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.
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
