Thursday, August 27, 2009

Savannah, Parula and Worm at Higbee; Baird's and Eagle at State Park

Norbury's Landing was almost silent in the dark hours of morning, flight note wise, a bit of a surprise given the northwest winds. Morning Flight at Higbee was slowish but with enough birds to be interesting, the bulk of course being American Redstarts, Black-and-white Warblers and Northern Waterthrushes, with a Worm-eating, Northern Parula, and Blackburnian (latter picked by Glen Davis) adding interest. A flock of Stilt Sandpipers flew over the canal, and both Western and White-rumped Sandpipers were in the pool atop the dike. Again, the trail up to the dike is miserable; we recommend the platform below.

CMBO's Bird Walk for all People enjoyed an adult Bald Eagle over Cape May Point State Park, as well as both teal in Bunker Pond and several Black Terns. We also enjoyed the three Double-crested Cormorants that joined a flock of Glossy Ibis crossing the bay, for a nice comparision. Michael O'Brien and Louise Zemaitis later reported a Baird's Sandpiper in the third plover pond (the one between the state park and the meadows) found on the Neotropical Express workshop. The full list for the CMBO walk is below.

Watching the weather, Tropical Storm Danny seems currently to be tracking out to sea, and the next cold front looks like Sunday-Monday.

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 8/27/09
Notes: CMBO Bird Walk for All People
Number of species: 52

Canada Goose 30
Mute Swan 20
American Black Duck 3
Mallard 15
Blue-winged Teal 1
Green-winged Teal 3
Double-crested Cormorant 30
Great Egret 8
Snowy Egret 4
Green Heron 2
Glossy Ibis 15
Turkey Vulture 5
Osprey 8
Bald Eagle 1
Semipalmated Plover 3
Killdeer 1
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Sanderling 10
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5
Least Sandpiper 20
Laughing Gull 75
Ring-billed Gull 1
Herring Gull 5
Great Black-backed Gull 5
Black Tern 3
Common Tern 10
Forster's Tern 2
Royal Tern 1
Rock Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 20
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Eastern Kingbird 10
White-eyed Vireo 1
American Crow 5
Fish Crow 5
Purple Martin 50
Tree Swallow 100
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Barn Swallow 50
Carolina Chickadee 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 5
European Starling 5
Yellow Warbler 5
Northern Waterthrush 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Bobolink 25
Red-winged Blackbird 25
American Goldfinch 5
House Sparrow 5

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