West winds continued the past two days with west southwest yesterday and west northwest winds today. Diminished westerly winds today allowed for more migration to take place, and both our counts saw more birds moving today than the past couple days.
Wednesday was a slow day all around with strong west southwest winds and clear skies. Not much of note was moving at Sunset Beach, with 27 species and 2,139 species counted. Turkey Vultures were attempting a crossing with 171 counted southbound, but in classic fashion for the species many returned back north. A flock of 10 Tundra Swans was counted at both our sites. The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch likewise had a slow day with 35 species and 2,093 individuals counted, though Bald Eagles were moving around with nine counted.
Today was much birdier at Sunset Beach with 42 species and 8,063 individuals counted. Tundra Swans numbers were up with 85 counted. Four Bonaparte’s Gulls were the first group of multiple individuals counted. A handful of winter woodland songbirds were counted with five Golden-crowned Kinglets and three Brown Creepers moving north across the parking lot. Finches were moving in their best numbers so far, including 106 northbound American Goldfinches.
The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch was busier as well with 37 species and 4,823 individuals counted. Raptor numbers had an uptick with five Osprey being a high count for the time of year. Raptor counts were led by 12 Sharp-shinned Hawks, eight Red-shouldered Hawks, and five Northern Harriers. Two Wilson’s Snipe were an uncommon sight for the hawkwatch. Twenty Common Loons were a good count, as was 61 Eastern Bluebirds. Purple Finches also had a good showing with 38 southbound and 31 northbound.
The next two days will continue the trend of lighter winds, which will hopefully allow more migrants to move south if recent trends hold true. Strong southwest winds will return by Sunday, switching to northwest by early next week.
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/3748/20251113
Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20251113
