Birding Cape May Point - Saturday, January 23 2010

Karl Lukens et. al. report:

Twenty nine degrees and clear; 12 participants. Still lots of ducks on Lighthouse (east and west) Ponds. Usual suspects, plus the Redhead and the 2 drake Eurasian Wigeons, pleased everyone. Raptors were also around including perched and flying Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks, 2 adult Bald Eagles and a Peregrine Falcon. - Karl (Kathy, Roger, Tom)

Location: Cape May Point
Observation date: 1/23/10
Notes: CMBO Trip-K,K&RH,T,+12.Clr,30,ENE10.
Number of species: 47

Canada Goose 35
Mute Swan 10
Tundra Swan 6
Gadwall 70
Eurasian Wigeon 2
American Wigeon 70
American Black Duck 1
Mallard 70
Northern Shoveler 12
Northern Pintail 2
Redhead 1
Ring-necked Duck 12
Black Scoter 35
Hooded Merganser 10
Ruddy Duck 4
Red-throated Loon 20
Black Vulture 11
Turkey Vulture 10
Bald Eagle 2 adults
Northern Harrier 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Peregrine Falcon 1
American Coot 125
Herring Gull 5
Great Black-backed Gull 4
Rock Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 5
Carolina Chickadee 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1 /h
Carolina Wren 6
American Robin 15
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 4
European Starling 75
Cedar Waxwing 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Song Sparrow 3
White-throated Sparrow 10
Northern Cardinal 4
Red-winged Blackbird 25
House Finch 12
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 10

Raptors of the Delaware Bayshore features Rough-legged Hawk - Monday, January 18 2010

Dave Lord et. al. report:

"A pleasant day and a lot of birds greeted those who joined the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Raptors of the Bayshore program. 17 Bald Eagles were had, an impressive number for four short hours of birding. So were the dozen or so Red-Tails, and 3 Red Shoulders seen throughout the day. However, the highlight of the trip award will be given to the Dark Morph Rough-legged Hawk seen on Glade Road. The non-raptor highlights were the 12 or so Common Goldeneye at East Point. A great day to celebrate life at it's finest along the Delaware Bayshore. Karen Johnson, Janet Crawford, Chuck +Mary Jane Slugg, Carrie Bell, and Dave Lord were leaders."

Location: Beaver Swamp WMA
Observation date: 1/18/10
Number of species: 12
Mallard 13
Hooded Merganser 6
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 4
Bald Eagle 2
Herring Gull 6
Tree Swallow 2
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 2
American Robin 35
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 1

Location: Jakes Landing
Observation date: 1/18/10
Notes: CMBO Raptors of the Bayshore. Karen Johnson, Janet Crawford, Chuck +Mary Jane Slugg, Carrie Bell, Dave Lord.
Number of species: 23
Snow Goose 55
Canada Goose 6
American Black Duck 12
Hooded Merganser 4
Great Blue Heron 3
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 5
Northern Harrier 8
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Clapper Rail 1
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Herring Gull 19
Great Black-backed Gull 3
Northern Flicker 2
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 13
Marsh Wren 3
American Robin 55
American Pipit 1
Song Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 2
Red-winged Blackbird 16
Eastern Meadowlark 2

Location: Stimpson Island Rd.
Observation date: 1/18/10
Notes: Cmbo Raptors of the Bayshore.
Number of species: 13
Canada Goose 6
American Black Duck 4
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 4
Bald Eagle 5
Northern Harrier 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
American Robin 45
European Starling 70
Song Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 20

Location: Glade Rd./Thompson's Beach
Observation date: 1/18/10
Notes: CMBO Raptors of Bayshore.
Number of species: 16
Snow Goose 200
Canada Goose 7
American Black Duck 8
Hooded Merganser 1
Bald Eagle 3
Northern Harrier 3
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Rough-legged Hawk 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Clapper Rail 1
Herring Gull 125
Mourning Dove 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
Song Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 20

Location: East Point Lighthouse
Observation date: 1/18/10
Notes: Cmbo Raptors of the Bayshore.
Number of species: 8
Greater Scaup 40
Lesser Scaup 6
Black Scoter 2
Bufflehead 8
Common Goldeneye 9
Common Merganser 1
Red-breasted Merganser 8
Ring-billed Gull 6

