The dry conditions overnight coupled with a steady north wind provided very favorable migration conditions over the mid Atlantic, and the highest volume migration so far of the season followed. Winds switching to north-northeast overnight may have kept numbers slightly lower at Sunset Beach and the early flight line was mostly out to the east towards the refuge, but it was still a nice morning with some solid diversity with 53 species and 1118 individuals counted.
Warblers put in a good appearance this morning with 14 species. American Redstarts dominated as expected with 212, but a surprising second place went to an even 60 Common Yellowthroats. Yellowthroats were shooting through at eye level all morning, with many passing through below the eaves of the bathhouse. Other warblers included a nice first of season Bay-breasted and a low flyby Hooded, a rarer migrant on the Eastern Shore.
Common Yellowthroat
Other highlights included a Common Nighthawk and a good movement of high southbound ibis with 125 White and 5 Glossy counted. Two of each Merlin and American Kestrel were counted moving south, and two engaged in some dogfighting allowing for nice comparison shots.
Up at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch, the strong northeast yielded the first day over 100 raptors so far this season. Falcons were zipping by all afternoon and evening, and totals of 60 American Kestrel and 43 Merlin were tallied, including a couple Merlins even moving after sunset. White Ibis had a good southbound movement with 288, and Green Herons had an excellent late evening liftoff with 69 coming over in small flocks.
Northeast winds seem to allow lots of birds to depart the shore after they arrive, and that seems to be the case tonight by the looks of the radar. Tomorrow could still have a flight of anything arriving, but it will likely be a bit slower. Raptors should continue to move all week with continued northeast winds. A few nights later in the week may shift back to due north, which could allow for some better overnight arrivals.
Keep up with the counts here with the daily Eastern Shore Migration Update right here on the CVWO Blog, and follow along with our count live on Trektellen here:
Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250908
Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250908
