Our field season runs from September 1 to October 31, and in some years, we see very few monarchs after about October 20. Big numbers of migrating monarchs arrive to the winter colony sites right around the beginning of November. Since those colonies are 2000 miles away from Cape May,…...
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…...
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…...
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…...
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…...
AVALON SEAWATCH UPDATE – October 7th to 20th
These past two weeks saw a noticeable uptick in movement, with our first 10,000+ bird days. Double-crested Cormorants continued in good numbers daily, Black Scoters arrived in force, and a few new arrivals showed up. Read on for brief daily summaries, and be sure to check out Trektellen.org for more…...