Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 28, 2025

Today's Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count featured south-southwest winds off the bay, and a varied overcast sky that allowed a very nice sunrise. A nice varied flight followed, and the morning was fairly laid-back due to a somewhat lower volume of birds but still enjoyably diverse. A total of 31 species and 533 individuals were counted in migration this morning. 

One of the more notable movements of the day was a Sandwich Tern movement that took place later on in the morning. A steady trickle of Sandwich Terns lasted for several minutes, including many birds forming tight small groups low over the water as they moved south in apparent active migration. A total of 58 Sandwich Terns were counted, by far the season high count for the species. 

Another highlight was a Canada Warbler that moved through low in the shrubs, but still came out into the open long enough for some very nice views. Canada Warblers are an uncommon species out here on the Eastern Shore and are often difficult to see well due to their habit of staying low in dense thickets and undercover. This individual however seemed intent on providing some good views. 

Without a significant reverse migration to speak of, forward migrants had a good day including a tally of 101 Bobolink and 258 Eastern Kingbird counted. A total of 199 kingbirds were counted moving south, while 59 moved back north. An interesting kingbird insight came mid-morning when Audrey texted that hundreds of kingbirds were headed south and should be arriving at Sunset. However, these flocks never materialized at Sunset until later in the morning, suggesting the birds put down somewhere mid-morning to forage or rest, possibly in the vicinity of the Taylor Pond. 

The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch also had a diverse day with Ospreys, a Cooper's Hawk, and Northern Harriers counted for the day. A good southbound flight of passerines was also counted, including a total of 1076 southbound Eastern Kingbirds. A total of 85 Purple Martins were also counted with a majority being males, unusual for this time of year on the Shore.

Winds swing around to the south and over to the southwest and eventually west tomorrow. Another cold front is forecasted to pass down through on Friday night, and will hopefully bring another significant migration movement!

Stay in the loop by following the daily Eastern Shore Migration Updates here on the CVWO Blog, and follow along with our counts live on Trektellen for real-time updates every day: 

Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250828

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250828

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 28, 2025

Today's Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count featured steady north winds once again, but today there was an essentially cloudless blue sky which made spotting high passerines a challenge. A majority of the flight was also out to the east today, where birds were almost entirely backlit and in many cases, impossible to identify.  Despite the tough viewing conditions, a nice flight took place mostly in the first hour with 392 individuals and 39 species were counted. 

The clear highlight of the day occurred near the end of the second hour when a Lark Sparrow dropped in to a locust bordering the parking lot! Lark Sparrows are a rare but annual vagrant to the Eastern Shore from the great plains and west. After perching for a moment and giving some distinctive flight calls, it shot off towards the campground and perched briefly in a small pine before moving off to the east towards Highway 13. The encounter was made all the better by the serendipitous arrival of CVWO's "Boss Lady" Nancy Barnhart, who arrived just in time to see the Lark Sparrow before it continued on its travels!

Lark Sparrow

The season's second Common Nighthawk was nice to see out to the east just before sunrise. A decent warbler flight mostly in the first hour of the count featured the season's second Ovenbird and another Cape May Warbler, alongside a strong majority of American Redstarts making up the bulk of the flight with 50 northbound individuals counted. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers had another good day, with 58 counted, all but one moving north. 

Over at the Kiptopeke Hawk Platform, a total of 20 early season raptors were counted including two more Harriers and six Broad-winged Hawks. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers also had a good day at the hawkwatch with 53 counted, as well as a significant movement of over 422 northbound Eastern Kingbirds in the first hour. These kingbirds likely started their flight somewhere north of Sunset Beach, as only 13 were counted there across the same duration.

Also of note at the hawkwatch, our new bird feeder setup has been installed and is open for hungry bird visitors! The counters are eager to see what species will attend the feeder throughout the fall. Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, and Northern Cardinal have been issued as individual predictions by the three counters for the first visitor to the new feeders. Only time will tell who, if anyone, is correct, though one thing we can count on for sure is that the squirrels will figure out a way onto the feeding station.

Light southwest winds return tomorrow and will likely stall out some migrants currently hoping to continue making their way south. Variety is the spice of birding on the Eastern Shore, and we will be interested to see what the wind shift brings. 

Follow along with the action every day here on the CVWO Blog with our daily Eastern Shore Migration Updates, and be sure to check out our two Trektellen pages for real-time count updates: 

Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250827

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250827?sc=0

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 26, 2025

The anticipated overnight cold front accompanied by north winds delivered a very nice movement today at the Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count. Winds were steady 15mph out of the north-northeast for the duration of the count, and a high overcast sky provided a perfect backdrop for the flight. Reorientation movement was most significant in the first hour, trailing off throughout the morning as forward migration picked up a little bit. A total of 46 species and 1204 individuals were counted this morning.

