It was a sky full of birds this morning at Sunset Beach. Late fall was certainly in the air with a flight dominated by blackbirds, robins, Tree Swallows, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Red-winged Blackbirds were the dominant species with 2,455 counted southbound, mostly flocks of several dozen spread out throughout the morning. American Robins put on their best showing yet with 842, the majority southbound and many extremely high. Highlight species included four Red-shouldered Hawks, eight Rusty Blackbirds, a cooperative Nashville Warbler, and a Dickcissel.
Common Loon
Blackpoll Warbler
Swamp Sparrow
Nashville Warbler
The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had a similarly busy day with many comparable species and counts. Bald Eagles dominated the moderate raptor flight with 19 counted, and it is only a matter of time before they are joined by the first Golden of the season. Yellow-rumped Warblers put on an impressive showing at the hawkwatch with 5,180 counted moving south, considerably more than recorded at Sunset. Seventeen Purple Finches, six Pine Siskins, and 32 Rusty Blackbirds were nice counts of these late season migrants. Songbirds foraging around the platform throughout the day included another Lincoln's Sparrow, Nashville and Tennessee Warblers, and the continuing Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow.
Winds shifting slightly to the northeast may allow some migrants to depart the Eastern Shore, but many more will likely continue to filter in and the slight easterly component by midday may make for a better day at the hawkwatch than the past few days. Northeast winds will continue to build through the week with the next westerlies by next weekend.
Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:
Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20251025
Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20251025
