Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 29, 2025

Today’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count featured northeast winds and high varied overcast skies. Warblers were a bit slower this morning, but Northern Flickers and American Kestrels had a nice morning. Totals of 47 species and 1020 individuals were counted.

Northern Flickers put on a nice show this morning with their first larger movement of the season of 222 individuals, with 190 southbound. A steady trickle of birds continued throughout the morning with several nice longer lines interspersed, along with the season’s first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the mix. American Kestrels had a great morning liftoff as well with 177 counted. The only notable warbler movement was Northern Parulas, totaling 122.

Northern Flicker

The Clay-colored Sparrow was still present this morning, moving around the parking lot a bit and roosting in the shrubs for extended durations when it was detectable by its call and by carefully peering into the bushes. While looking for the sparrow at the end of the count, the count’s first rough green snake was found slithering through the grass. An eastern box turtle crossing the road on the way out made for a record two reptile species on the day.

Steady northeast winds throughout the day made for yet another excellent day at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch. In addition to a lingering Mississippi Kite that made multiple appearances throughout the day, totals of 66 Osprey, 449 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 200 Cooper’s Hawks, 18 Northern Harriers, seven Bald Eagles, one Red-shouldered Hawk, 159 Broad-winged Hawks, 708 American Kestrels, 107 Merlins and 29 Peregrine Falcons were counted. 

Other hawkwatch highlights included a late southbound Olive-sided Flycatcher, an eleventh hour first-of-season for the hawkwatch. Gulf Fritillary and Long-tailed Skipper were nice butterflies to see along with a long-awaited uptick in Monarch numbers, including several individuals netted and tagged.

Northeast winds continue for the rest of the week which should continue bringing new arrivals to the shore as well as more excellent raptor flights. Peak fall migration has arrived and this week should have great conditions to witness it!

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog: 

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250929

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250929

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 28, 2025

Today's Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count had some 10mph winds from the NNW. Thankfully, it was nice and dry unlike yesterday's intermittent monsoons. The nocturnal movement was not nearly as strong as the previous nights. A total of 538 individuals of 57 species were counted.

The big highlight of the morning was a Clay-colored Sparrow that found two Chipping Sparrows to hang out with around the Sunset Beach parking lot. The sparrow passed overhead several times offering a great study in flight as well as calling its distinct flight call and chip.

Clay-colored Sparrow (Baxter's shots)

Fourteen warbler species were recorded heading over this morning. The high counts were of the usual suspects - 27 American Redstarts, 49 Cape May Warblers, and 62 Northern Parulas. A single Yellow-breasted Chat shot through the bay bushes with the trickle of Gray Catbirds.

The overcast skies encouraged or highlighted several groups of Great Blue Herons totaling 25 this morning. Unfortunately, no little pink Floridians were mingling this morning.

Another nice surprise was two Northern Rough-winged Swallows working their way north along the bay. Rough-winged Swallows are perplexing in their migration on the shore. Most of their movement on the shore occurs in the early season from July through August with some stragglers through the beginning of September. They then reappear in late October in small numbers. This second push might be of a small wintering population in some of the larger eastern cities.

The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had a great day with 1228 raptors including the new season high of 58 Peregrine Falcons. Other raptor totals include 192 Ospreys, 3 Bald Eagles, 26 Northern Harriers, 244 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 120 Cooper's Hawks, 36 Broad-winged Hawks, 441 American Kestrels, 107 Merlins, and one Mississippi Kite.

The pouring rain bands across the shore all day yesterday flooded much of the region which created proper conditions for Eastern Spadefoots to emerge and be surface active. This fascinating species lives underground in burrows much of the year only emerging after extreme rains.

Eastern Spadefoot

Don't take the Chance up north.

-Andrew

Keep up with both of CVWO's counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog:

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250924

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250924

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 27, 2025

Morning flight crew sheltered from heavy rain

After a night of diverse and numerous nocturnal flight calls overhead, our Sunset Beach Morning Flight crew was already looking forward to what today had in store, with a dash of anxiety given the forecast of likely all day rain. Though rain featured prominently in the first two hours of the flight, gaps in the rain opened the warbler floodgates and an excellent morning flight developed. Totals of 61 species and 2013 individuals were counted today.

A lapse in the south winds and rain combined with excellent migratory conditions across the northeast provided an ideal setup for a significant migratory push this morning. A dark and dreary morning sent the first hour’s birds low through the shrubs of west side of the parking lot, with most warblers offering only fleeting glimpses in the darkness. After more heavy rain passed and the skies began to brighten, warblers flew higher and became somewhat easier to identify, in no small part thanks to the skilled in-flight photography of visiting Virginia Tech Bird Club members. These photos revealed one of the many challenging backlit warblers to be a probable Cerulean Warbler, a very rare migrant on the Eastern Shore and very late as well. 

A total of 20 warbler species were identified this morning. The bulk of the flight went to 427 Northern Parulas, followed by 257 American Redstart and 126 Cape May Warblers. Gray Catbirds also had their first big morning, with 115 counted working their way north through the shrubbery. American Kestrels were also a near-constant presence towards the second half of the count, with 119 counted. The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had a very good flight after the morning’s showers including a great count of 681 American Kestrels and a diverse flight of raptors and songbirds alike. Gray Catbirds also moved in force at the hawkwatch, with 187 counted. 