Things picked up quickly with a first-of-season Common Yellowthroat and Ovenbird moving low through the parking lot pre-dawn. A quick scan of the bay in the early minutes produced an Eastern Red Bat making a beeline for shore as it flew in off the bay, a reminder that birds are not the only animals winging it through the night sky as they migrate south! A nice northbound American Redstart flight quickly developed with a total of 203 counted for the morning, alongside more moderate numbers of Black-and-white with 23 counted. A northbound Blackburnian Warbler was the second of the season so far, and two more early Cape May Warblers further highlight that species' arrival on the Shore. 

A few pixels of Blackburnian Warbler

Forward migration increased throughout the morning with good counts of 223 Bobolink and 284 Red-winged Blackbird moving south in small high groups, mostly in the second hour. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers also had a good day with 44 southbound and 13 northbound, similar to Eastern Kingbird which consisted of 49 southbound and 8 northbound individuals. With these species, northbound birds seem to move early, prior to a larger southbound flight developing later in the morning. 

On the non-passerine side of things, it was nice to see a tight high flock of eight Common Terns moving south early on in the first hour. A few shorebirds were moving around, including six Semipalmated Plovers, five Lesser Yellowlegs, and singles of Short-billed Dowitcher, Western Willet, and Least Sandpiper. A handful of raptors were counted moving south as well, with one each of American Kestrel, Osprey, and Northern Harrier. All in all a great diverse flight that required constant scanning and clicking leaving little time for photography!

Speaking of raptors, the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had a nice second day of the count season highlighted by six Northern Harriers and an afternoon Mississippi Kite, an adult that moved strongly south over the platform.Southbound passerines were detected in greater numbers from the hawkwatch this morning, with good southbound tallies of 243 Eastern Kingbird, 291 Barn Swallow, 88 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 647 Bobolink, and 525 Red-winged Blackbird. Two Red-breasted Nuthatches were also a notable arrival, and we will be following this species' movement with interest this fall in the hopes of an irruption flight. 

 Later in the evening, a juvenile Mississippi Kite appeared from the south and spent some time circling and hawking insects over the Sunday Fields area of at Kiptopeke State Park. 

Evening Mississippi Kite over Sunday Fields

The clear trend today was that considerably more southbound passerines were detected at the hawkwatch, whereas northbound passerines were seen in greater numbers at Sunset Beach. With the hawkwatch situated just over two miles north of Sunset Beach, it seems possible that birds approaching each site from opposite directions disperse across the peninsula or settle down somewhere before reaching the other site. It will be interesting to see if this trend between the two sites continues throughout the fall when we have a strong movements in both directions like today.

To round out the three ongoing CVWO Migration Monitoring efforts currently taking place on the Eastern Shore, Monarch Biologist Audrey Anderson tagged the first Monarch of the season at the hawk platform, female tag #ALEY 900! CVWO's Monarch dataset for the fall season will be uploaded to Monarchwatch.org. We will also continue to count migrating Monarchs on Trektellen at both of our migration count sites. 

The first tagged Monarch of Fall 2025!

Lighter northwesterly winds hold tonight and increase in strength through the morning hours, so it's possible tomorrow will be another nice migration day out here on the Eastern Shore! Lighter winds with scattered rain in states to our north may put a damper on birds migrating to our north, so we will see what ends up making it down here.

Keep up with the daily Eastern Shore Migration Update right here on the CVWO Blog, and follow along with our Trektellen counts for real-time migration updates.

Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250826

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250826

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 25, 2025

Today's Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count was conducted by The Nature Conservancy's Migratory Bird Specialist and overall swell guy Mario Balitbit in the absence of both this author and Middle Management. We thank Mario for filling in on this Monday morning and for spotting some pretty great birds for the count! Mario counted 25 species and 190 individuals this morning on partly cloudy skies with a light west-northwest wind. 

Mario's first bird of the day was a first-of-season Common Nighthawk moving north. Nighthawks are a regular but fairly uncommon species here on the Eastern Shore, and are not seen in nearly as high numbers as in some areas of inland Virginia. Regardless of locality, they are a classic migrant of this early fall period, peaking at the end of August and beginning of September. With Mario's photos unavailable at the moment due to him working tirelessly in the marshes this evening, we will use a nighthawk photo taken tonight at the Edward S. Brinkley Nature Preserve. 

Common Nighthawk

Mario's other first-of-season sighting was an immature Parasitic Jaeger cruising out over the Chesapeake Bay, providing great views as it harassed a Royal Tern in typical fashion. Parasitic Jaegers are a rare sight out in the bay but are likely somewhat regular migrants or wanderers in from the ocean. With a high number of terns present off Sunset Beach this morning, this cunning seabird probably saw an opportunity to steal some easy meals. 

Other highlights for the Sunset Beach Count this morning included the season's second Black Tern detection with two birds moving southbound. Season high counts were achieved by 8 Lesser Yellowlegs and 18 Least Sandpipers, southbound and northbound respectively. A light passerine flight was noted out to the east closer to Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge, but other species clearly stole the show today. 

Over at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch, counters Sage Church and Audrey Anderson scanned through a bright blue sky to produce 13 Osprey, one Cooper's Hawk, two Northern Harriers, and two Broad-winged Hawks for the first official day of the hawkwatch count season. Southbound movements of 608 Barn Swallows and 54 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were also notable. Conditions tomorrow appear more favorable for hawkwatching, with clouds and north winds forecasted. 