Location: Heislerville WMA
Observation date: 1/18/10
Notes: CMBO Raptors of the Bayshore.
Number of species: 12
Bufflehead 35
Great Blue Heron 8
Black Vulture 6
Turkey Vulture 6
Bald Eagle 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Ring-billed Gull 12
Herring Gull 80
Belted Kingfisher 1
American Robin 100
Northern Mockingbird 1
American Pipit 1

Cape May Point State Park - Saturday, January 17 2010

Karl Lukens reports:

"CMBO Birding Cape May Point Walk. Good weather (i.e. no wind) and lots of Ducks. Two "spiffy" looking drake Eurasian Wigeons and a drake Redhead on Lighthouse Pond with the usual Gadwalls, Am. Wigeons, Mallards, Ring-necks and Coots. In the raptor category we had 2 sightings of Peregrine Falcon (same young bird twice?), and a perched Red-shouldered Hawk. Assorted sparrows, Yellow-rumps and a couple of Red-breasted Nuthatch were also seen. - Karl (Kathy and Roger Horn, Warren Cairo, Tom Parsons)"

Location: Cape May Point
Observation date: 1/16/10
Notes: CMBO Trip-K,K&RH,WC,T,+3.PtlySun,32,SW5.
Number of species: 46

Brant 5 after walk
Canada Goose 30
Mute Swan 10
Tundra Swan 6
Gadwall 60
Eurasian Wigeon 2 drakes
American Wigeon 60
Mallard 60
Northern Shoveler 2
Redhead 1
Ring-necked Duck 8
Long-tailed Duck 4
Hooded Merganser 6
Ruddy Duck 3
Red-throated Loon 8
Turkey Vulture 5
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
American Coot 12
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Ring-billed Gull 1
Herring Gull 10
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 11
Mourning Dove 15
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 1
Carolina Chickadee 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 3
American Robin 50
Northern Mockingbird 4
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 100
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Fox Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 20
Northern Cardinal 5
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 5
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 2
House Sparrow 10

Cumberland CBC Results - Sunday, January 3 2010

[This young male Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird at a feeder near Bridgeton survived the big snowstorm and the Arctic blast to become a Cumberland CBC first. That is one tough bird - or was, as Mike Fritz tells me it apparently finally stopped coming to the feeder last week.]

Mike Fritz reports on the Cumberland CBC:

"This turned out to be the windiest count in the 60 year history with steady 25-35mph winds all day gusting into the 40's and even 50's! Extremely cold wind chills, blowing spray off the Delaware Bay and dust storms made for brutal birding conditions in every part of the count circle. Some observers reported being almost blown off their feet and a lot of "car birding" took place, but overall we ended with a great count. We had good observer coverage again thanks to a lot of DVOC participation. I want to thank everyone who toughed it out all day. Most participants I heard from claimed they still had fun, so I've concluded that birders are nuts! We had 120 species for the day which is incredible! Total numbers of almost everything were down though due to the weather conditions.

Highlights in no particular order:

A young male Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird at a feeder near Bridgeton that survived the big snowstorm and the Arctic blast to become a count first. That is one tough bird!

A flyover male Yellow-headed Blackbird near Shaw's Mill Pond which is a third count record.

Several lingering "half-hardy" birds that were somehow still alive for the count included an Eastern Phoebe, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a Common Yellowthroat, a Pine Warbler at a suet feeder, good numbers of both Catbirds and Brown Thrashers, and a single Marsh Wren.

A good representation of winter birds for a non finch invasion year included Purple Finch, Am. Tree Sparrows, good numbers of Rusty Blackbirds, lots of Fox Sparrows and a few White-crowneds.

Waterfowl numbers were way down overall due to the prior snow storm and freeze, but we still got Tundra Swans, Ruddy Ducks, Long-tailed ducks, and a record number of Common Mergansers was pushed south this year.

Four Lesser Black-backed Gulls is a new count high.

The "Cumberland County" Crane flock was counted again and includes an apparent pure Common Crane, at least 6 pure Sandhill Cranes, and some hybrid Cranes. This flock has been growing steadily every year.

