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
