A pair of Black Scoters was swimming just off the beach before sunrise, an uncommon over-summering species on the Eastern Shore. Northern Bobwhites were singing again, with one audible across Highway 13 from Eastern Shore NWR as well as one to the north. A few herons were flying around early this morning, with five and eight northbound Snowy and Great Egrets as well as the season's first Little Blue Heron moving south.
First-of-season juvenile Little Blue Heron
A small swallow flight developed as the morning went on with 55 Barn, 2 Tree, 2 Northern Rough-winged and 2 Bank counted, but nowhere near the magnitude of yesterday's martin flight. Swallows today were in small loose groups and moving both directions all morning, making counting a challenge.
A couple shorebirds moved north throughout the morning including the season's second Whimbrel moving north over the bay. Passerines were in somewhat short supply, but we still counted the season's first Great Crested Flycatcher and Black-and-white Warbler. Two Eastern Kingbirds also moved north, only the second day so far we have logged the species. Five Blue-gray Gnatcatchers continued to move, and one stopped to forage in the bushes as it worked south.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
A slower songbird flight allowed for more attention out on the bay, and scanning the water produced a southbound Wilson's Storm-Petrel! These small seabirds occasionally wander far up into the Chesapeake Bay during late summer, but are seldom seen from shore.
Conditions will remain similar tomorrow with a steady east-northeast wind, and no major arrival of migrants is anticipated. Anything can fly by at Sunset Beach regardless of the conditions even without a significant flight, and we're eager to see what the coming days bring!
Stay tuned for tomorrow's daily Eastern Shore Migration Update here on the CVWO Blog, and follow along with the Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count live every morning on Trektellen: https://trektellen.nl/site/info/3748
