woodcreeper

Sandy Hook had a LOT of activity early, but a triatholon held there interfered with getting around easily and also with access to certain areas - there were a ton of people there for the triathalon and then later on to enjoy a very nice beach day.

Many white and red-eyed vireos, and a good warbler list if all of us who were there compiled them - I know parula, yellow, blackburnian, redstart, b&w, yellowthroat, and magnolia were compiled. I did not see all of these. A big push of rose-breasted grosbeaks. Also scarlet tanager, and king birds, and a steady stream of ruby-crowned kinglets.

There was more than this, but it all shut down very abruptly around 9:00 am. That was strange. They must have been there, but they just went to sleep, apparently.

There were a lot of birders on the ground there, so I’m hoping someone will post a more comprehensive list on Jerseybirds.

Cape May was definitely hopping this morning. The dike at Higbee’s had a really big flight of Northern Parulas (800+) and Black-and-white warblers. We had 10 species at the entrance to the fields at Higbee’s, including:

N. Parula
Black-and-White
Am. Redstart
Magnolia
Tennessee
Black-throated Blue
Yellow
Connecticut (Bob Fogg and Cristina Frank saw it…not me! grrrr…)
Common Yellowthroat
Chestnut-sided

I heard that Hooded, Blackpoll, Bay-breasted, Cape May, Wilson’s and Nashville were seen from the dike as well.

The other big number was Flickers, which could be seen streaming overhead the parking area along the dike, as well as over the fields at Higbee’s. Bobolinks were also a constant ‘wink’ over the fields.

The raptor flight was nice too, with good looks at Kestrels and Merlins (many could be seen at any one time while we were at the platform around 1pm) and Broad-wings, Bald Eagles, Harriers, Sharpies and Coops were all represented.

Forgot the mention the abundance of ferocious mosquitoes at Sandy Hook. Did Cape May have the same?