Tonight there is a change in the air, with a cold front passing at the time of this post's publication accompanied by steady north winds. Radar indicates a substantial night of migration is already underway, and we anticipate a good morning flight tomorrow featuring a number of reorienting nocturnal migrants. More days and nights featuring north winds are forecasted later in the week, and CVWO is thrilled to be fully operational with both migration counts running daily for the rest of the fall!

Keep up with the action right here on the CVWO Blog every day, and follow along with both our Sunset Beach Morning Flight and Kiptopeke Hawkwatch counts live on Trektellen.

Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250825

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250825

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 24, 2025

Today's Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count featured a nice later morning push of forward migrants, with very little in the way of reverse migration. High overcast skies made for nice scanning conditions, and the neutral lighting on the bay was good for viewing the feeding terns out over the water. A total of 27 species and 435 individuals were counted. 

Terns were around in decent numbers, with a good number of Sandwich Terns moving around over the bay as well as several Caspian, a couple of which made close passes to shore.

Caspian Tern

Forward migration picked up later in the morning, and Purple Martins dominated numbers-wise with 154 counted. Barn Swallows and Red-winged Blackbirds also bolstered the numbers, with 61 and 106 counted respectively. A light pulse of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers picked up at the end of the second hour, with 25 counted. One gnatcatcher stuck around to forage in the shrubs by the parking area. 

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

It was also nice to see three Semipalmated Plovers that made a close flyby heading south. Other shorebirds included four southbound Least Sandpipers, three southbound Greater/Lesser Yellowlegs, and a total of 20 shorebird sp., distant birds out over the refuge and the Chesapeake Bay.

Semipalmated Plover

Songbird migrants were generally slow, but it was nice to see the second Worm-eating Warbler of the season moving south early in the morning as well as a southbound Orchard Oriole, the first of the species in nearly a week. Orchard Orioles are one of the earliest migrants to vacate the area in fall migration, and the vast majority are gone by early September. 

Winds tomorrow will be variable but should be mostly light out of the southwest tomorrow morning. A cold front arrives overnight with a wind shift to the north, and Tuesday looks promising for the next significant arrival of migrants on the Shore. 

Tomorrow also marks the first official day of CVWO's Kiptopeke Hawkwatch count season! Sage Church and Audrey Anderson will be staffing the hawk count again this fall, and we will eagerly look for their daily reports.

Be sure to keep up with our daily Eastern Shore Migration Update right here on the CVWO Blog, and follow along with the count live every morning on Trektellen: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250824

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 23, 2025

Today's Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count featured a nice movement of migrants on light easterly winds with a total of 32 species and 678 individuals counted. Most of the migration observed this morning was forward migration of diurnally-migrating species later on in the morning, with very little reorientation flight occurring. 

As is typical of this time of year for forward migrants, Eastern Kingbirds and Purple Martins led in numbers with 277 and 97 counted respectively. Other highlights of the morning included the season high of 11 Red-headed Woodpeckers, a good count for the date. Most of the birds were immatures in varying stages of plumage, some with complete red heads. After first appearing on the count yesterday, it was also nice to see seven Baltimore Orioles, with four southbound and three northbound individuals. 

Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-headed Woodpecker

We also counted our first migrating Osprey of the season, a high circling bird that eventually set its wings in the classic "M" shape and cruised south. Though Osprey have been on the move for some time, raptors typically start flying a little later in the morning than our count window for Morning Flight, making them less likely to be detected on a given morning. Osprey numbers at the Kiptopeke SP hawk platform should be steadily building in the coming weeks, where they can be seen migrating well into the evening on some days.

Migrating Osprey

Winds shift to light southerlies overnight, so it is unlikely that we will see much in the way of a flight tomorrow until later in the morning when a few diurnal migrants may start to move. A cold front still appears primed to pass through early next week, which should hopefully bring a fresh batch of migrants as we move into the final week of August. 

Stay tuned for more daily Eastern Shore Migration Updates right here on the CVWO Blog, and be sure to follow along live each morning on our Trektellen page for real-time count updates: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250823

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 22, 2025

North-northwest winds overnight associated with a cold front passing through in the wake of Hurricane Erin provided favorable conditions for migration last night. The good overnight movement produced a nice morning flight this morning, heavily featuring warblers and other nocturnal passerine migrants. We had a full roster of counters on hand to help out with the count today as well including returning CVWO Hawk Counter Sage Church and Monarch Biologist Audrey Anderson! A total of 43 species and 590 individuals were counted this morning. 

The stars of the show this morning were American Redstarts, which were a near constant presence in the airspace above Sunset Beach as they came over northbound in singles, pairs, and small groups. A total of 134 redstarts were counted this morning, marking the first day with an individual warbler species in triple-digit numbers. It is likely a significant number of the mostly distant and backlit 132 warbler sp. on the eastern flightline were also redstarts. At least three birds this morning were adult males, seldom seen on the coast in the fall. 