Good numbers of "open field" species were found with the highlight being a Lapland Longspur near Cedarville for only the 2nd count record. We also had good numbers of Am. Pipits, E. Meadowlarks, and Horned Larks. We also had 2 Wilson's Snipe and over a dozen Am. Woodcock.

Owling was very tough and most groups opted to skip it, but some owls were found by going deep into sheltered groves and we still recorded a Saw-whet, several Screech and Great Horned, one Barred, and a Long-eared Owl that responded to a Screech Owl imitation probably looking for dinner.

This count is in the most raptor rich part of the state and we did really well for the conditions. A new record for Bald Eagles was seen again with conservatively 88 birds in the count circle! Several pairs were seen locking talons in courtship displays and over 30 were seen going into the Bear Swamp roost along with an adult Golden Eagle. Please continue to separate the age classes of Bald Eagles on your checklists as it helps me eliminate duplicate sightings (a very difficult job).. We also had all three falcons, but accipiter numbers were way down and we missed Rough-legged Hawk this year as well as Short-eared Owl. American Kestrel numbers continue their sad and largely unnoticed decline with a new low of just 3 seen this year.

The big roost near the Cohansey River was counted at dusk as birds were headed in and again had some BIG numbers. It includes over 1000 Fish Crows, 3500 Am. Robins, 14,000 Starlings, 6500 Red-winged Blackbirds, and 18,000 C. Grackles!!!!

Everyone did a great job to make for another stellar count in some not so stellar conditions. Next year’s count will be January 2 2011 and I promise less wind and more birds. I also intend to finish a new updated and more user friendly checklist by next year.

Cheers,
Mike Fritz
Cumberland County CBC compiler

60th Annual CUMBERLAND COUNTY CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT, January 3, 2010
4 AM to 7 PM. 49 observers in 19 parties. 10 hours and 54 miles owling. Total party-hours = 144.5; total party-miles = 592 (59 hrs and 50 miles on foot, 85 hrs and 542 miles by car) AM: clear, PM: partly clear, wind NW 21-41 mph (highest gust 52mph!). Still water: partly frozen. Snow cover: none. Temps 19° to 28° F.


Snow Goose 32,800
Snow Goose (blue form) 15
Canada Goose 3051
Mute Swan 26
Tundra Swan 6
Gadwall 18
American Black Duck 538
Mallard 895
Northern Pintail 39
Green-winged Teal 37
Ring-necked Duck 103
Lesser Scaup 2
Surf Scoter cw
Black Scoter cw
Long-tailed Duck 2
Bufflehead 70
Common Goldeneye 11
Hooded Merganser 46
Common Merganser 471
Red-breasted Merganser 4
Ruddy Duck 22
Ring-necked Pheasant 3
Wild Turkey 145
Common Loon 1
Pied-billed Grebe 3
Great Blue Heron 96
Great Egret 1
Blk-cr Night-Heron 3
Black Vulture 59
Turkey Vulture 330
Bald Eagle (36 ad!) 88
Northern Harrier 91
Sharp-shinned Hawk 15
Cooper's Hawk 12
Red-shouldered Hawk 6
Red-tailed Hawk 85
Golden Eagle (adult) 1
American Kestrel 3
Merlin 2
Peregrine Falcon 4
Clapper Rail 1
Virginia Rail 3
Sandhill Crane 6
Common Crane 1
Crane sp. 11
Killdeer 10
Greater Yellowlegs 5
Lesser Yellowlegs 3
Dunlin 199
Sanderling 30
Wilson’s Snipe 2
American Woodcock 14
Ring-billed Gull 1809
Herring Gull 4865
Lesser Black-backed Gull 4
Great Black-backed Gull 134
Rock Pigeon 286
Mourning Dove 220
E. Screech Owl 13
Great Horned Owl 7
Barred Owl 1
Long-eared Owl 1
N. Saw-whet Owl 1
Rufous/Allen’s Hummingbird 1
Belted Kingfisher 16
Red-bellied Woodpecker 46
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 10
Downy Woodpecker 36
Hairy Woodpecker 15
Northern Flicker 86
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 205
American Crow 986
Fish Crow 1155
Horned Lark 254
Carolina Chickadee 232
Tufted Titmouse 130
Red-breasted Nuthatch 5
White-breasted Nuthatch 38
Brown Creeper 7
Carolina Wren 109
Winter Wren 8
Marsh Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 69
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
E. Bluebird 181
Hermit Thrush 57
American Robin 5275
Gray Catbird 16
N. Mockingbird 96
Brown Thrasher 28
European Starling 14,060
American Pipit 55
Cedar Waxwing 235
Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler 601
Pine Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Eastern Towhee 24
American Tree Sparrow 11 Chipping Sparrow 228
Field Sparrow 211 Savannah Sparrow 37
Fox Sparrow 57
Song Sparrow 221 Swamp Sparrow 108
White-throated Sparrow 1983
White-crowned Sparrow 14
Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco 783
Lapland Longspur 1
N. Cardinal 249
Red-winged Blackbird 6457
E. Meadowlark 101
Yellow-headed Blackbird 1
Rusty Blackbird 31
Common Grackle 18,100
Boat-tailed Grackle 35
Brown-headed Cowbird 427
Purple Finch 2
House Finch 171
American Goldfinch 207
House Sparrow 132

