Morning Flight, East Coast USA. (1 Viewer)

A short trip to catch the best of the autumn migration on the Eastern Seaboard of the USA, splitting time between the legendary Cape May and the superb Central Park of New York City. Timing was such to catch the end of the annual warbler migration, but also the first arrivals of sparrows and, hopefully, some good movements of raptors over Cape May.

Cape May is always a bit of a gamble with dates - birding success is closely linked to the prevailing weather conditions and southerly winds can see the site virtually devoid of birds, both passerines and raptors, for days on end. Fortunately however, the weather was simply superb – not only unbroken sunshine from start to finish, but also a cold front pushing birds through whilst at Cape Cape, then unseasonal warmth in New York allowing me to bask in the glory of temperatures rising to 21 C.

A total of 136 species were seen during the week, 113 in the Cape May area and 79 in New York. Among the highlights were 12 species of warblers, including an impressive morning flight of many thousands of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Also memorable, some very good movements of raptors at Cape May and the general spectacle of Central Park chockablock with birds! Special mention should also go to a very nice Dickcissel, a new bird for me.



DAILY LOG


16 October.

Afternoon departure from Europe, arrival in New York's JFK at 8.00 p.m. local time. New self-service immigration channels ensured a rapid passage through US customs, equally superb online check-in with Alamo meant car pick-up was also a breeze. By 9 p.m., I was in my hired Chevrolet cruising south, somewhere approaching midnight I rolled into Cape May, adventures to begin the following morning.

17 October. Cape May.

Higbee Beach, pre-dawn, skies to the east brightening to the promise of an excellent day ahead. After several days of southerly winds, everything was set for mass movement of birds on this day - winds had shifted to light northerlies, a cold front was imminent and conditions were perfect. Specks of birds were already flitting over and I was stationed on the legendary dyke overlooking an assortment of bushes and woodland edge that would soon have birds pouring out to rise and clear the Cape May Canal to my immediate north.

A quirk of geography, the predominant migration at this locality is actually in the 'wrong' direction – hesitant to cross the open waters of Delaware Bay, birds arrive at Cape May at dawn, then circle round and head north via Higbee Beach ...the so-called 'Morning Flight'. Distinctive tacks tacks of Yellow-rumped Warblers filled the air, wafts of Sharp-shinned Hawks circled and harassed passing passerines, both Osprey and Northern Harrier hugged the nearby coastline. I however was soon to understand that the dyke might not the best place to actually watch the birds – as the trickle of warblers became something more substantial, virtually all birds were flying directly overhead, neither pausing or alighting. Shouts of 'Black-throated Blue' and 'Blackpoll' echoed out from more seasoned observers, but as a visiting birder on his first morning, it was very quickly clear that I would struggle to even pick up some of the birds, even less to appreciate the subtle beauty of the fall warblers! Time for a quick relocation!

Fortunately, Higbee Beach is much more than the dyke – just to the south, an amazing set of trails lead through a series of scrubby fields with excellent woodland edge. Positioning myself on the first of these paths, the spectacle was simply amazing – as the sun caught the bushes, birds were pouring through non-stop in their hundreds, not little specks miles up in the sky, but glorious little things mere metres distant. For three hours from 7.30 a.m., masses and masses of Yellow-rumped Warblers edging northwards in large flocks, dotted with additional species such regular Ruby-crowned Kinglets and sporadic Palm Warblers. I would estimate that tens of thousands of Yellow-rumped Warblers moved through that morning, an amazing sight indeed. Also in the mix, quite a few Northern Flickers, a bunch of Eastern Phoebes, a Blue-headed Vireo, a rather stunning Yellow-breasted Chat, three Rusty Blackbirds and an Indigo Bunting, plus all the expected regulars such as Brown Thrasher, Northern Cardinal and a good sparrow cocktail to get me confused for quite a while, most of which turned out to be Swamp Sparrows and Song Sparrows!