American Redstart

The day also saw several first-of-season species for the count including Traill's (Alder/Willow) Flycatcher, Baltimore Oriole, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green, and Cape May Warblers, or as they are colloquially known by some in these parts, Cape Charles Warblers. Bird taxonomy and common names have seen a fair bit of upheaval and confusion lately, so what's one more name change at the end of the day? Whatever we call them, it is an early arrival for the species on the Shore, and possibly the earliest documented record for Northampton County. 

"Cape Charles" Warbler

Several of the 11 counted Black-and-white Warblers allowed for nice in-flight views as they passed over moving north. 

Black-and-white Warbler

As happy as we were with the birds we caught views of as they zipped overhead, the real catch of the day was a large Atlantic needlefish snagged by an Osprey out in the bay. 

Osprey with Atlantic needlefish

Winds shift back to the east and southeast temporarily over the weekend before the next cold front arrives late Monday. If the forecast holds, Tuesday is looking like the next good possibility for a big flight. Weather should stay quite pleasant through the weekend after this most recent cold front, and we look forward to seeing what birds pass by at a more leisurely pace over the next few days!

Stay tuned for daily Eastern Shore Migration Updates right here on the CVWO Blog, and stay current with our live Trektellen page for real-time updates every morning: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250822

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 21, 2025

Winds were up blowing strong out of the north northeast with the offshore passage of Hurricane Erin, and the effects of the storm on bird migration were noticeable across several species. Rain held off, and the sheltered position at Sunset Beach made for a nice morning of seeing what birds were flying by. A total of 27 species and 312 individuals were counted this morning. 

Passerine movement was fairly slow today overall, but there was an interesting early morning liftoff of American Redstarts where 22 birds were counted northbound in a fairly short window before the flight tapered off. A moderate northbound Purple Martin movement started up later on in the morning, with 179 counted in total. 

As predicted, Erin passed too far offshore to bring in a significant movement of pelagic birds. There were certainly a few more terns than usual feeding out over the bay as many birds slowly moved north into the wind. Despite the lack of true storm-blown waifs, it was nice to see two Wilson's Storm-Petrels out over the bay. This fits the pattern of this species showing up on the count on days with a northeasterly wind component, and these tiny seabirds may have used the strong winds of Hurricane Erin to move up into the bay. 

Another nice bird for the count was a close flyby first-of-season White-rumped Sandpiper a little later in the morning. White-rumped Sandpipers migrate over the Atlantic Ocean from the northeast and Canada as they make their way to South America for the winter, and they may often appear onshore in greater numbers after periods of strong northeast winds. These large peeps are especially long-winged, and are well-adapted to incredibly long migration flights. 

White-rumped Sandpiper

Another nice shorebird to see today was this Solitary Sandpiper, which came in off the bay calling. 

Solitary Sandpiper

A final highlight was a strange sparrow that was initially seen flying across the parking lot with a flock of House Sparrows, lighting in the shrub adjacent to the count viewpoint. A quick glance confirmed that this was another juvenile Seaside Sparrow, the second of this species so far for the count. Typically found in coastal saltmarsh, it's possible this individual was pushed out of the marsh by the storm surge from Hurricane Erin and passed through Sunset Beach while looking for a temporary hiding place. 

Seaside Sparrow

Winds switch to north-northwest overnight in the wake of Hurricane Erin with a cold front keeping the storm offshore. This should be a nice setup for significant overnight migration, and we are hopeful that a very nice morning flight occurs tomorrow. 

Keep up with the daily Eastern Shore Migration Update right here on the CVWO Blog, and follow along with the count live on Trektellen every morning: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250821

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 20, 2025

Today's flight at Sunset Beach featured a fair diversity of species but lower numbers as expected without a significant overnight migration movement. Gentle winds shifted around to the northeast overnight, and the morning was fairly calm overall with a variably cloudy sky and warm temperatures. A total of 26 species and 190 individuals in total were counted. 

Red-headed Woodpeckers had their best showing so far with three counted, and two juveniles gave very nice flyby views later in the morning. Note the differing stages of molt with one already showing some red feathering coming in on the head, while the other fully retains the streaky brown juvenile plumage. 

Red-headed Woodpeckers

The flight was fairly slow otherwise, with very little passerine movement noted aside from a few Red-winged Blackbird flocks totaling 73 individuals. Warblers were essentially absent throughout the morning aside from a very brief movement in the third hour, with five American Redstarts, two Yellow Warblers and the season's second Yellow-throated Warbler counted. Purple Martins were present but in a fraction of yesterday's numbers, with only 18 individuals counted. 

Purple Martin

Shorebird numbers were likewise slow, though it is always nice to see Least Sandpipers flying by.

Least Sandpiper

And as always on a slower day, the local birds get their due appreciation, including a pair of Carolina Chickadees that hung out for some time in the wax myrtle. By contrast to the multitude of highly migratory species that we see at Sunset Beach, Carolina Chickadees are among the most sedentary of our local birds, and many likely live their entire lives within a very small area from which they hatch.

