine fellow
• Birdlife International - world bird conservation at large
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ - people who actually work hard on conservation in NJ
• ebird
• Huffington Post - commentary by reasonable Americans
• New Jersey birding - Birding in NJ
• Pioneer Birding - excelent blog from the commonwealth and beyond
• Point Reyes Bird Observatory Conservation Science - a legitimate Bird Observatory
• Portland Bird Observatory and Field Centre - another legitimate Bird Observatory
• Punkbirder-the unsound approach - We need a lot more “punk-birding” here in the States
• Save the Albatross - if 100,000 people were slaughtered per year, we’d call it genocide…
• Shorebirder - nice blog from CT
• Sibley Guides Notebook - better than the artwork even
• Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center - Dedicated to research for migratory birds
• Surfbirds - world birding news
• The Nietzsche Family Circus - “Beyond Good & Evil”-just hilarious juxtapositions
• The Onion - America’s “finest” news source-brilliant satire
• The Story of Stuff - will make you never want to shop again…

Admin

• Login
• Wordpress
• XHTML

Search