Northwest winds overnight broke the dam of migration-stifling southerlies, and a massive push of migrants arrived on the Eastern Shore. Sunset Beach saw a significant reorientation morning flight following the large overnight movement, and 66 species and 2077 individuals were counted.
The most intense action of the day started early when a flood of northbound American Redstarts and Eastern Kingbirds shot over the parking lot as the sun rose. These two species were the most abundant reorienting migrants, with 871 kingbirds and 464 redstarts counted. The northwesterly winds kept the flight line more or less directly overhead, allowing for great views of warblers of 19 species throughout the morning including first-of-seasons Nashville and Black-throated Green Warbler. Northern Waterthrushes and Northern Yellow Warblers had especially good days with 62 and 66 counted respectively.
Songbird diversity was far from limited to warblers, and three of the day’s most uncommon migrants came from other families; singles of Olive-sided Flycatcher and Yellow-throated Vireo were seen well in the mix. Twenty-nine Red-eyed Vireos, nine Eastern Wood-Pewees, five Veeries, one Swainson’s Thrush, one Dickcissel, and the season’s first Scarlet Tanager provided additional passerine diversity.
The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch also had a great day following the wind switch. Osprey were the bird of the day with 164 counted, many of which were actually in kettles and small groups dotting the sky, and some were even migrating before sunrise! Other raptor highlights included two Mississippi Kites, a Red-shouldered Hawk, 12 American Kestrels, and the Hawkwatch’s first four Merlins of the season. Migrant passerines also had some nice standouts at the Hawkwatch including a Cliff Swallow and yet another Olive-sided Flycatcher!
In a fairly typical cold front pattern, winds shifted throughout the day from northwest to a light northeast, allowing for a massive liftoff of migrants this evening as birds take advantage of the tailwind to move back inland. While northeasterlies typically limit morning flight numbers, there will still be plenty of birds to count tomorrow, especially at the Hawkwatch where northeast winds are the most favorable.
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/3748/20260905
