NJ Audubon

MONARCH MONITORING PROJECT – Results of the 2020 Census

Perhaps the most important parts of the Cape May Monarch Monitoring Project is the census that we conduct.  Our census is modification of a technique known as a “Pollard Transect,” whereby a specified route is traveled on a regular basis and butterflies counted by the observer while traveling.  Our census…...

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CAPE MAY HAWKWATCH UPDATE – October 30th to November 5th

The Cape May Hawkwatch, sponsored by Swarovski Optik, is two-thirds finished and the final month of the autumn season is now underway. More on that later. October, as a whole, is the peak migration time in Cape May and that was on full display this year. A total of 17,820…...

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AVALON SEAWATCH UPDATE – October 28th to November 3rd

Our peak scoter movement continues from last week!  Read on to see the day-by-day breakdown, but Halloween was especially notable, with over 68,000 birds, the largest day I have counted at Avalon in my four years! October 28th picked up right where last week left off—with an additional 15,000 Surf…...

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MONARCH MONITORING PROJECT – Season Wrap Up

The 2020 Field Season for the Monarch Monitoring Project wrapped up on Saturday, October 31 — our field season runs from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 each year.  We have started to compile the data and will report back to our followers in a few days, but we’ll take a…...

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AVALON SEAWATCH UPDATE – October 21st to 27th

The scoters have arrived!  Massive scoter movement dominated this week, culminating in a 20,000+ bird day, a 35,000 bird day, two 40,000+ bird days, and a 50,000 bird day; back-to-back, in that order!  Naturally, Tom and I are quite exhausted from counting such crazy numbers, but here is a short…...

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CAPE MAY HAWKWATCH UPDATE – October 23rd to 29th

Yet another week of unsettled weather at the Cape May Hawkwatch sponsored by Swarovski Optik. It seemed like each day produced a unique suite of weather conditions ranging from rainy cold fronts with NW winds, muggy summer-like temperatures, dense fog, and the remnants of Hurricane Zeta. Cape May is such…...

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MONTCLAIR HAWKWATCH UPDATE – October 13th to 16th

The weather was tough this week with Monday and Friday being washed out and Tuesday’s count being delayed; however, migration continued and our cast of characters shifted a bit to reflect the changing season. Turkey Vultures are dominating the scene while the ratio of Sharp-shinned to Cooper’s Hawks is widening…...

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MORNING FLIGHT UPDATE – October 18th

It’s really looking like fall in Cape May with leaves changing, temps dropping, and winter species arriving. The overall trend this fall continued as consistent cold fronts brought northwest winds and lots of birds to Cape May. A couple impressive days that stood out were the 14th and the 17th,…...

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MONTCLAIR HAWKWATCH UPDATE – October 5th to 11th

The morning of October 5th was dominated by songbirds as noisy flocks of Pine Siskins and Purple Finches bounced past the watch, a sure sign of the season. As the day went on, the finches quieted down and any shred of cloud cover left us. This made for a challenging…...

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