Eastern Shore Migration Update: October 2, 2025

Northeast winds were going strong again on the Eastern Shore during the Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count today. Totals of 42 species and 1229 individuals were tallied.

While nocturnal migrants were fairly slow due to slower nocturnal migration and the easterly component to the winds, some migrants still had a nice morning with Northern Flickers being a standout. The flicker tally of 230 consisted of 165 southbound and 85 northbound individuals. A number of raptors were still moving through, and an early Ring-necked Duck and three Boat-tailed Grackles were nice first-of-seasons for the count.

Northern Harrier

Boat-tailed Grackle

The continued northeast winds provided yet another great day at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch. Though some birds were higher today compared to the past few days, many birds offered great views as they zipped over. Broad-winged Hawks had a notably good day with lots of kettling activity and 612 counted. It was one of the first big Tree Swallow days of the year, with 5596 counted southbound over the hawkwatch.

Kettling Broad-winged Hawks

Migration will likely slow down over the coming days with easterly and then southerly winds setting in. This wind switch will be accompanied by warmer temperatures. It will be nice to enjoy some of the earlier fall species lingering around over this period before the next batch of northerly winds brings more winter arrivals with 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/3748/20250930

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250930