Calm west winds shifting to northeast and a glassy bay were a welcome change from the rough conditions of the past couple of days. A wide variety of species were taking advantage of the calm weather and species across the whole taxonomic list were moving through today. Totals of 72 species and 13803 individuals were counted at Sunset Beach.
Morning flight was excellent today with birds coating the sky everywhere our counting crew looked. Waterfowl had an especially good day with hundreds of ducks counted, mostly in small to medium-sized flocks distant out over the bay and across the airspace over the peninsula. Without a doubt, Wood Ducks stole the show with 276 counted. Other waterfowl highlights included 41 Green-winged Teal, 39 first-of-season Lesser Scaup, 23 Ring-necked Duck, 18 Northern Pintail, four first-of-season Long-tailed Ducks, and two Snow Geese. Other migrant diversity included five Red-shouldered Hawks, a late Broad-winged Hawk, 53 Northern Flickers, 49 Eastern Meadowlarks, and a nice November warbler roster including eight Cape May Warblers, one Blackpoll Warbler, and one Northern Parula.
The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch also had a very birdy day with 43 species and 36,099 individuals counted. A nice late season trickle of raptors was highlighted by two first-of-season Golden Eagles, 10 Northern Harriers, seven Red-shouldered Hawks, and 14 Red-tailed Hawks. Several late species were detected including a Chimney Swift, a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and a Northern Rough-winged Swallow. Things picked up in a major way in the final two hours of the count when a massive evening flight commenced. In the final hour and 45 minutes of the count, an astonishing 442 Wood Ducks, 9,097 Tree Swallows, and 17,191 American Robins were counted moving south!
Tomorrow looks like it will have a rainy start to the day followed by building northeast winds in the afternoon. If the rain clears out quickly enough, the northeast winds could prompt some raptor movement in the second half of the day. Looking ahead, northwest winds return Tuesday followed by a shift to southwest Wednesday, and another cold front bringing northwest once again on Thursday. Migration this time of year is an incredible spectacle, and this week will surely have some more amazing movements!
Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:
Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20251102
Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20251102
