Light northeasterlies continued this morning under partly cloudy skies. Forward morning flight was again active, with strong pushes of blackbirds and finches. At Sunset Beach, totals of 44 species and 2492 individuals were counted.
There was a solid push of forward passerine migrants this morning, mostly carried by blackbirds including 434 Red-winged Blackbirds, 121 Brown-headed Cowbirds, 48 Common Grackles, 7 and Rusty Blackbirds. Finches were also moving in decent numbers including 130 Pine Siskins. Other typical forward migrants such as American Robin were slower by comparison, and only 112 robins were counted. Most of the morning’s 820 Yellow-rumped Warblers were also southbound, primarily in the first hour.
Waterfowl were moving in decent numbers, though most of the flocks over the bay were frustratingly distant on the horizon line and not identifiable. Three American Black Ducks, four Surf Scoters, 101 Black Scoters, and a pair of Bufflehead were in countable range.
The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch remained fairly slow, totaling 44 raptors for the day. The passerine migrant composition was quite different at the hawkwatch compared to Sunset, with the hawkwatch logging fewer blackbirds and more robins and Blue Jays. Highlights on the ground included an Orange-crowned and a Prairie Warbler.
Migration will probably be generally slow tonight, though more westerly winds overnight switching to northwest tomorrow hold some promise for some more late season movement.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s daily migration update on CVWO social media and the CVWO blog: https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog
And
follow along with the count live every morning on Trektellen: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20261029