Carolina Chickadee

Tomorrow sees the arrival of Hurricane Erin to Virginia's distant offshore waters, and the effects of the storm will certainly be felt with sustained 25-30 mph northeast to north winds tomorrow with gusts reaching 40 mph. Rain impacts will likely be marginal, but a chance of showers is possible later in the morning and midday. It will certainly be an interesting experience at Sunset Beach tomorrow regardless of what birds may be blown by on the blasting winds.

Regarding storm birding, given the offshore passage of this storm it seems unlikely that tropical seabirds will be deposited in the area. That being said, the storm is very likely to displace local seabirds as well as over-water migrants with its massive wind field and very strong onshore winds throughout the day tomorrow. Nearby land-based sea watching efforts in Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks have already detected a few seabirds today. 

It seems very plausible that significant movements of terns, shorebirds and possibly even jaegers, shearwaters, phalaropes, and storm-petrels could be seen from coastal Virginia tomorrow as they are pushed inshore by the winds on the western edge of Erin. Long-distance migrant shorebirds that fly over open ocean including Hudsonian Godwit also seem like likely candidates for displacement during this storm. It will be an interesting day to watch any body of water in Coastal Virginia, and flooded fields and other open areas that could serve as storm roosting sites may be productive as well. 

We will be keeping a close eye on the Chesapeake Bay tomorrow at Sunset Beach; be sure to follow long live on Trektellen to see what's being seen! Click August 21 at the top of the screen tomorrow for real-time updates on our Trektellen page: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250820

And as always, a full writeup of the morning's migration will be posted tomorrow night right here on the CVWO Blog!

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 19, 2025

Today was our first day of rain-affected counting at Sunset Beach. Drizzle was consistent and rain showers popped up throughout the morning, eventually cutting the count half an hour short. Despite the wet conditions, some interesting movements of birds occurred on a light easterly wind, and 15 species and 908 individuals were counted this morning. 

The most interesting individual species of the morning was the season's first Black Tern, which passed fairly close by the beach during a gap in the rain. A scarce migrant through the area, this species is often associated with storms when seen from shore, preferring to migrate offshore and over wide expanses of water like the Chesapeake Bay. This was the eighth and last regularly-occurring species of tern in the area that had not been seen yet this season at Sunset Beach.

Black Tern

Though very few species were recorded in numbers, one species had its best day yet and showed in great numbers. After a mid-morning shower ended, Purple Martins started appearing all over the sky, most directly overhead, but some out over the bay to the west and over Eastern Shore of VA NWR to the east. All but one of the 817 martins was counted heading south, and they continued until heavy rain eventually set in. It was exciting to see a species pushing on in such good numbers through the tough conditions, and provided a bit of encouragement for sticking out the count through a dreary morning!

Purple Martin

And while not much else was seen migrating today, it was nice to see a "local" Black Scoter, likely an over-summering bird in the area, swimming close to the beach before sunrise.

Black Scoter

Tomorrow should feature sunnier skies with a light south wind shifting to the east as the morning goes on. Winds will build out of the northeast throughout the afternoon and overnight as the massive wind field of Hurricane Erin approaches offshore. Thursday is still looking like the most likely day to see any direct affects of the storm bird-wise. 

While the storm staying well offshore does not suggest the possibility of true pelagic birds being carried ashore, the blasting northeast winds certainly have potential to displace shorebird and nearshore seabird migrants. Any body of water, flooded field, or other waterbird habitat will be worth diligently checking on Thursday to better understand how this major hurricane affects bird movements. A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for the Eastern Shore, and we will continue to monitor the conditions out of interest and precaution.

Keep up-to-date with bird movements right here on the CVWO Blog with tomorrow's daily Eastern Shore Migration Update, and check in for real-time updates to the Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count every morning on Trektellen: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250819

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 18, 2025

Light northwest winds led to a slower morning in terms of numbers today at Sunset Beach, but the flight decent in terms of diversity. Clouds were lacking initially, but a nice high bank rolled in later in the morning which helped scanning considerably. A total of 36 species and 225 individuals were counted throughout the morning. 

No one species had a standout movement this morning, but there was a trickle of warblers throughout to keep scanning for with one Northern Waterthrush, four waterthrush sp., one Black-and-white Warbler, six American Redstarts, five Yellow and two Pine Warblers counted. A northbound Belted Kingfisher was one of few detected on the count so far, as was a southbound Red-headed Woodpecker. A first-of-season Solitary Sandpiper was a nice pickup, though it was only detected by its distinctive pweet-pweet flight call.

Local birds hanging around the count site offered a bit more entertainment than the migrants this morning. Five Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were counted zooming north including one flying in off the bay, but a local visiting the trumpet vine throughout the morning provided by far the best and most prolonged views.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

A small mixed flock picked up in activity later in the morning. in the trees north of the parking area, with several warbler species joining up with local Brown-headed Nuthatches and Carolina Chickadees. In addition to a few Pine, Black-and White, a redstart, and a Yellow-throated, a nice early Blackburnian Warbler showed well throughout the morning and represented another first-of-season for the count. 

