Migrant fallout on VA's lower Eastern Shore
Miliff@aol.com
Thu, 10 Sep 1998 22:56:43 EDT
Hello all,
Fallout is probably not the right word...I believe we witnessed a very large
migrant push, which, combined with the "penninsula effect" produced thousands
of migrants at the penninsula tip here in southern Delmarva. Two days ago
(Tuesday, Sept. 8) the first major cold front of the season pushed through the
Cape Charles area of Virginia. Up until that point, the hot, hazy,humid
weather of the previous week had produced relativey few migrants (primarily
Bobolinks and Swallows). Since the rain from the remnants of the hurricane
9/4, hawk flights had been decent: 9/5 (222), 9/6 (236), 9/7 (123), and 9/8
(335). The 335 Sept. 8 were at the leading edge of the front moving between
the rain bands, while the big push came just as the sky cleared. The two days
following the passage of the front brought few hawks (unlike Cape May,
Kiptopeke is poorest on northwest winds), but among them were several broad-
winged (few of which had been seen to date). At dawn the next morning it was
apparent that a monumental passerine movement was under way.
Typically the first hour (7:00-8:00) brings a good passerine flight - often
with many warblers, vireos, orioles, and tanagers. I arrived at the hawkwatch
platform at 6:50 a.m. and saw and heard hundreds of warblers passing overhead.
The passerine banders frantically motioned for help, so I abandoned the warber
count I usually conduct in the morning (warbler counts have ranged from less
than 10 in the first hour (7:00-8:00 a.m.) to more than 100 - however, I saw
more birds in those few minutes than I had in the previous days combined).
The passerine nets had been open less than one half hour and were sagging with
birds- they ended up banding 350, and several more were released or escaped.
One can only imagine how many might have been captured if all nets had been
open for the full time. Some passerine flight continued through the day.
Jamie Cameron (the Kiptopeke hawk bander) had been trapping on Fisherman's
Island (the southernmost tip of the Delmarva penninsula) and reported a
MASSIVE passerine flight there. He estimated several thousand redstarts and
Palm Warblers, among thousands of other birds of many species.
At dawn I spent the 7-8:00 hour at the hawkwatch platform attenpting to count
the warbler flight. The flight was heaviest in the first 30 minutes, but
continued in good force through 8:00. Species were easiest to identify in the
latest haf hour (when I was identifying up to 75% of the birds seen) while
earlier I may only have claimed 1 in 10 individuals to species. Redstarts,
Back-throated Blues, Black-and-whites, and later, (as the sun came up) Parulas
and Magnolias were the easiest to identify.
warbler sp. - 686, American Redstart - 219, Black-throated Blue Warbler - 45,
Black-and-white Warbler - 39, Northern Parula -10, Cape May Warbler - 6,
Magnolia Warbler -12, Bay-breasted Warbler - 2, Northern Waterthrush - 3,
Ovenbird - 5, _Seiurus sp._ - 4, Common Yellowthroat - 9, Prairie Warbler -
2, Canada Warber -2, Tennesee Warbler - 2, Western Palm Warbler - 1 (+ two
possibles), Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1, Black-thraoted Green Warbler - 1,
Eastern Kingbird - 9, Veery - 14, Swainson's Thrush - 3, Rose-breasted
Grosbeak - 3, Great Crested Flycatcher - 4, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 5, Orchard
Oriole - 2, Baltimore Oriole - 23, Red-eyed Vireo - 25, Eastern Wood-Pewee -
3, Empidonax sp. - 7, Yelow-billed Cuckoo - 1, thrush sp. - 2, pewee/empidonax
sp. - 1, Connecticut Warbler? - 1, Blackpoll Warbler? - 1, Bobolink - 100+,
Pine Warbler (resident in area).
I do not have the banding totals for the day, but expect they banded 250+
birds and added several species to our day list. I did see at least 2 Yellow-
bellied, 1 Acadian, 10 Traill's, and 1 Least flycatchers banded, 2 Hooded
Warblers, 2 SummerTanagers, and many, many redstarts, parulas, black-throated
blues, yellowthroats, and black-and-whites.
Jamie Cameron and I (in light of the EXTREMELY poor hawk flight from
8:00-12:00 a.m.) decided to visit Fisherman's Island and monitor the hawk
flight from there. When we got there we found enormous landbird numbers and
focused much of our attention on those birds. Among the 23 species we found,
were a grat numbers of waterthrushes (including 3 Louisianas). Restarts and
Black-and-whites were confiding and omnipresent, and the sheer numbers were
staggering. Obvious highlights were the three Louisiana Waterthrushes, two
Connecticuts, the Wilson's, and the Golden-winged. Below is our list from
Fisherman's Island - surprisingly absent were high-elevation species (Cape
May, Tennessee, Blackburnian etc...) and Black-throated Blue Warbers (which
were second most common in the morning flight and of which 48 were banded).
In comparison to the previous day's flight (we were there later in the day
than Jamie had been on the 9th), Jamie noted fewer birds in general,
especially fewer Palm Warblers and Redstarts, but many more Black-and-whites,
waterthrushes, Ovenbirds, and total diversity (certainly a factos of effort
expended).
Fisherman's Island - 1:30-6:00 p.m.
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Warblers (23 species + four more on mainland (Pine, Hooded, Canada, Tennesee):
American Redstart - 1000
Black-and-white Warbler - 1000
Common Yelowthroat - 500
Western Palm Warbler- 200
Ovenbird - 100
Northern Waterthrush - 135
Louisiana Waterthrush - 3 (most notable of the day - usually not seen after
mid-August)
Magnolia Warbler - 75
Northern Parula - 75
Blue-winged Warber - 10
Golden-winged Warbler - 1 male
Prairie Warbler - 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 5
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 10
Yellow-breasted Chat - 1
Bay-breasted Warbler - 1
Worm-eating Warbler - 2
Black-throated Green Warbler - 4
Blackburnian Warbler - 2
Cape May Warbler - 4
Wilson's Warbler - 1
Connecticut Warbler - 2
Yellow Warbler - 3
Non-warblers:
Blue-gray Ganatcatcher - 2
Veery 100
Swainson's Thrush 4
Wood Thrush - 3
Warbling Vireo 1
Philadelphia/Warbling Vireo - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 2
Red-eyed Vireo 300
Gray Catbird - 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 6
Least Flycatcher - 5
Traill's Flycatcher - 1
Least/Traill's Flycatcher - 5
Acadian Flycatcher - 1
Acadian/Yellow-bellid Flycatcher - 2
Chipping Sparrow - 2 juvenal-plumaged
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 8
Great Crested Flycatcher - 10
Eastern Kingbird - 10
Scarlet Tanager - 1
Baltimore Oriole - 10
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Northern Cardinal - 15
House Wren - 5
Marsh Wren - 1
Carolina Wren - 20
Indigo Bunting - 1
Yellow-shafted Flikcer - 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Merlin - 6
Peregrine - 1
plus Brown Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorant, Tricolored Heron, Litle Blue
Heron, Snowy Egret, both night-herons, SAndwich, Common, Roya and Caspian
terns, Ring-billed, Laughing, Herring, and Great Black-backed Gulls, Fish
Crows, Boat-tailed Grackle, Purple Martins, Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows,
Best,
Marshall Iliff
miliff@aol.com
Cape Charles, VA