TOTAL SPECIES: 120
TOTAL INDIVIDUALS: 100,339

Record high counts for 3 species. Cumulative total now at 205 with Rufous/Allen’s Hummingbird new to count. Lapland Longspur was 2nd count record and Yellow-headed Blackbird was 3rd count record. The "Cumberland Crane Flock" is now up to 18 birds with one Common Crane, 6 Sandhill Cranes, and 11 hybrids.

Compiler:
Michael Fritz

Birding Cape May Point - Saturday, January 9, 2010

CMBO Birding Cape May Point Walk. Cold and windy but some open areas on the local ponds contained a nice variety of ducks including one of the Eurasian Wigeons. The Tundra Swans are still on Bunker Pond, and a White-crowned Sparrow was feeding under the Hawk Watch Platform. Sunny sheltered areas had sparrows and a Hermit Thrush. Coral Ave. jetty had a dozen Purple Sandpipers although you could see only 3-4 at a time - the count came as they flew to another jetty. - Karl Lukens, Kathy & Roger Horn, Steve Weis, Tom Parsons.

Location: Cape May Point
Observation date: 1/9/10
Notes: CMBO Trip-K,K&RH,SW,T.Clr,24,WNW12.
Number of species: 47

Canada Goose 30
Mute Swan 8
Tundra Swan 6
Gadwall 40
Eurasian Wigeon 1
American Wigeon 35
Mallard 35
Northern Shoveler 8
Ring-necked Duck 6
Ruddy Duck 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Black Vulture 8
Turkey Vulture 7
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Coot 10
Sanderling 2
Purple Sandpiper 12
Ring-billed Gull 2
Herring Gull 25
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 4
Mourning Dove 8
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 4
Carolina Chickadee 4
Carolina Wren 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 500
Northern Mockingbird 5
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 50
Cedar Waxwing 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler 20
Fox Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 15
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 4
Northern Cardinal 4
Red-winged Blackbird 30
Common Grackle 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 20
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 8
House Sparrow 10

Cape May CBC January 1, 2010

Louise Zemaitis reports on the Cape May Christmas Bird Count, held January 1, 2010:

Thanks to all who came out for the Cape May Christmas Bird Count. The total species recorded is 150 plus 2 recognizable forms and 5 more during the count week. Unusual species seen include:

2 Cackling Geese
7 Eurasian Wigeon - a record number for the count (all on Cape Island)
4 Blue -winged Teal
1 Harlequin Duck
1 Sora - not recorded on the count since 1979
2 Sandhill Cranes - one in Cape May and one at Villas WMA
1 Black-headed Gull
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird - survived in West Cape May until the bitter cold of Jan. 2

Record numbers of marsh dwelling sparrows were seen due to the high tide during the full moon. Birders who worked the marsh edges in the morning (though bleary-eyed from New Year's Eve) found:

14 Nelson's Sparrows
63 Saltmarsh Sparrows
plus 7 sharp-tailed sparrow sp.
20 Seaside Sparrows

Other record high numbers include: Gadwall (353), Wild Turkey (24), Common Loon (157), Merlin (9), "Western" Willet (10), American Woodcock (80), Tufted Titmouse (302), American Robin (17,184), and White-crowned Sparrow (13).

