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.
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.
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.
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.
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
