Calm north winds led to a light day of migration at the Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count. Not a whole lot was on the move this morning, but 32 species and 253 individuals were still counted exhibiting migratory behavior.
Reverse migrants were few and far between this morning. There was a slight uptick in Pine Warbler numbers, with a total of seven northbound individuals counted. No warbler species hit double digits this morning, but there was decent diversity overall with eight species counted. A bonus "local" Prothonotary Warbler was hanging around the southern trees, an uncommon migrant here and only the second of the season.
A major highlight of the morning was a large dark flycatcher that appeared over the southern tree line and flew low overhead showing long wings and a strong vested pattern- an Olive-sided Flycatcher! Photos were only obtained after the bird passed overhead, also showing the long and marked undertail coverts as it shot north. Olive-sided Flycatchers are generally a scarce migrant, and especially rare on Virginia's coast. They seem to be having a good season so far out here, and it was great to get one in morning flight!
Swallow numbers were low at Sunset Beach, but a small feeding cluster of Barn Swallows was joined by two Bank Swallows, always a nice bird to see on the count and one that will probably not be around for a whole lot longer.
Strong southwest to south winds and warmer weather arrives tomorrow, which will likely put migration to a halt. The forecasted cold front is still expected to arrive Saturday night, possibly bringing a few showers and a major wind shift to the north by Sunday morning. Sunday is looking like a promising day for migration; we'll see what ends up happening!
Keep up with the daily Eastern Shore Migration Update right here on the CVWO Blog and be sure to check out our Trektellen pages for real-time updates:
Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250903
Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250903
