might want to consider a trip to Cape May this weekend. From a report by Richard Crossley and one by David La Puma on the NJ bird list,
Crossley
"Last night was one of those 'were you there' nights in Cape May where swarms of
birds were lit up in the lights. The streets are covered this morning making it
difficult to drive anywhere. If you were ever to take a 'sickie', today would
be the day."
La Puma
"Here's a link to my post:
http://www.woodcreeper.com/2010/10/29/wings-on-the-wind-the-flight-of-a-decade/
all I can say is that I've never seen anything like what I saw last
night. Think about an epic morning flight, but in the dark. With
clickers in hand, several of us clicked between 80 and 100 birds per minute from
one vantage point with a decent view of the sky and birds lit from
beneath by the city lights. When we moved to a better vantage point
between two buildings, the real fun began. Michael clicked 600 birds
in two minutes. 300 birds per minute, a conservative estimate, were
pouring over the streets of Cape May. The overwhelming majority were
American Robins. American Woodcock were common, as were Savannah,
Swamp, Chipping, and White-throated Sparrows. An Eastern Phoebe landed
on the seawatch counter Steve's head at one point, and numerous
birds disoriented by the lights made landings in peculiar places.
Hermit Thrush on wires, Catbird walking the boardwalk, Juncos, Swamp
Sparrows and E. Phoebes trying to get some Italian Ice at Rita's.
Grasshopper and Nelson's Sparrow walking the streets. Today promises
to be great down here, and the trend should continue through the
weekend. If you haven't decided to already, go birding."
I'm headed down there tomorrow.
Crossley
"Last night was one of those 'were you there' nights in Cape May where swarms of
birds were lit up in the lights. The streets are covered this morning making it
difficult to drive anywhere. If you were ever to take a 'sickie', today would
be the day."
La Puma
"Here's a link to my post:
http://www.woodcreeper.com/2010/10/29/wings-on-the-wind-the-flight-of-a-decade/
all I can say is that I've never seen anything like what I saw last
night. Think about an epic morning flight, but in the dark. With
clickers in hand, several of us clicked between 80 and 100 birds per minute from
one vantage point with a decent view of the sky and birds lit from
beneath by the city lights. When we moved to a better vantage point
between two buildings, the real fun began. Michael clicked 600 birds
in two minutes. 300 birds per minute, a conservative estimate, were
pouring over the streets of Cape May. The overwhelming majority were
American Robins. American Woodcock were common, as were Savannah,
Swamp, Chipping, and White-throated Sparrows. An Eastern Phoebe landed
on the seawatch counter Steve's head at one point, and numerous
birds disoriented by the lights made landings in peculiar places.
Hermit Thrush on wires, Catbird walking the boardwalk, Juncos, Swamp
Sparrows and E. Phoebes trying to get some Italian Ice at Rita's.
Grasshopper and Nelson's Sparrow walking the streets. Today promises
to be great down here, and the trend should continue through the
weekend. If you haven't decided to already, go birding."
I'm headed down there tomorrow.