Blackburnian Warbler

We continue to track Hurricane Erin as the forecast takes shape over the next few days. Erin will make its closest approach to the Virginia coast around midday on Thursday, and will be accompanied by strong northeast winds. While the storm passes far offshore, it seems possible that these winds may blow birds towards the coast. 

A cold front moves through Thursday night and the north northwest winds leading into Friday morning look like a promising setup after Erin's passage. We will continue to monitor the conditions over the next few days, and our thoughts on the migratory implications will continue to be shared to the CVWO Blog. We will be back tomorrow with the next daily Eastern Shore Migration Update!

Catch us live every morning on Trektellen to track real-time updates throughout each morning: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250818

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 17, 2025

Today saw a return to slower migration conditions after an action packed past two days. Light breezes this morning were out of the north and northwest, but could barely be felt. Typically absent, no-see-ums were biting before too long, and the sun shone down from a cloudless sky. The flight was essentially finished by 7:30, though a total of 35 species and 349 individuals were counted. 

The bulk of the flight today consisted of Red-winged Blackbirds, with 152 counted. Barn Swallows had one of their lowest days yet with 16 counted, by stark contrast to yesterday's significant movement. On the other hand, a flock of six Northern Rough-winged Swallows moved by, the highest number so far. Eastern Kingbirds were also down from the past couple days, with six counted. A few woodpeckers were on the move, with two Red-headed, a Red-bellied, and a Pileated counted. Downy is the only woodpecker species we regularly detect as a local bird at Sunset Beach. 

Reverse migrant songbirds were quite slow, with single digits recorded for most regular species. An Eastern Wood-Pewee gave a nice flyover northbound in the second hour, showing its long wings and faint dusky vest pattern. Paler flanks, less pointed wings, a narrower tail, and generally slighter build help differentiate between its larger and much rarer congener, Olive-sided Flycatcher. 

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Slower days like today seem to produce more local migrants foraging around the vicinity. Today, a Prairie Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, and two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were moving around the dune scrub with a few Carolina Chickadees. The Prairie Warbler paused for a moment at the top of one of the shrubs before resuming foraging. It is sometimes nice to see warblers here on the ground for a change!

Prairie Warbler

South winds will slowly shift over to light westerlies by morning, and with significant precipitation to the north and no tailwind, tomorrow is expected to be similarly slow. A considerable shift in conditions is forecasted to occur later in the week with the offshore passage of Hurricane Erin, and should see the return of strong north-northeast winds. We will see what is moving tomorrow with light variable winds.

Keep up with the next daily Eastern Shore Migration Update right here on the CVWO Blog, and be sure to catch us live on Trektellen for real-time migration updates. On the following link, click on the date you wish to view at the top of the screen. August 18 will show up at the top of the screen once tomorrow's count is up and running: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250817

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 16, 2025

There were clearly plenty of birds still in the pipeline after yesterday's significant migration movement, and today featured another very busy morning at Sunset Beach! Northeast winds returned today with a steady 10 mph northeast throughout the count duration, and partly cloudy skies provided ideal viewing conditions. Today was the second day of the count so far during which we hit quadruple digits of migratory birds, with 1149 individuals and 45 species counted. 

The flight today featured a similar composition to yesterday with strong showings of 167 Eastern Kingbird, 255 Barn Swallows, 79 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and 342 Red-winged Blackbird. There were also a number of new species for the season, including Black-bellied Plover, Red-shouldered Hawk, Gray Catbird, and Red-eyed Vireo. Three Broad-winged Hawks also made another appearance this morning, continuing the series of sightings this week on the Eastern Shore.

Black-bellied Plover

Black-and-white Warbler

Eastern Kingbird

White Ibis had another strong showing this morning as well, with 162 counted. Typical for the species, 128 White Ibis were moving north this morning, most of them over to the east over Eastern Shore of Virginia NWR. 

White Ibis

Conditions will shift once again this week and winds are forecasted to be very light and somewhat variable out of the north tomorrow. Looking ahead to the rest of the week, Hurricane Erin is predicted to pass well off the Virginia coast in the middle of the week. While immediate impacts of the hurricane may not be immediately obvious, such a large and powerful storm passing offshore during migration is sure to ground some migrants or otherwise affect migration. We will continue to monitor this storm carefully and will update this blog with its birding potential once it is a little closer. 

The Psychology of a Counter: Middle Management

In response to yesterday’s new column of the blog, I will now attempt the daunting task of evaluating the behavior of Morning Flight Coordinator Andrew Rapp, aka Middle Management. Middle Management diligently oversaw the count this morning, offering his usual invaluable insight into the movements and identifications of migratory birds at Sunset Beach. After finishing our official duties for the day, the Morning Flight Team concluded that the day’s counting was not yet done. The afternoon was spent at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch Platform for some laid-back recreational hawkwatching, accompanied by the welcome assistance of volunteer Will Burgoyne.

