Week 5 brought a little bit of everything! The week began on a rainy note, delaying net opening with off-and-on conditions throughout the day. While Monday was slow and windy, overnight radar showed potential for a strong push of migrants on Tuesday, but that potential was offset by northeast winds. Better luck next time! Despite that, it was the first morning of banding with temperatures dipping below 60°F, with the banders enjoying the breezy, cool conditions.
As of Wednesday, 22 of the 56 Northern Waterthrushes tagged at the station over the previous 19 days had left Cape May, with four spending time in the Bahamas! The banders also got a real treat: a Yellow-billed Cuckoo!
Thursday was hot and sticky, with the usual suspects of mid-September species slowly funneling through the station. In-between birds, our banders found themselves entertained by a resident grass spider, Agelenopsis, known for making horizontal sheet webs adjacent to their silk-lined funnel, where they’ll dart out upon sensing caught prey. Can you tell where our true interests lie?
After nearly a week of southerly winds, our banders kept an eye on the wind radar Thursday evening as a cold front approached the East Coast. As the front moved through, northwesterly winds finally broke the prolonged southerly flow, with winds shifting to the northeast by Friday morning.
An unexpected surprise for everyone came later in the week – two Eastern Red Bats were caught in our mist nets on Wednesday and Saturday! These sightings were excitedly reported to New Jersey Fish and Wildlife’s Tracker database to help track the species’ migratory movements. We wish them a successful journey!
By the week’s end, 174 newly banded birds had been processed. While this was lower than average, the total reflects the less-than-ideal wind conditions throughout the week. Despite this, both the Cape May Bird Observatory’s Morning Flight and Hawkwatch counts reported a steady number of migrants throughout the week, showing that migration was still moving along even when our nets weren’t able to tell the whole story. Stay tuned for next week’s update!
Clay-colored Sparrow photo by Vicki Morgan
Yellow-billed Cuckoo photo by Lisa Viviano
Philadelphia Vireo photo by David Mizrahi
Nashville Warbler photo by Vicki Morgan
All bird capture, handling, and banding are authorized under appropriate USGS state and federal permits.