With this most recent significant rainfall event behind us, migration is back in action and many birds will likely continue to move over the next few days on more favorable winds. The early morning hours of tomorrow will feature northwest winds, the best wind for morning flight here in the Eastern Shore. If there are enough birds migrating up to our north, it could be another big morning. We will continue to monitor possible effects of tropical systems over the coming days as well. 

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog: 

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250927

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250927

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 26, 2025

Today’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count had yet another day of south-southwest winds. It was a slow day with a few interrupting downpours following a night of heavy rain and thunderstorms, so not a ton was on the move. As always there were still a couple of nice highlights in the flight, and a total of 24 species and 94 individuals were counted.

The big highlight of the morning was an Olive-sided Flycatcher that dropped into the snags just south of the count area in the third hour. The bird looked around for a few minutes before a feisty cardinal kicked it off its perch, and it then flew north over the parking lot. Though typically a very rare migrant on the Eastern Shore, this has been a fantastic season for this species and is also our second at Sunset Beach.

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Other bright spots on this rainy morning were few and far between, though a Wilson’s Warbler first thing after the first round of showers let up was very nice to see. Cape May Warblers were once again the dominant warbler species, with 22 counted.

Wilson’s Warbler

The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had a very nice later afternoon and evening flight after a wind shift to the west northwest with 161 American Kestrels counted from 5 to 6 pm! A nice late flight of 13 Common Nighthawks also accompanied the kestrels in the evening movement. Other species were moving in good numbers including Northern Harriers which were even coming over in small groups. The total raptor count for the day was 473 birds.

As south winds and rain clear out overnight a massive migration movement is underway, though rain tomorrow may interfere with morning flight. If the rain holds off we may see a very nice movement, and hopefully enough birds will be “in the pipeline” for some notable movements over the next few days as well.

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog: 

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250924

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250924

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 25, 2025

Today’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count had yet another day of south-southwest winds. Despite it being a very slow day in terms of migration, there were still several interesting highlights, and a total of 22 species and 87 individuals were counted.

On a humid day with south winds and very few migrants for what is approaching peak fall migration, it was great to see a late Prothonotary Warbler that dropped right in to the shrubs by the count site. Given the south winds and late date, it seems possible this migrant was carried up to the Eastern Shore from somewhere farther south rather than a migrant approaching from the north. Only two other warbler species were counted, a Cape May and two Northern Parulas.

Prothonotary Warbler

The other nice highlight of the morning was another late departing migrant, an Eastern Willet in a flock of Western Willets. Eastern Willets breed in the salt marshes of the Eastern Shore, and are typically very early to depart the area in fall. There have been a couple hanging around on the seaside at large shorebird roost sites, but this individual was definitely a surprise. Western Willets are common transients and winter residents on the Shore.

Eastern Willet (second from right) with Western Willets

Things slowed down today at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch, but the raptors were still moving against the wind with 105 individuals counted. Sharp-shinned Hawks were the most numerous with 66 individuals. Large raptor flights will very likely resume with the return of northeast winds next week!

Looking ahead weather-wise, a tropical disturbance east of Florida seems poised to become a hurricane that will likely bring significant precipitation to the area over the next week. While the track of the storm is still far from certain, chances are increasing that we will see impacts by the end of the month. We will keep an eye on the storm’s progression and will aim to interpret any likely bird-related impacts. In the short term, winds will vary from southerly to easterly over the next few days, but good chances for precipitation most days may keep migrants bottled up to our north.

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update right here on the CVWO Blog, and follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250924

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250924

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 24, 2025

Today’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count continued the trend of southwest winds. Unlike yesterday there were a handful of reverse migrants moving today. A total of 21 species and 207 individuals were counted.

The songbird flight this morning had a more montane feel than usual, with the species composition of the flight closer to what one might expect this time of year in western Virginia. Many birds were very high and difficult to spot, but a decent number were low enough to work with. Cape May Warblers were surprisingly dominant, and they ended up with one of their best days so far with 28 counted, 18 of which were southbound. Two Black-throated Green Warblers were also nice to see. It was our first day in almost three weeks without an American Redstart, and just three Northern Parulas.

Cape May Warbler

Forward migrants had a decent morning with a nice liftoff of American Kestrels, with 26 counted. A Peregrine Falcon was nice to see shooting south out over the water just before sunrise. Three Chimney Swifts were still moving through as well. The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had another good day for American Kestrels and Sharp-shinned Hawks, with 203 and 171 counted respectively.

South winds build through tomorrow before a front moves through with chances of rain at the beginning of the weekend and should switch winds around to northeast by early next week. As today showed, sometimes southerly wind days can still be very interesting!

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and right here on the CVWO. You can also follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250924

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250924

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 23, 2025

Today’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count had south-southwest winds and mostly clear skies. Reverse migration was essentially at a standstill this morning, but eventually a few forward migrants started to pick up. A total of 19 species and 60 individuals were counted.