Our efforts were well-rewarded by a very enjoyable pre-season flight of raptors this afternoon, with 11 Osprey, three Cooper’s Hawks, six Bald Eagles, a Mississippi Kite, six Broad-winged Hawks, a Red-tailed Hawk, two American Kestrels, and an early Merlin. However, much of our attention was diverted by a steady flight of Barn Swallows throughout the afternoon. Our trio of counters diligently took turns clicking southbound swallows, but the effort clearly exhausted self-described “counter retiree” Middle Management. He soon called the clicking quits in favor of an afternoon platform snooze, leaving the swallows to his dutiful underlings. Thankfully, he arose from deep slumber in time to take the last clicking shift, bringing the grand total of the afternoon to 3,265 Barn Swallows.

Andrew Napp

It is worth noting that despite working a full-time job, Middle Management has issued the proclamation that he will be spending each of his weekends throughout the fall out here on the Eastern Shore reliving his glory days as a counter. This proclamation comes with the significant caveat of being otherwise occupied with the occasional day of extracurricular activities, including running pelagic trips to Norfolk Canyon. This level of dedication surely goes above and beyond the expected one day of relief a week that he is supposed to be facilitating. Admittedly, this behavior does appear to closely mirror that of the main Morning Flight Counter. Such efforts, though commendable, verge on concerning. Casting concerns for his well-being aside, we are deeply grateful for Middle Management’s intensive commitments to supporting the Morning Flight Count, and hope that he gets some more much-needed rest tonight before a long day at sea tomorrow.

We will be back to our regularly-scheduled programming tomorrow, and hopefully some more swallows will be passing by on calm north-northeast breezes. Catch our daily Eastern Shore Migration Update right here on the CVWO Blog, and be sure to follow along with the Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count live every morning on Trektellen here: https://trektellen.nl/site/info/3748

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 15, 2025

Birds were on the move this morning over Sunset Beach. A total of 2695 individual migrants were recorded this morning. The winds shifted from moderate west southwest the previous few days to a light north northeast and east northeast later in the morning. The shift was just what the migrants to the north were waiting for as large numbers of migrants passed over. The big highlight of the morning was the Eastern Kingbird flight. In three and a half hours 575 individuals streamed south and, even after the count ended, more individuals were passing overhead. The kingbird flight was strongly tied to bayside with not nearly as notable of a seaside movement. The bayside movement is due to the eastern winds later in the morning that pushed kingbirds to the western edge of the peninsula.

Eastern Kingbird

Warblers were also on the move with many new season high counts. Warbler numbers include three Louisiana Waterthrush, four Northern Waterthrush, 12 Louisiana/Northern Waterthrush, 10 Black-and-white Warblers, one Prothonotary Warbler, 79 American Redstarts, one Northern Parula, 19 Yellow Warbler, two Pine Warblers, one Yellow-throated Warbler, and one Prairie Warbler.

In terms of the aerial insectivores, we had 26 Chimney Swifts, one Bank Swallow, one Tree Swallow, 11 Purple Martins, and 371 Barn Swallows. The Barn Swallows were really moving south today with a trickle throughout the morning.

Yellow Warbler (trust me)

Icterids were also on full display with our first Bobolink flocks totalling 165. 402 Red-winged Blackbirds, 18 blackbird sp., and 19 Common Grackles cruised over. Because they certainly do not deserve their own paragraph and barely deserve inclusion at all, Starlings also flew over today as they occasionally do. The head morning flight counter, who was supposed to be kicking back and relaxing on his day off, twisted my arm into counting a total of 316 European Starlings flailing overhead.

Wading bird movement was also notable with impressive ibis numbers. A total of 47 Glossy Ibis and 119 White Ibis passed over the beach this morning. Shorebirds also followed suit with several sizable flocks totalling 228 dowitchers far to the east over the refuge moving south. One small group of five Short-billed Dowitchers flew low overhead being escorted by none other than a Rock Pigeon. Rock Pigeons are comically or maybe thankfully scarce flying over Sunset Beach in the previous years of counting.

A fun early morning flight of Odonata was recorded in the first thirty minutes of the count with 33 Common Green Darners heading south in the early morning light.

After the count, many migrant warbler flocks were conjured out of the hot woods. Flocks consisted predominantly of American Redstarts and Black-and-White Warblers, but small numbers of Northern Waterthrushes, Worm-eating, Prairie, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, and Blackburnian Warblers. The huge highlight of the day was an immature Cerulean Warbler at the Cape Charles Natural Area Preserve. Cerulean is a big ticket item anywhere along the coast of Virginia and only one of few records for the county.

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The Psychology of a Counter

In a fun new column for the blog, today we will take the first step in understanding the psychology of a counter. Where do we even begin in understanding the lost mind of the bird counter? Easy. Today was the morning flight counter’s requested day off. The normal human being would enjoy a restful and relaxing day away from work, typically sleeping in, catching up with friends, or whatever else a normal human being does. Not a counter. Counters spend six days a week counting and get one day off. What do they do on their day off? That’s right. They show up at their job and enjoy heckling the relief counters. Pretty much they just do their job for a seventh day in the week. But why? Well, they spend six days a week tediously counting every bird that flies over and the last thing they want to happen is to miss the big flight or rarity that grace the bright eyed relief counters. Counting is a job that takes over the birder's life and glues them to a singular spot for months on end.

