sandee@fsu.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee) (05/28/90)
Date: Sat, 26 May 90 22:10:13 EDT Reply-To: National Birding Hotline Cooperative <BIRD_RBA%ARIZVM1@AVM.CC.FSU.EDU> Sender: National Birding Hotline Cooperative <BIRD_RBA%ARIZVM1@AVM.CC.FSU.EDU> From: "Norman C. Saunders" <NYS%NIHCU.BITNET@AVM.CC.FSU.EDU> Subject: Cape May, 5/25/90 To: Daan Sandee <SANDEE@SCRI1.SCRI.FSU.EDU> The Cape May Birding Hotline -- a service of the Cape May Bird Observatory and the New Jersey Audubon Society Summary of the tape prepared May 25th Highlights of the week include CAVE SWALLOW, MISSISSIPPI and SWALLOW- TAILED KITE, BLACK RAIL, HARLEQUIN DUCK, CURLEW SANDPIPER, BLACK-NECKED STILT, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, BARN OWL, WILSON'S PHALAROPE, WESTERN SANDPIPER, BLACK, ROSEATE and GULL-BILLED TERN, UPLAND SANDPIPER, BROWN PELICAN, SHEARWATER, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, SOLITARY and YELLOW- THROATED VIREO, MOURNING, CANADA and WILSON'S WARBLER, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, WARBLING VIREO, CERULEAN WARBLER, news of the shorebird concentrations along the the Delaware Bay, local nature notes, results of the 1990 World Series of Birding. The CAVE SWALLOW continues to be seen. It was probably the rarest bird seen during the World Series. It was first discovered April 20th, and seen until April 24th, gone until May 2nd and seen until the 3rd, and then again discovered feeding over Bunker Pond in Cape May Point State Park on May 19th, and seen again on May 20th, 21st and 25th. The May 25th sighting of the CAVE SWALLOW was at 7 A.M. A CAVE SWALLOW has also been reported at Jamaica Bay near New York City. A number of World Series teams also saw a MISSISSIPPI KITE on May 19th, involving up to 4 birds circling over Cape May Point State Park, the South Cape May Meadows, and the Beanery, and 1 bird was seen over East Creek Pond in Belleplain State Forest. Two MISSISSIPPI KITES were over Higbee on May 20th. One was seen over the Lewes, Delaware breakwater on May 23rd, and most recently, 1 was seen May 24th over Higbee, the Meadows and the State Park. Cape May's first MISSISSIPPI KITE this spring was on April 29th, with sightings infrequent until now. CMBO's Sandy Hook hawk watch had 2 MISSISSIPPI KITES this spring, 1 on May 1st and 1 on May 9th. The season's only SWALLOW-TAILED KITE was seen May 15th over Bennett's Bog, just north of Cape May. BLACK RAIL has not been reported in the South Cape May Meadows since May 18th. BLACK RAILS are being heard along the Delaware Bay shoreline now, as well as at Manahawkin. BLACK RAILS are threatened in New Jersey. If you are going to try and listen for them, listen only. Don't disrupt them with tape playing, lights and photography attempts. A female HARLEQUIN DUCK was seen May 16th and continues to be observed along the beachfront between 2nd Avenue Jetty and Higbee Beach. On May 20th it was found sitting on the end of 2nd Avenue Jetty in the early morning, missed by all World Series of Birding teams on May 19th. Most recently, May 22-24, it has frequented the waters off Higbee Beach, near the road that goes straight out to the beach from the parking lot. Brigantine National Wildlife Refuge has been quite good this week. On May 19th, 23rd and 24th, a CURLEW SANDPIPER was observed from the North Dike. Also at Brig on May 24th, 1 BALD EAGLE, 1 BLACK-NECKED STILT, 1 GRASSHOPPER SPARROW and 2 RUDDY DUCKS were seen. Other birds to keep in mind when visiting Brigantine are the good numbers of GULL-BILLED TERNS and the 2 BARN OWLS using the peregrine hack box once again. A female WILSON'S PHALAROPE in full breeding plumage was in the South Cape May Meadows the evening of May 17th. Two were seen along Great Bay Boulevard near Tuckerton on May 19th, and 1 WILSON'S PHALAROPE was seen on May 24th just north of Cape May on Ocean Drive. It was in the 1st pond on the right, just after the entrance to the Club. On May 22nd, 8 WESTERN SANDPIPERS in breeding plumage were enjoyed along the Delaware Bay shoreline just north of Cape May at The Villas near Drum Bed Avenue, also known as Pope's Beach. WESTERN SANDPIPER are very rare at Cape May in the spring. BLACK, ROSEATE and GULL-BILLED TERN have all been enjoyed this week in the South Cape May Meadows and over Bunker Pond in the Cape May Point State Park. The farm fields on Bayshore Road just south of New England Road held an UPLAND SANDPIPER on May 19, along with numbers of BOBOLINK, MEADOWLARK and a DICKCISSEL. BROWN PELICAN reports are slowly beginning to come in. The 1st sighting this year was in early May. Most recently, 1 was seen May 20th, resting on the waters off the South Cape May Meadows. A SHEARWATER was seen offshore from the Hawk Watch platform on May 20th. Higbee Beach has seen some excellent land bird flights this week - 21 species of warbler were seen the morning of May 21. May 22nd and 23rd, Higbee held an OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER. A SOLITARY VIREO was seen there May 22nd, and YELLOW-THROATED VIREO at Higbee on May 23rd, and the morning of May 