With negligible overnight migration, there were very few migrants in morning flight. The only warbler of the first hour happened to be a Wilson’s, one of the more uncommon migrants out here, reminding us that good birds occur on even the slowest days! The only other warblers were one each of American Redstart, Cape May, and Palm.

Forward migrants were also slow, but a slow trickle of raptors included a high Peregrine Falcon setting off towards the bay and eight Osprey migrating along the well-documented low flight line over the beach. The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch ended up having another sneakily good day despite the south winds with 168 Sharp-shinned and 143 American Kestrel counted.

Osprey

South winds continue for the next several days before the return of northeast. The next few days will also probably be quite slow, though every day has the potential for something interesting!

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update here on the blog, and follow along live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250923

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250923

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 22, 2025

Today’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count has mostly clear skies and light northeast winds. Nocturnal migration was again slow and there were few reorienting migrants this morning. It was still a pleasant morning with 34 species and 360 individuals counted.

Nocturnal passerine migrants were few and far between, with nine warbler species counted. Lighting was good throughout the morning, and the slower flight allowed for a little more in-flight photography practice.

Prairie Warbler

Northern Waterthrush

Northern Parula

Cape May Warbler

A few other migratory species have been noticeably increasing over the past couple days, including 112 Double-crested Cormorants, 24 Northern Flickers, and 64 Brown-headed Cowbirds counted.

A curious red fox also stopped by the count site this morning, and hung around by the pool a little while before disappearing into the woods.

Red fox

The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had another good flight on the light northeast winds. Raptors were high, but diversity was very good with consistently good numbers across most species. Most raptors were along a consistent flight line slightly to the east of the platform.

Winds switch around to the south for the next few days which will likely slow down migration for the duration. There are always chances for something interesting to come in with shifting winds even if migration is on the slower side. We are in the thick of fall migration, and it is always worth getting out to see what’s moving on the Eastern Shore!

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog: 

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250922

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250922

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 21, 2024

Today’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count saw cloudy skies and winds out of the east northeast. While the songbird flight was very slow in contrast to the past couple days, the day was not without highlights and 43 species and 516 individuals were counted.

Songbirds were lacking this morning as anticipated following northeast winds overnight allowing the birds from the last push to cross the bay overnight with a tailwind and return to their preferred inland migration routes. Only a handful of warblers across ten species were recorded, and no species in the double digits.

Raptors provided more excitement today with some low flyovers early in the morning and a little bit of excitement when two Mississippi Kites appeared, one near adult to the east and a later juvenile to the south. A couple waterbird species were also on the move including 129 Double-crested Cormorant and 138 White Ibis.

Mississippi Kite

Northern Harrier

Broad-winged Hawk

The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch came in strong with another big flight of several species including 394 Broad-winged Hawks and 264 Merlins. Two Mississippi Kites were also counted, further highlighting the notable late presence of these early migrants on the Eastern Shore.

Winds tomorrow stay out of the northeast which should be great for raptors but slower for songbirds. Winds switch to the south for the rest of the week, so we will take anything with a northerly component while we’ve got it!

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts right here on the blog with our daily Eastern Shore Migration Update, and follow along live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250921

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250921

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 20, 2025

Today’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count again featured light westerly winds and clear skies. A weak cold front moving across the northeast and into the mid-Atlantic overnight provided excellent conditions for migration to our north, and very light westerly winds locally on the Eastern Shore through the morning kept birds closer to the bayshore. Diversity and total numbers were high, with 67 species and 2116 individual migrants counted.

The first hour once again saw a very impressive push of warblers, with wave after wave passing over the parking lot with many offering good views. Diversity matched yesterday with 18 species of warbler including the season’s first Blackpoll Warbler and a nice Blue-winged, whose migratory season is coming to a close. American Redstarts and Northern Parula numbers were competing all morning, with redstarts having a stronger start and parulas catching up later. Remarkably, the sum of our hourly clicker numbers ended in a tie, with 527 of each of these numerous two species clicked throughout the morning. 

Blue-winged Warbler

Sharp-shinned Hawks were on the go well before sunrise, and the impressive lift off led into a nice flight of 229 sharpies, dutifully tallied by volunteer counter Carson Lambert. One of the 16 Merlins counted snatched up an American Redstart, reminding us of the many perils songbirds face on their fall migration. Clearly, the Merlin was doing its part to help team parula this morning.

Merlin with American Redstart prey

The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had yet another great day, with a nice low afternoon and evening flight overhead following a wind switch to the northeast in the afternoon. Most species had notably high counts including 409 Osprey, 914 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 69 Northern Harriers, 357 Broad-winged Hawk, 441 American Kestrel, 194 Merlin, and 28 Peregrine Falcon. Two more Mississippi Kites hung around the platform airspace off and on throughout the afternoon and evening as well.

East-northeast winds overnight will allow many migrants to depart the shore and may keep migration tonight more inland making for a smaller morning flight tomorrow. Winds are forecasted to pick back up and switch to the northeast again by the afternoon, so there should be plenty more raptors yet to come!

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts right here on the blog with our daily Eastern Shore Migration Update, and follow along live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250920

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250920