There were clearly plenty of birds still in the pipeline after yesterday's significant migration movement, and today featured another very busy morning at Sunset Beach! Northeast winds returned today with a steady 10 mph northeast throughout the count duration, and partly cloudy skies provided ideal viewing conditions. Today was the second day of the count so far during which we hit quadruple digits of migratory birds, with 1149 individuals and 45 species counted.
The flight today featured a similar composition to yesterday with strong showings of 167 Eastern Kingbird, 255 Barn Swallows, 79 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and 342 Red-winged Blackbird. There were also a number of new species for the season, including Black-bellied Plover, Red-shouldered Hawk, Gray Catbird, and Red-eyed Vireo. Three Broad-winged Hawks also made another appearance this morning, continuing the series of sightings this week on the Eastern Shore.
The Psychology of a
Counter: Middle Management
In response to yesterday’s new column of the blog, I will now attempt the daunting task of evaluating the behavior of Morning
Flight Coordinator Andrew Rapp, aka Middle Management. Middle Management diligently oversaw the count this morning, offering his usual invaluable insight into the movements
and identifications of migratory birds at Sunset Beach. After finishing our
official duties for the day, the Morning Flight Team concluded that the day’s
counting was not yet done. The afternoon was spent at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch
Platform for some laid-back recreational hawkwatching, accompanied by the welcome
assistance of volunteer Will Burgoyne.
Our efforts were well-rewarded by a very enjoyable pre-season flight of raptors this afternoon, with 11 Osprey, three Cooper’s Hawks, six Bald Eagles, a Mississippi Kite, six Broad-winged Hawks, a Red-tailed Hawk, two American Kestrels, and an early Merlin. However, much of our attention was diverted by a steady flight of Barn Swallows throughout the afternoon. Our trio of counters diligently took turns clicking southbound swallows, but the effort clearly exhausted self-described “counter retiree” Middle Management. He soon called the clicking quits in favor of an afternoon platform snooze, leaving the swallows to his dutiful underlings. Thankfully, he arose from deep slumber in time to take the last clicking shift, bringing the grand total of the afternoon to 3,265 Barn Swallows.
Andrew Napp
It is worth noting that despite working a full-time job, Middle
Management has issued the proclamation that he will be spending each of his weekends
throughout the fall out here on the Eastern Shore reliving his glory days as a
counter. This proclamation comes with the significant caveat of being otherwise
occupied with the occasional day of extracurricular activities, including
running pelagic trips to Norfolk Canyon. This level of dedication surely goes above and
beyond the expected one day of relief a week that he is supposed to be facilitating.
Admittedly, this behavior does appear to closely mirror that of the main Morning Flight
Counter. Such efforts, though commendable, verge on concerning. Casting
concerns for his well-being aside, we are deeply grateful for Middle Management’s
intensive commitments to supporting the Morning Flight Count, and hope that he
gets some more much-needed rest tonight before a long day at sea tomorrow.
