This morning featured strong winds out of the West and blue skies. At the Sunset Beach Morning Flight totals of 32 species and 11,646 individuals were counted.
Over at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch it was a slow day for raptors, but a few lingering songbirds kept things interesting. The Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow, a Dickcissel and a Lincoln's Sparrow all provided great views throughout the morning.
Clear skies and west winds continued this morning at Sunset Beach and totals of 4,912 individuals were counted. Yellow-rumped Warblers dominated as is expected these days, with 2,415 individuals counted northbound and 1,465 counted southbound. Other migrants were fairly slow, though blackbird numbers continue to slowly build with 558 Red-winged Blackbirds counted.
The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had a moderate flight on westerlies, with a nice little falcon flight of 17 American Kestrels and 13 Merlins. The Lincoln's Sparrow, Dickcissel, and Nashville Warbler continued to linger around the platform.
Westerly winds often bring migrants far from the interior to the coast. Coastal Virginia has seen a notable influx of Clay-colored Sparrows over the past few days, and one popped up this evening at Magothy Bay Natural Area Preserve.
Westerly winds continue into tonight shifting around to the northwest and north by sunrise, which will likely lead to more migrant arrivals tomorrow. North winds continue through the rest of the week and weekend.
Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:
Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20251023
Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20251023
