Thursday 4 October 2012

Cape May migration goes from slowdown to standstill

Today is the quietest day so far of the trip. The weather is humid and overcast with brief spells of sunshine.  The temperature is 28 degrees and the mosquitos are biting.  We found one pocket of birds feeding at the Higbee Dike watchtower including several Red-eyed Vireos, two Black and White Warblers and an Alder/Willow Flycatcher.  Yellow-rumped Warblers seem to be increasing slightly as well.  This species is a later migrant and locals inform us that numbers will increase this week.  The big shout of the day though was a very confiding adult Lark Sparrow found by the first metal footbridge in the State Park (on the blue and yellow trail).  The species is a scarce migrant with one or two annual records in Cape May.  Nonetheless, with precious few other birds to see, this was a welcome sight.

Adult Lark Sparrow at State Park



Northern Mockingbird today at State Park


3 comments:

  1. Great shots Steve, I'm a few miles south of you at the moment in Cheyenne, Wyoming and doing more mammal pictures than birds but have seen a few stunning birds including a golden eagle just on the edge of the highway when I was doing 65 MPH and had nowhere to stop. Que sera etc.....

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  2. Stunning Birds Steve,looks like you are having a fantastic trip,things will pick up.
    Hate Mosquito's.
    Good hunting.
    John.

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  3. Some great images on both your blogs, just for info I'm a few thousand miles East of you both,lol

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