[Above: Gautam Apte on the Higbee Dike for Day 1 of the 2023 season! Photo by Tom Reed.]
The first days of the 21st Morning Flight count at Cape May Bird Observatory have been exciting and full of surprises. We’ve been counting up on the dike at Higbee Beach WMA since August 1, and will be here every day though November 15 this year. Although August tends to be a slower month in terms of both migration volume and diversity, we’ve gotten off to a strong start so far, and hope to continue with some good flights through the rest of the month.
We tallied nearly 6,300 migrating birds of 78 different species during the first week and a half of the season. Of note in these totals are good numbers of our regular early-season migrant warblers, like American Redstart and Yellow Warbler. Both of these species have been a regular presence in the morning flights and are often accompanied by less-common species like Louisiana Waterthrush, Prothonotary Warbler, and several other neotropical migrants. The highlight bird of the count so far was an Olive-sided Flycatcher observed on August 9, an unusually early arrival for this already uncommon visitor to Cape May. We’ll hope for another of this species, or perhaps something even less common, as we get some more northwesterly winds later in the month.
Our non-bird highlight this month was certainly the large dragonfly flight on the first day of the count, which was headlined by the unusual sight of 10,000+ Blue Dashers heading south. This species is usually thought of as sedentary, and a movement of this magnitude is very noteworthy. It should also be noted that we’ve be started note numbers of invasive Spotted Lanternflies at the count. This species was pleasantly scarce in Cape May until small numbers arrived late in the fall of 2022, but they appear to be increasing in Cape May County during 2023.
Some predicted northerly winds through the next week should keep migration pushing toward Cape May, and we’re looking forward to the next wave of migrants (and hopefully a rarity or two) at the count! As always, you can learn more and check out our live-streamed totals at https://njaudubon.org/watches/morning-flight/, thanks to our partnership with Trektellen – or better yet, come pay us a visit up at the dike or the adjacent platform at Higbee Beach WMA!
Gautam Apte
2023 CMBO Morning Flight Counter