Additional count week species seen were Wood Duck, Redhead, Lesser Black-backed Gull (1), Pine Warbler (1), and Marbled Godwit (4).

The cumulative total for the Cape May CBC stands at 264.

Due to a blizzard on the original count date of December 20, the count was rescheduled for January 1 (the latest date in count history). The count day was just above freezing with light WNW winds.

Half-hardy species and migrants were few. We did, however, have a nice day between cold fronts and see a fine sampling of post winter solstice species.

The 2009 count was the 89th for Cape May. The next Cape May CBC will be held on 19 December 2010.

Thank you and good birding!

Louise Zemaitis
Cape May CBC Compiler

Cape May CBC January 1, 2010
Snow Goose (blue) 3
Snow Goose (white) 1381
Brant 5050
Cackling Goose 2
Canada Goose 1929
Mute Swan 58
Tundra Swan 6
Wood Duck cw
Gadwall 353
Eurasian Wigeon 7
American Wigeon 275
American Black Duck 1580
Mallard 1165
Am. Blk Duck x Mall 4
Blue-winged Teal 4
Northern Shoveler 58
Northern Pintail 34
Green-winged Teal 102
Canvasback 1
Redhead cw
Ring-necked Duck 53
Greater Scaup 384
Lesser Scaup 61
scaup sp. 181
Common Eider 38
Harlequin Duck 1
Surf Scoter 857
White-winged Scoter 14
Black Scoter 708
scoter sp. 120
Long-tailed Duck 349
Bufflehead 1710
Common Goldeneye 14
Hooded Merganser 493
Common Merganser 7
Red-brsted Merganser 254
Ruddy Duck 187
Wild Turkey 24
Red-throated Loon 113
Common Loon 157
Pied-billed Grebe 17
Horned Grebe 9
Northern Gannet 103
Dbl-crested Cormorant 28
Great Cormorant 29
American Bittern 2
Great Blue Heron 88
Great Egret 12
Snowy Egret 3
Little Blue Heron 4
Tricolored Heron 4
Blk-cr Night-Heron 31
Black Vulture 66
Turkey Vulture 189
Bald Eagle 5
Northern Harrier 39
Sharp-shinned Hawk 19
Cooper's Hawk 27
Red-shouldered Hawk 19
Red-tailed Hawk 72
American Kestrel 8
Merlin 9
Peregrine Falcon 10
Clapper Rail 67
Virginia Rail 12
Sora 1
American Coot 60
Sandhill Crane 2
Black-bellied Plover 354
Killdeer 70
American Oystercatcher 310
Greater Yellowlegs 28
“Western” Willet 10
Marbled Godwit cw
Ruddy Turnstone 182
Red Knot 244
Sanderling 1004
Western Sandpiper 10
Least Sandpiper 6
Purple Sandpiper 63
Dunlin 8673
Short-billed Dowitcher 2
Long-billed Dowitcher 1
Wilson's Snipe 16
American Woodcock 80
Black-headed Gull 1
Bonaparte's Gull 58
Ring-billed Gull 1114
Herring Gull 2106
Lesser Blk-backed Gull cw
Great Blk-backed Gull 577
Black-legged Kittiwake 2
Rock Pigeon 1100
Mourning Dove 992
Barn Owl 1
Eastern Screech-Owl 15
Great Horned Owl 30
Barred Owl 2
Ruby-thrtd Hummer 1
Belted Kingfisher 13
Red-bellied Woodpecker 124
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 12
Downy Woodpecker 113
Hairy Woodpecker 17
Northern Flicker 155
Blue Jay 513
American Crow 462
Fish Crow 14
Horned Lark 20
Carolina Chickadee 394
Tufted Titmouse 302
Red-breasted Nuthatch 10
White-brsted Nuthatch 22
Brown Creeper 8
Carolina Wren 448
Winter Wren 12
Marsh Wren 7
Golden-crowned Kinglet 24
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 15
Eastern Bluebird 121
Hermit Thrush 92
American Robin 17184
Gray Catbird 101
Northern Mockingbird 247
Brown Thrasher 59
European Starling 5827
American Pipit 33
Cedar Waxwing 541
Orange-crwnd Warbler 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2094
Pine Warbler cw
“Eastern” Palm Warbler 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Eastern Towhee 53
Chipping Sparrow 77
Field Sparrow 101
Savannah Sparrow 140
“Ipswich” Sav Sparrow 15
Saltmarsh Sparrow 63
Nelson's Sparrow 14
sharp-tailed sparrow sp. 7
Seaside Sparrow 20
Fox Sparrow 165
Song Sparrow 641
Swamp Sparrow 128
White-throated Sparrow 2632
White-crowned Sparrow 13
Dark-eyed Junco 627
Snow Bunting 89
Northern Cardinal 625
Red-winged Blackbird 4865
Eastern Meadowlark 54
Rusty Blackbird 27
Common Grackle 4076
Boat-tailed Grackle 570
Brown-headed Cowbird 546
Baltimore Oriole 1
Purple Finch 6
House Finch 597
American Goldfinch 224
House Sparrow 1579