At about 10.30, almost abruptly, the Morning Flight came to a halt! Suddenly, bar a few remnant Yellow-rumped Warblers and the occasional Blue Jay, the bushes and woodland edges fell silent.
The day's action was over. Or at least over at Higbee Beach. The joy of Cape May in autumn is that as the Morning Flight comes to an end, so begins the peninsula's other great avian movement ...the raptor migration! For this, it is just a short drive to an official hawkwatch platform adjacent to the lighthouse in Cape May Point State Park. Warm and sunny when I arrived, a few Monarch butterflies drifting past, a good kettle of Turkey Vultures swirling above and plenty more too. Stayed on the platform for most of the day, a steady treat of birds drifting over, Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks the main birds involved, but also regular Northern Harriers and Ospreys too, plus quite a few Merlins and American Kestrels, a good buteo mix of Red-shouldered, Broad-winged and Red-tailed Hawks and, very nice indeed, both Bald Eagles and a Golden Eagle (the fourth of the season at Cape May).

Totals at the Hawkwatch Platform:

Black Vulture -10
Turkey Vulture – 150+
Osprey – 26
Bald Eagle – 8
Northern Harrier – 22
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 467
Cooper's Hawk – 204
Red-shouldered Hawk – 10
Broad-winged Hawk – 13
Red-tailed Hawk – 27
Golden Eagle – 1
American Kestrel – 22
Merlin – 25
Peregrine – 3

Definitely easy birding at this locality – not only raptors overhead, but also a waterbird mix on the pool in front, including Tricoloured Heron, Great Blue Heron, assorted local waterfowl and two vagrant Eurasian Wigeon. Also some pretty impressive passerines on show – not only dozens of Yellow-rumped Warblers also moving through here in general, but also a clump of adjacent junipers became a little hotspot in the mid-afternoon – dancing around in the sun, six species put on a simultaneous show ...one Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, about ten Ruby-crowned Kinglets, four Blackpoll Warblers, two Pine Warblers, several Yellow-rumped Warblers and, the pièce de résistance, one simply stunning Black-throated Green Warbler ...pure wow factor!

However, bird of the day for me, albeit a slightly unassuming species, was a splendid Dickcissel – associating with a House Sparrow flock attracted to a seeded area adjacent to the hawkwatch platform, this was an unexpected bonus indeed, my only new species of the trip!

So that was it, day one over – 66 species in all, a magnificent Morning Flight, some rather good raptors and a new species to boot. Good to be back in the good ol' USA!

Cape May. 18 October.

Dawn at the Higbee Beach trails again, a chill bite to the morning. Yellow-rumped Warblers still moving in their hundreds, but numbers definitely less intense than on the previous day. However, for all the reduction in this species, there was a marked increase in the diversity of other birds on the move – among the warblers, one American Redstart, one Prairie Warbler, two Palm Warblers, one Black-throated Green Warbler, one Yellow-breasted Chat and one Common Yellowthroat. Also a noticeable upswing in Ruby-crowned Kinglets, dragging in a few Golden-crowned Kinglets, plus other odds and ends including as many as 20 Eastern Phoebes, 15 Northern Flickers, two Grey-cheeked Thrushes, one Warbling Vireo and a Baltimore Oriole.

At about 10 a.m., the Morning Flight again came to a halt, a few Grey Catbirds left sunning themselves on scraggly bushes for admiration, along with Brown Thrashers and my first Brown Creeper of the trip. At the field edges, Swamp and Song Sparrows still mingled, joined by Chipping, Field and White-throated Sparrows, but overall the migration was over for the day.

Time to relocate to the hawkwatch platform once again. In glorious sunshine, it was pretty much a re-run of the day before with a good steady passage of birds throughout the day, mostly fairly high altitude Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks, but also the best day of the season thus far for Northern Harriers with an impressive 54 passing over.

