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.
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.
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