25th, MOURNING, MAGNOLIA, CANADA and WILSON'S WARBLER were seen at Higbee Beach. A male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was seen at the Cape May Point State Park on May 20th. A COMMON NIGHTHAWK was at the Beanery on the 25th, and a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER flew over the Point on May 25th. Two WARBLING VIREOS were seen on May 22nd along the sand road west of East Creek Lake in Belleplain State Forest. A singing male CERULEAN WARBLER was back on Weatherby Road in northern Cape May County on May 13th, and could still being heard on May 22nd. The shorebird concentration along the shoreline of the the Delaware Bay, to feed on horseshoe crab eggs, is in full swing. Thousands upon thousands of RUDDY TURNSTONE, SANDERLING and RED KNOT were enjoyed on May 23rd and May 24th along the beachfront at Reed's Beach. This phenomenon can be enjoyed through the first week in June. If you plan to visit the shore of the Delaware Bay to enjoy the shorebirds, keep in mind that though there are 1000s of birds, they may not always be obvious. They are quite camouflaged on the beach as they feed. Please view from a distance. At Reed's Beach, this means from the road. Please do not cross the dunes or people's yards. Residents at Reed's Beach are unhappy enough with the droves of birders visiting the site. At the end of Reed's Beach Road, following a right hand turn, a comfortable viewing platform has been provided. Try it out. All the nesting species seem to be in. Higbee Beach is full of YELLOW- BREASTED CHAT, WHITE-EYED VIREO, BLUE GROSBEAK, INDIGO BUNTING, YELLOW and PRAIRIE WARBLER. The Cape May Point State Park again has a healthy population of LEAST BITTERN nesting in all the ponds, and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS are again nesting in the pipe under the Bunker. RED-HEADED WOODPECKER have been seen at the Cape May County Park in Cape May Courthouse on Route 9. When you enter the county park, follow the road all the way back to the zoo. Park here and look in the oak woods north of the zoo, or to your right, and behind the large green maintenance building. They are quite secretive, so plan on searching for half and hour before finding them. The Stone Harbor bird sanctuary is full of nesting herons and egrets, including YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON. The YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS are again nesting on the back side of the sanctuary visible from 115th Street. OYSTERCATCHER are again nesting on the sand bar island in Hereford Inlet, the inlet between Stone Harbor and Wildwood Crest. YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER are thick in the pine stands along Jake's Landing Road, and the marsh at the end of the road is a good place to observe SEASIDE and some SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS, KING and CLAPPER RAILS, WILLET, NORTHERN HARRIER and maybe even river otters. Jake's Landing Road is reached from Rt. 47, 1.4 miles north of the Wawa store in Dennisville. Local nature notes this week include the blooming of honeysuckle, and does it smell sweet, especially at night. Treat yourself to an evening walk. Now that honeysuckle is blooming, ruby-throated hummingbirds are only infrequently visiting feeders. Still continue to clean and refill your feeders with fresh solution each week. They'll be back once the honeysuckle wanes. CMBO's feeders attracted a female HUMMINGBIRD on May 25th, which probably means one is nesting nearby. Multiflora rose has also begun to bloom all over the county. Bottlenosed dolphins are being seen regularly from shore now, moving up and down the beach in schools feeding on menhaden and other fish. A migration of red admiral butterflies was seen moving north on May 24th. The World Series of Birding was an enormous success. Over $250,000 was raised for various conservation causes. The cumulative total was 255 species. The winning team sponsored by Zeiss, and captained by Pete Dunne, saw 210 species, a new record. The CMBO team did very well. They covered Cape May County only, and came in 15th, with 174 species. ----------------------------------------------------------- The Cape May birding hotline is a service of the CMBO and may be reached by phone at (609) 884-2626. Updates are made on Thursday evenings or more often if warranted. To report sightings of rare or unusual birds, call (609) 884-2736. The CMBO is a research and education unit of the New Jersey Audubon So- ciety. Our aim is to perpetuate and preserve the ornithological signif- icance of Cape May. For more information regarding Cape May birding and the observatory, write to the CMBO at: Cape May Bird Observatory P.O. Box 3 Cape May Point, NJ 08212 This printed summary is provided as a service of The Osprey's Nest, a computerized bulletin board run for birders by birders in the Washing- ton, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The Osprey's Nest may be reached at (301) 989-9036, in Colesville, MD. Your communications parameters should be set for 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no parity. Good Birding! rm