Totals at the Hawkwatch Platform:

Black Vulture - 2
Turkey Vulture – 100+
Osprey – 15
Bald Eagle – 10
Northern Harrier – 54
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 255
Cooper's Hawk – 166
Red-shouldered Hawk – 14
Broad-winged Hawk – 10
Red-tailed Hawk – 48
American Kestrel – 24
Merlin – 32

Also took a walk around the South Cape May meadows and pools, adding a small assortment of ducks and other birds, most notably a female Redhead, a few Ruddy Ducks, three Pectoral Sandpipers and abundant Tree Swallows.

Great start, looking forward to more!

Knowing your propensity to rough it I'm wondering if you found somewhere to camp in or around Cape May, or if you just parked the car and slept in it. I visited the area earlier this fall and wanted to camp, but couldn't find anywhere that tent camping was permitted outside of a couple of RV parks (no thanks, especially not for $40 a night). I remember thinking it would be easy to get away with it at Higbee even though it is technically not permitted (deep in the trails I ran into someone who evidently had the same idea, literally as I was thinking that it was a nice spot for a tent!)

Too bad that Cold Spring Campground went all RV. They used to have tent sites in the 1990's which were also pretty good for birding in the fall.

ovenbird43 said:

Knowing your propensity to rough it I'm wondering if you found somewhere to camp in or around Cape May, or if you just parked the car and slept in it.

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Would have been quite happy to sleep in the car, but went soft and booked a motel ...will endeavor to slump my usual standards on my next trip Stateside :t:

19 October. Cape May & Forsythe NWR

Crisp and cool at dawn, a light frost touching the woodland edges at Higbee Beach. Quite a notable reduction in passage on this day, Yellow-rumped Warblers in their mere dozens now. Still an enjoyable morning however, a stripy humbug of a Black-and-White Warbler creeping up and down trunks, a couple of Common Yellowthroats edging out of luxuriant ground vegetation and both Palm and Blackpoll Warblers appearing amongst the Yellow-rumped Warblers. For all the relative lack of warblers though, sparrows and their allies were certainly compensating - an marked influx of this lot not only saw the woodland edges alive with smart White-throated Sparrows, at least 80 present, but also additional Swamp and Song Sparrows, along with a few Dark-eyed Juncos and singles of both Lincoln's Sparrow and Eastern Towhee. A nice cocktail to wade through! Also present on this day, a dozen Northern Flickers, both Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, one Red-breasted Nuthatch, one Blue-headed Vireo and, in the skies above, an unexpected Red-throated Loon flying directly overhead.

Highlight of the morning though was not a bird, but two exceptionally cute young Raccoons sunning themselves on an old tree trunk, peering round to watch me as I passed, eyes twinkling in the sunlight. Also added a couple of Grey Squirrels and, later, in the day, three White-tailed Deer.

As the Morning Flight again dropped off from about 10 a.m., I decided this day to give the hawk watch platform a miss and instead journey a little further north of the Cape May peninsula, stopping first at the seawatching point at Avalon ...not a classic pelagic site offering heaps of tubenoses, nor anything on a par with sites in Massachusetts that are just stunning for their concentrations of assorted sea ducks and auks, but this New Jersey hotspot was certainly a pleasant place to while away a couple of hours. I managed to coincide my visit with one of the first Black Scoter movements of the season, many hundreds passing south almost non-stop, quite a number of Surf Scoters also. Even more remarkable however, the day was marked by a record-breaking passage of Double-crested Cormorants - the day's total of over 26,000 smashing the previous highest set over 15 years earlier. Also a bunch of Parasitic Jaegers harassing the abundant Forster's Terns and gulls, plus quite a few Royal Terns, three Wood Ducks heading south, six Red-throated Loons also southbound and a single Northern Gannet.

