Nor’easter conditions continued today on the Eastern Shore, and both our counts saw direct impacts of the weather on bird migration. Nocturnal migration was limited by the northeasterly wind and morning flight subdued by heavy overcast skies and strong winds, but there was a very strong movement of diurnal migrants and a handful of surprises. Totals of 41 species and 2371 individuals were counted at Sunset Beach.
The harsh reality of nor’easters on coastal species was evidenced by a fresh roadkill Clapper Rail on the turn into Sunset Beach off Route 13 before sunrise. These storms flood tidal marshes with storm surge, driving marsh species upland and into dangerous situations. Fortunately, two Seaside Sparrows were able to find cover in the shrubs around Sunset Beach, and will hopefully be able to reorient to the saltmarsh.
The biggest surprise of the morning came early on when a beautiful juvenile Little Gull flew north right over the beach at, a rare and early pelagic migrant surely driven into the bay by the storm. Miraculously, both of our hawk counters were able to detect the gull at points north following its passage off Sunset at 7:30; Sage saw it pass the Kiptopeke SP pier at 7:43 and Audrey picked it up over the Cape Charles pier at 8:26, making for an average speed of around ten miles per hour. Not bad for a Little Gull fighting a big wind!
Morning flight was on the slow side, but two first-of-season Blackpoll Warblers were counted. Forward migrants stole the day, with the most numerous species being 611 White Ibis, 206 Double-crested Cormorant, 81 Osprey, and 31 Great Blue Heron. Large groups of Tree Swallows were moving steadily north into the wind all morning totaling 1248.
The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had a productive day with another strong flight primarily composed of 127 Osprey, 132 Merlin, and 53 American Kestrels. Northern Harriers also had a good day with 17 counted, while Peregrine Falcons dropped off hard from yesterday with only 4. An unexpected nor’easter related highlight was a Virginia Rail flushed from the field next to the platform.
Strong north winds tonight and tomorrow should bring good nocturnal and diurnal migration tonight and tomorrow, and it will be interesting to see if storm-related impacts continue on our counts.
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/3748/20260924
