Southwest winds made for a slow night of nocturnal migration, and a slow morning flight. There were a fair number of waterbirds migrating out over the Chesapeake Bay along with a good early morning raptor liftoff. Totals of 37 species and 536 individuals were counted.
Most of the birds counted this morning were Forster’s Terns, which were shooting south in tight flocks low over the water totaling 130, with the largest flock being 70. A few other terns were also on the move including 23 Commons and 6 Sandwich. Three groups of Blue-winged Teal totaled 43, and one Green-winged Teal was heading north close in off the beach. American Kestrels had a nice liftoff with 38 counted. The Cooper’s to Sharp-shinned Hawk ratio was rather high, with eight coops and fourteen sharpies. Passerines were on the slower side overall. Cape May Warblers were the most abundant warbler species with 10. Blue Jays had another little push with 125 southbound and 36 northbound.
It was a somewhat slower day at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch, but the southwest winds were keeping things low down giving good views throughout the day. American Kestrels had the best numbers totaling 127, and Sharp-shinned Hawks totaled 89. Peregrine Falcons had a good count with 21, many of which were adults coming in fairly low.
In Monarch news, there are currently 3 active transmitting Monarchs. The newest addition, CVWO-BrianSoar, was released late this morning from the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch, his last transmission for the day was off of US13 as he headed south of Kiptopeke State Park. CVWO-Connor released on 9/27 is still north of Roanoke Rapids, NC. CVWO-Stephen, released on 9/28 is now north of Lexington Park, MD after riding the Southwest winds north from Cape Charles. Three Monarchs in almost three different states! You can view live updates of these Monarch’s progress south to their wintering grounds on the Project Monarch app or website.
A cold front moves into the area tomorrow morning, bringing cooler temperatures and some chances for overnight rain. Depending on the rain, there could be good overnight migration, and northeast winds tomorrow will probably make for a good raptor flight.
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/3748/20261002
