The trend of southwesterly winds continued this morning at Sunset Beach. Forward migrants continued to press on into the wind, but reverse migration was negligible with the winds again shutting down overnight migration. Totals of 26 species and 272 individuals were counted.
Swallows and gnatcatchers again comprised the majority of
the flight today, with Blue-gray Gnatcatchers making an impressive southbound
push of 60 in the early portion of the morning. Barn Swallows took the lead in
the swallow category with 83, Purple Martins followed with 55, and Northern Rough-winged
Swallows continue to steadily move through with 8 counted.
The trickle of warblers were largely southbound this morning with three American Redstarts, two Northern Waterthrushes, one Yellow-throated Warbler counted, while a northbound unidentified waterthrush was northbound. One Eastern Kingbird moving north was a reminder of the masses of this species that are to still come in just a few weeks. Mourning Doves seemed to be moving around today, though as always distinguishing migrants from the locals of this species is a challenge.
Feeding activity in the bay continued today, though with a much-increased
number of Laughing Gulls and fewer terns overall. One Black Tern joined the
activity for a bit and seemed to be hanging around the area. Three southbound
Least Terns were nice to see, a seldom-seen species at this site despite nesting
in numbers just two miles away at Fisherman Island. With this year’s young
mostly fledged at this point in the season, the tiny Leasts will be one of the
first local breeding species to depart the area.
Tomorrow’s outlook seems likely to be quite similar to today
in terms of weather conditions, though with the notable personnel change of CVWO's “middle
management” Andrew Rapp making his solo debut for the season. Andrew will be
well-positioned to spot something to remind the main counter not to abandon his
post even for a day of southerly winds in the early season!
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s daily migration update on CVWO social media and the CVWO blog, and follow along with the count live every morning on Trektellen: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20260807