TOTAL SPECIES 150
additional forms 2
count week only 5

Turkey Point for Cumberland CBC - Sunday, January 3 2010

Location: Turkey Point
Observation date: 1/4/10
Notes: Cumberland CBC. Pete Dunne, Don Freiday, Linda Dunne, Beth Ciuzio. 2 hours, 2 miles owling. 8 hours 10 miles on foot; 1 hour 10 miles by car (ebirded 10 total). Sustained gale 20-30 with gusts to 50, temps in 20's.

Number of species: 69

Snow Goose 20
Canada Goose 200
Mute Swan 15
Tundra Swan 6
Gadwall 12
American Black Duck 50
Mallard 30
Green-winged Teal 3
Lesser Scaup 2
Bufflehead 40
Hooded Merganser 25
Common Merganser 204 frozen out from north undoubtedly
Red-breasted Merganser 2
Ruddy Duck 6
Great Blue Heron 39 some moribund
Great Egret 1 could fly
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
Black Vulture 8 roosting with turkey vultures on maple ave
Turkey Vulture 15
Bald Eagle 8
Northern Harrier 45
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 5
Peregrine Falcon 1
Clapper Rail 1
Virginia Rail 3
Greater Yellowlegs 4
Lesser Yellowlegs 3
Dunlin 28
Short-billed Dowitcher 1 actually a dowitcher sp.
American Woodcock 1
Ring-billed Gull 30
Herring Gull 1000
Great Black-backed Gull 20
Eastern Screech-Owl 2
Great Horned Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 12
Blue Jay 15
American Crow 12
Carolina Chickadee 10
Tufted Titmouse 8
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 10
Winter Wren 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Hermit Thrush 6
American Robin 400
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 5
Brown Thrasher 8
European Starling 10
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 80
Eastern Towhee 1
Savannah Sparrow 3
Fox Sparrow 8
Song Sparrow 12
Swamp Sparrow 6
White-throated Sparrow 275
Northern Cardinal 15
Red-winged Blackbird 250
Eastern Meadowlark 16
Rusty Blackbird 1
Boat-tailed Grackle 150

Kick Off Your Year List in Cape May - Friday, January 1, 2010

Our annual New Year's Field Trip netted 92 species (if you include leader-only birds), with great views of Snow Buntings, Bald Eagles, and sea ducks, and plenty of great company. We began at Cape May Point State Park then broke for lunch (with a brief check of Lily Lake), reconvening at Stone Harbor Point and finishing the day with two Short-eared Owls and an American Bittern at Jake's Landing. Lists are presented below in the order we birded the sites.

