Shorebirder

Not massive, but there are birds in the air tonight. Tomorrow morning should bring some new migrant waves to your favorite hotspot as we turn the calendar to October. - NB

If you live in the northeast you've probably noticed the windy weather we've had for the past couple days. A stiff SW wind is blowing here in CT for the second consecutive day. A couple days ago these SW winds were blowing in a straight line from Texas to the Great Lakes. This is the type of weather that a month from now would bring us Cave Swallows. While likely too early for any Caves (though not entirely out of the question given how they seem to only be increasing around here), we should be on alert for western stuff. Tim Spahr emailed me to let me know that this system is responsible for a few dozen Franklin's Gulls that just appeared in Ohio. We're due for a shift from SW to WNW for the next two days, so if anything is blown this far east we'll have a chance at them, particularly coastally once those winds shift tonight. - NB

UPDATE #2: Friday the 25th was by far the best day (numbers-wise) that I've ever had at Lighthouse Pt. We tallied over 2,800 hawks throughout the day including 1300+ Broad-wings and 1000+ Sharp-shinned Hawks. 15 Bald Eagles were also a highlight and tied the record single-day count for LHP. Twelve raptor species were seen at LHP and my Black Vultures along I-95 in the morning made for a personal baker's dozen on the day. I had been there for a couple 1,200-or-so days before, but never anything like Friday. The moderate/strong North winds were to thank for the Broad-wing show, as LHP lies to the southeast of the main Broad-wing route, so strong winds are needed to push them that far to the southeast in any numbers. But amazingly even without the Broad-wings it would have been a personal LHP record. Unfortunately we couldn't turn up anything really great like a Swainson's Hawk (one was seen by Paul Carrier in Burlington, CT that morning), but I'm not complaining after

There are flocks, and then there are flocks. September in New England means that dozens of bird species are on the move south. Some, like Peregrine Falcons, travel singly. Others, like the Broad-winged Hawk, travel in bunches. Broadies stage one of the most spectacular migratory shows that can be seen in the region...it's something that I've never truly witnessed myself. I have yet to see over 1,000 Broad-wings in one day, but there are days where over 10,000 are tallied in mid-Sept if the weather falls right. Last week I was fortunate enough to catch a fraction of that number in my hometown of Orange, CT. Though we're not talking thousands of birds, I did catch up with one kettle of 112 hawks. Broadies and an Osprey Another September phenomenon occurs in the Phragmites marshes of the lower Connecticut River. Each autumn evening a staggering number of Tree Swallows come to the river to roost. Numbers have been estimated as high as a half-million birds. It's hard to even

The adult male Northern Wheatear at Sikorsky Airport in Stratford continues to put on a show for visitors, which have included several out-of-staters. I was able to get some nice digiscoped pics last week, and below is my best. - NB

Went out on Long Island Sound today with Greg Hanisek for some fishing and birding. One bluefish, a small porgy, but no good birds. Still a great calm day to be out there. Got home around 3:30 pm and decided to sit in the yard with a beer with an eye on the sky. I was again surprised and impressed with the afternoon hawk flight for the next hour: 7 Osprey, 2 SS Hawk, a Kestrel and a Merlin. Speaking of Long Island Sound and its lack of pelagics, Tim Spahr (see his migration website ) emailed me in regards to the low pressure system slowly tracking up the east coast. He pointed out to me that the pressure gradient between that system and high pressure will result in east-to-northeast winds for southern New England from tonight into Friday. Here in southern CT we may experience 15-20 mph sustained winds at times, and they may even be prolonged. While not a tropical system, this wind could increase our chances for jaegers along our coastline, especially further east. Of course any pelagic

I stepped outside this afternoon to fire up the grill and looked up to see an adult Bald Eagle migrating overhead. I took this as a clue to pay attention to the skies. Sure enough a few minutes later a Sharpie and Kestrel passed by. An hour of casual watching produced the eagle, a Broad-wing, 5 Sharpies, 3 Kestrels and a non-migrating Osprey. Not bad for east winds! All migrants were heading WSW. Also a few common warblers flitting around the treetops. - NB

Paul Desjardins and Mona Cavallero found a nice adult male NORTHERN WHEATEAR at Sikorsky Airport in Stratford today. I was able to get down there in the afternoon and watch the bird with a handful of others. The bird remained active for much of the time I was there, often flycatching from the fence or chasing insects on the ground. The bird can be IDed as an adult male by it's striking blackish lores/auriculars at this time of year. My mediocre photos do not do this bird any justice! - NB