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INSTITUTE FOR FIELD ORNITHOLOGY

2004 IFO Raptors Workshop Report

Instructor: Clay Sutton . 17-22 October 2004 . Cape May, New Jersey

While we didn't have the hoped for major cold front, the key ingredient for the biggest migratory raptor flights at Cape May, we did have two days of very good hawkwatching. Monday, our first field day, produced a good flight of hawks, highlighted by a lovely light-morph Swainson's Hawk – not too big a deal for our Texas and California participants, yet a very good bird at Cape May. Our sighting was one of only two seen at Cape May in Autumn of 2004, and a life-bird for several participants.

"Murky" weather and easterly winds prevailed mid-week, but the birding was exceptional none-the-less (if not for raptors!). We enjoyed excellent sea-watching and seabird identification challenges, both at Avalon and Cape May, and saw some very good birds as well – highlights were numerous Parasitic Jaegers, three+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and Cape May's only 2004 record of Franklin's Gull (found by our group), not to mention hundreds of gulls, terns, scoters, loons, gannets, and the big flock of Black Skimmers.

Forsythe NWR (aka "Brigantine") was visited in somewhat inclement weather, yet, was fabulous with truly tens of thousands of shorebirds and waterfowl. Highlights included seven+ Hudsonian Godwits and many hunting chases by multiple Peregrines. A visit to Stone Harbor Point added Marbled Godwit and hundreds of American Oystercatcher, and a visit to a private yard and feeder enabled us to see a Calliope Hummingbird – a vagrant so rare that it was only New Jersey's third record ever.

The weather cleared by Friday, and, appropriately, our final day was our best for raptor watching, with virtually constant sightings of hawks for much of the day. The official total for the day (October 22, 2004) was 1,447 birds at the hawkwatch. We had lengthy looks at Red-tails, Red-shoulders, and even a lingering Broad-winged Hawk or two (for our western participants!), and great comparisons of Sharp-shins and Cooper's Hawks – many close and frequent. In all, we enjoyed 14 species of raptors during the week (and accrued a good total list of 134 species, 14 raptor species, and I think for all, a very pleasant Cape May migration experience, one filled with many teaching and learning opportunities.

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