Location: Cape May Point SP
Observation date: 1/1/10
Number of species: 62
Snow Goose X heard overhead, not sure how many, never saw
Canada Goose 300
Mute Swan 30
Tundra Swan 6
Gadwall 50
Eurasian Wigeon 3 did not look for females
American Wigeon 360 pretty careful count
American Black Duck 3
American Black Duck x Mallard (hybrid) 5
Mallard 30
Northern Shoveler 15
Ring-necked Duck 3
Surf Scoter 20
Black Scoter 20
dark-winged scoter sp. 1000
Hooded Merganser 10
Ruddy Duck 1
Red-throated Loon 1
Pied-billed Grebe 6
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 5
Bald Eagle 2 local pair hunting park
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Peregrine Falcon 1 flying down beach past bunker; migrant?
American Coot 25
Killdeer 2
Black-legged Kittiwake 2 - far, but, good look through scope at 60 power (no heat distortion.) 2 fast flying medium-small gulls with narrow wings, very pointed, angled back. Winds were light, other gulls observed did not fly with this speed or posture. Initially said kittewake and studied carefully to confirm. Appeared quite pale gray above, outerwing paler than inner and when they were at closest point clinched narrow dark wing tips cut straight across. Did not detect head pattern, focused on exact wing pattern while they were in view. Birds were flying southwest (angling offshore), turned suddenly and apparently landed on water where I lost them.
Ring-billed Gull 10
Herring Gull 10
Great Black-backed Gull 20
Rock Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 4
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 4
Blue Jay 6
American Crow 15
Horned Lark 5
Carolina Chickadee 2
Carolina Wren 8
Eastern Bluebird 3
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 100
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 5
Brown Thrasher 3
European Starling 10
Cedar Waxwing 40
Yellow-rumped Warbler 50
Eastern Towhee 1
Field Sparrow 3
Fox Sparrow 5
Song Sparrow 8
Swamp Sparrow 10
White-throated Sparrow 30
Snow Bunting 90
Northern Cardinal 10
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Rusty Blackbird 3
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 4
House Sparrow 10


Location: Stone Harbor Point
Observation date: 1/1/10
Notes: Part of CMBO Kick Off Your Year List field trip. Dave Lord and Steve Weis helped as leaders. Low tide, few shorebirds on beach or jetty.
Number of species: 25
Brant 15
American Black Duck 5
Surf Scoter 50
Black Scoter 50
dark-winged scoter sp. 300
Long-tailed Duck 50
Red-breasted Merganser 2
Red-throated Loon 5
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Northern Harrier 1
Ruddy Turnstone 1
Sanderling 10
Purple Sandpiper 2
Ring-billed Gull 5
Herring Gull 30
Great Black-backed Gull 10
Mourning Dove 2
Carolina Wren 1
American Robin 10
Northern Mockingbird 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Savannah Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 5
Northern Cardinal 1
House Finch 5


Location: Nummy Island
Observation date: 1/1/10
Notes: part of CMBO Kick Off Your Year List field trip. Dave Lord and Steve Weis helped as leaders. Very low tide, lots of exposed mud.
Number of species: 38
Brant 100
American Black Duck 50
Mallard 10
Long-tailed Duck 20
Bufflehead 25
Red-breasted Merganser 15
Red-throated Loon 1
Common Loon 15
Horned Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 1 Pre-field trip, not seen by participants
Turkey Vulture 2
Northern Harrier 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Black-bellied Plover 25
American Oystercatcher 30
Greater Yellowlegs 2
Ruddy Turnstone 2
Sanderling 30
Dunlin 300
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Rock Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 5
Carolina Wren 2
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 20
Song Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 5
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 5
Boat-tailed Grackle 25
House Finch 5
House Sparrow 8


Location: Jake's Landing
Observation date: 1/1/10
Notes: Part of CMBO Kick Off Your Year List Field Trip. Dave Lord and Steve Weis helped as leaders. Saw-whet and woodcock were leader only post-trip bonuses.
Number of species: 16
Snow Goose 400
Brant 10
American Black Duck 10
Northern Harrier 5
Clapper Rail 5
American Woodcock 1 flew in front of truck on way out, not seen by group
Herring Gull 2
Great Horned Owl 2 dueting
Short-eared Owl 2 Up at 4:50 p.m.
Northern Saw-whet Owl 1 flew in front of truck on way out at 5:15, in woods, not seen by group
Marsh Wren 1
American Robin 10
Song Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 5
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Red-winged Blackbird 10