With my fill of beachside entertainment, I then resumed my travel north, traveling an hour or so up the Golden State Parkway to the extensive wetlands of Forsythe NWR. Having previously visited this site in the frozen depths of winter, when Snow Geese and Brants abound, it was quite pleasant to wander around in the sultry sunlight, a rich assortment of returning waterfowl already present and Northern Harriers quartering the dykes. Finding little in the woodlands around the visitor centre, the main attraction was the nine-mile auto drive that loops around a series of fresh and brackish pools - Northern Pintail, Shoveler, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Black Duck, all present in their hundreds. Amongst them, smaller numbers of Gadwall and American Wigeon, plus a few Ring-necked Ducks, Lesser Scaup and Ruddy Ducks. Had expected a few early Snow Geese, but instead had to content myself with three early returnee Brants instead. Also of interest, a Black-crowned Night Heron amongst a small egret roost, a smattering of waders such as Western Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher and both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and, great humongous things, four Peregrine Falcons - two adults and two juveniles, perhaps locally bred, but their size suggesting northern birds already down to winter. Other odds and ends that enlivened the loop, several Savannah Sparrows, flocks of both Red-winged Blackbirds and Boat-tailed Grackles and, presumably gathering to roost, masses and masses of Tree Swallows.

As sun began to dip, I returned to the Golden State Parkway and motored back to Cape May, pausing at McDonalds to round the day off with House Sparrows and Starlings.

Photographs to follow...

First off... glad you enjoyed your visit to NJ!

Minor correction... it is the Garden State Parkway, not Golden.

Also here is a link to Belleplain State park for camping... I do not have the need to camp there, so just passing along some info... http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/belle.html#camp

And lastly, another great coast place to visitfrom late Oct-Mar for up close views of many seabirds is Branegat Lighthouse

Nice report Jos, never seen a Dickcissel or even a Brown Thrasher during 3 trips to North America.

The raptor passage sounds impressive and would be right up my street.

wolfbirder said:

Nice report Jos, never seen a Dickcissel or even a Brown Thrasher during 3 trips to North America.

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Was my 11th birding trip to the US, so still plenty of chance for you :t:

Birdbrain22 said:

Minor correction... it is the Garden State Parkway, not Golden.

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Oops, my apologies to New Jersey for any upcoming bewildered tourists that end up lost due to me sending them down the wrong road

20 October. Cape May & Jamaica Bay.

Happy Birthday to me! With a return of south-westerly winds, my present was a day of virtually non-existent migration! Higbee Beach at dawn was eerily quiet, an Indigo Bunting and a few Field Sparrows the undoubted highlight in an otherwise lackluster morning of traipsing the hedgerows and woodland edges. Yellow-rumped Warblers were just a trickle, White-throated Sparrows had largely evacuated the area!

Maybe better at the hawkwatch platform? Nope, the skies were almost totally empty! Sunshine and a pleasant 20 C, but barely a raptor to disrupt horizon-to-horizon expanses of blue. Gave it about an hour, a Merlin zooming through, an occasional Sharp-shinned Hawk making an appearance, then decided to cut my losses and go to New York, my earlier than planned departure giving me opportunity to also visit Jamaica Bay on route.

Not a bad decision, Jamaica Bay was actually quite birdy- not only did the extensive shrubbery support a whole range of common birds from American Robins and Hermit Thrushes to Eastern Towhees and Eastern Phoebes, but the Eastern Pool was absolutely heaving with birds. Didn't really have sufficient time to do the place justice, but Ruddy Ducks numbered at least 800 and dabbling ducks many times more, the great bulk being American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Gadwall and Northern Pintail. Also a few Greater Scaup and Redhead. Flights of Black Brant also winged over, but most of these settled on the West Pools, about 400 or so sitting there by late afternoon.

And with this, I returned the car to the adjacent JFK airport, took the subway to New York City and emerged in downtown Manhattan to wander through the lights and sights of Broadway and Time Square, always a mesmerizing experience. Part two of the mini-trip about to begin, birding amongst the towering blocks of this amazing city.

How wonderful to hit a major day of passage after several days of birds being held up by adverse winds - soundalike a magnificent experience.

