Today was the first full day of bona fide nor’easter conditions with howling northeast winds, low overcast skies and intermittent drizzle throughout the day. The conditions were not conducive to nocturnal migration, though several species of raptor capitalized on the tailwinds making for a great flight at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch.
Sunset Beach saw a relatively slow morning overall given the blasting winds, though terns and especially Laughing Gulls were streaming past the count site in good numbers, perhaps in response to being pushed up into the bay. Other bayside sightings included a Sanderling and a Western Sandpiper that put down on the beach briefly before continuing north. The count logged the first two American Black Ducks of the season as well as two Northern Pintail.
The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch saw an excellent flight of Osprey today totaling 410, including many individuals moving south before sunrise and after sunset. An incredible show of 62 Peregrine Falcons and 168 Merlins, an especially high Peregrine total for this month before their peak migration.
Strong northeast winds will continue tomorrow, and with a much more significant migratory liftoff tonight there may actually be some morning flight, though nearly all birds are probably trying to get off the coastline all together. With similar conditions, it could be another great day up at the hawkwatch.
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/3748/20260923
