There was little in the way of reorientation flight of nocturnal migrants at this morning’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count, though there were still a fair number of forward migrants moving into southerly winds. Totals of 29 species and 513 individuals were counted.
Purple Martins continue to be one of the most numerous
migrants with 319 counted, and 72 Barn Swallows also constituted a significant
portion of the flight. Eleven Northern Rough-winged Swallows were also counted,
and interestingly the 2026 season total of this species is now significantly
ahead of the entire 2025 total (51 vs 35).
Other highlights included a tight flock of 10 southbound
Common Terns over land early on, three Great Egrets, 16 Brown Pelicans in
apparent active migration, and an Eastern Willet crossing over to the Chesapeake
Bay. There were also a handful of Common, Sandwich, and Royal terns hitting schools
of fish close off the beach for the first time so far this year. And on slow
days, the friendly local Northern Mockingbirds are a reliable source of
entertainment.
The current pattern of southerly flow will continue for close
to a week, though occasional shifts to the southwest may drift a few migrants
over to the Eastern Shore even without a strong migration movement with more
favorable conditions.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s daily migration update on CVWO social
media and the CVWO blog: https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog
And follow along with the count live every morning on
Trektellen: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20260802