Baxter Beamer kicking back and relaxing on his day off. He's totally not counting birds today.

Disclaimer - CVWO provides all necessary resources for counters and Monarch biologists to enjoy a day off, but, as discussed, counters rarely actually enjoy a day off to catch up on normal life. It’s not our fault! We tried.

-Andrew

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 14, 2025

The slower pace continued at Sunset Beach this morning with a steady 10 mph west wind in off the bay and another oppressively cloudy morning that thankfully begun to clear towards the end. Conditions have also been muggy, with above 90% humidity for the second day in a row and 78 degrees Fahrenheit before sunrise. The flight today featured slightly lower numbers and diversity than yesterday, with 20 species and 267 individuals counted. 

Swallows had a decent day once the skies cleared a bit, with 82 Purple Martins and 58 Barn Swallows counted. Interestingly, more martins were northbound and more Barn Swallows were southbound. Eastern Kingbirds had their strongest showing so far, with a total of 43 predominately southbound individuals counted. This species is a diurnal migrant, and we expect to see a higher proportion of these individuals moving south in forward migration as opposed to nocturnal migrants which typically show northbound reverse migration in morning flight.

Eastern Kingbird

Other highlights included the season's first Peregrine Falcon, spotted distantly to the south as it cruised towards the tip of the peninsula with a prey item in its clutches. Another Whimbrel was spotted high overhead early on, and departed off to the southwest out over the Chesapeake Bay. With the exception of the aforementioned aerial insectivores, the songbird flight was negligible aside from a minor uptick in American Robin numbers, with 28 counted. 

Whimbrel silhouette

A weak cold front arrives overnight along with associated rainfall which will likely put a stop to most overnight migration. However, the northeast winds following the cold front over the weekend have the possibility to be interesting, and the passage of the last cold front two weeks ago yielded some interesting movements on northeast winds. Eastern Kingbirds should continue to increase in numbers, and the arrival of other numerous early-season species like Bobolink is anticipated. 

Keep up with the ever-changing migratory conditions right here on the CVWO Blog with tomorrow's daily Eastern Shore Migration Update, and be sure to check out our Trektellen page for real-time updates every morning of the fall: https://trektellen.nl/site/info/3748

Eastern Shore Migration Update: August 13, 2025

Today was another slow one at Sunset Beach with stronger southwest winds coming off the bay and a dark low cloud ceiling throughout the morning seeming to stifle bird activity. The morning started very slowly with no chance for the sun to peek through and wake birds up a little bit, but as the day progressed a few birds started to move. The final tally was 22 species and 344 individuals counted.

Swallows do not appear to move much under these conditions, with only 42 Barn Swallows and five Purple Martins counted. By contrast, 16 Eastern Kingbirds was the highest count for the species so far, and one we expect to see many more of in the coming weeks. 

Common Grackles are flocking on the Eastern Shore, and a group of 160 moved through mid-morning and continued south after staging a bit in the campground area. 

Common Grackle flock

Only three American Redstarts were counted, but offered an opportunity to see migratory reorientation happen in real time as the high-flying warblers came in heading south, saw the end of the peninsula, and quickly reversed course and went north.

Northbound American Redstart

Orchard Orioles had a bit of showing today, with two northbound individuals and four appearing to hang around the area throughout the morning flying back and forth across the parking lot. One female appeared to feed a juvenile, suggesting a family group moving around the area.

Orchard Oriole

Other highlights included a Least Tern moving south over the bay, a locally uncommon species on the bayside of the peninsula. A tight flock of eight Common Terns also shot by low over the water moving south, in contrast to the regular movements of solitary birds and loose foraging groups we typically see here from local birds. 

It feels appropriate on a slower day to revisit some birds from previous days, so I will take the opportunity to share a comparison between the two Willet subspecies from yesterday and the day before. Special thanks to Mario Balitbit for offering helpful insight on the field marks of these two individuals. 

Western and Eastern Willets

On the Western Willet, note the broader white wing stripe vs the more restricted stripe on Eastern, as well as Western's longer and thinner bill and the Eastern's shorter and stouter bill. Mario also pointed out the distinctly capped appearance of the Eastern. Both are hatch year birds. Eastern Willets are very early migrants, and have almost departed the area for the fall. Western Willets overwinter on beaches and mudflats throughout the shore, but migrants are passing through now.

Tomorrow appears similar to today, with westerly winds and cloud cover persisting through the morning. A weak cold front appears primed to move through Thursday night into Friday, and while precipitation associated with the front will likely put a damper on migration, the change of pace will be welcome. We should see more northeasterly winds returning through the weekend, and an uptick in migration should be expected with the pattern change!

Keep up-to-date with migration by checking back tomorrow for the daily Eastern Shore Migration Update, and be sure to catch the Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count live every morning on Trektellen: https://trektellen.nl/site/info/3748