Cheers
Mike

Autumn visit

Nice report, been in the states a few times for Spring migration but never in the Fall.
Must give it a try some time.

Nice report, Jos. Always interesting to see our hot spots through a visitor's eyes.

And this might be the first trip report where a gray squirrel gets a mention. We don't even give them a second, or even third, thought.

Jeff hopkins said:

And this might be the first trip report where a gray squirrel gets a mention.

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Even get some chipmunks mentioned in the next installment


In the meantime, some shots from the Cape May morning flight...

Locals ...

21 October. New York City.

With a return of southerly winds, I was expecting Central Park to be rather devoid of birds. How wrong I was! In a splash of unseasonal warmth, temperatures soaring to a very pleasant 22C, the next three days were simply superb with an abundance and variety of birds quite amazing.

Day one started in the far north of the park, entering from 110th West Street and soon vanishing into the extensive North Woods. As day broke, birds were already spilling out onto the winding tracks, American Robins in abundance, Grey Catbirds commonplace and Common Grackles in noisy collectives. My initial goal on this morning was to locate the so-called Ravine, home to a small stream that had been harboring a Sora Rail over the previous days. Finding and then wandering down the trickling watercourse to a backdrop of thick woodland, the towering blocks, noise and hustle of Manhattan could have been a million miles away, here the only disturbances were Hermit Thrushes and hordes of White-throated Sparrows rustling in the leaf litter and flocks of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting through. A quite stunning male Black-throated Blue Warbler dropped to bath in the stream, dozens of American Robins doing likewise, so too a few Northern Cardinals, several Common Grackles and a couple of Blue Jays and an Eastern Towhee. Not entirely sure where the Sora Rail had been lurking, I actually reached the end of the stream without either spotting the bird or understanding where it should be. Fortunately however, retracing my footsteps, I soon came across a slightly more open area where the stream was edged by clumps of overhanging vegetation. And there, quietly nosing along the water, one fine adult Sora Rail ...a rare bird indeed for central Manhattan! Sitting on a convenient boulder, this turned out to be a most confiding bird, regularly wandering in very close. The whole experience was further enhanced by a fine Rose-breasted Grosbeak that chose adjacent shrubbery to feed upon for the duration of my stay, a couple of Blackpoll Warblers nipping in and a regular filtering through of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and other odds and bobs. Also quite a few dead cute Eastern Chipmunks darting about, seemingly quite common in the northern parts of the park.

From the North Woods, I then moved south, first crossing an area of lawns dotted by an abundance of fine tree specimens. Dog walkers and joggers out in force, a healthy variety of sizes and forms of both canine and human on show! Also American Robins and Mourning Doves still commonplace, occasional Northern Mockingbirds too. Added here a Red-bellied Woodpecker, my first Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers of the trip and both Brown Creeper and White-breasted Nuthatch ...not bad at all for for what was essentially a manicured lawn!

Now donning a tee-shirt, a very unexpected luxury for late October, my next stop was at the park's main waterbody. Water sparkling in the sunshine, autumn colours of neighboring oaks and maples, a late Monarch floating past, skyscrapers of Fifth Avenue rising beyond, this was the the setting to the Reservoir, the centerpiece of Central Park dating back to 1857. Numerous joggers here too, but not an issue, flocks of birds drifted on the waters aside, a Red-tailed Hawk circled overhead. No massive arrivals of winter waterfowl as yet, but still a small selection to look through ...a hundred or so Ruddy Ducks, along with assorted other ducks, mainly Mallard, Shoveler and Gadwall, and abundant Ring-billed Gulls.

And that was just about that for the birding on this day, via one male Wood Duck in the south of the park, the route then took me into lower Manhattan and an afternoon of general touristy type things in New York City, culminating with a fine evening performance of the Lion King on Broadway, my first ever musical and, I have to say, most impressive!

Top cute one from Cape May...