On Avoiding Self-fulfilling Prophecies - And a Prophecy

 [Ovenbird, Higbee Beach WMA, NJ August 31 2013. So there ARE migrants around. . . ]

"There's not going to be anything today." That's how I went into it this morning at Higbee Beach WMA, NJ, which is not a good way to go into anything, thinking you're going to fail, in this case fail to find any migrants and that it was wasted time and energy to get up at 6:00 a.m. to be at the WMA while it was still cool.  I'm not saying that thinking wasn't logical, because it was - south winds overnight are not conducive to fall migration - but sometimes if you think you're going to get nothing, that's exactly what you get.

Luckily, a Veery popped up first thing, an Ovenbird after that, and I was suddenly more attentive and found a few more things. A cooperative Prairie Warbler, a gnatcatcher, a few Yellow Warblers, a redstart, Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos, and three Empids that all looked the same, and since one of them called with a Least Flycatcher's whit, that's what I called them all.

But it certainly wasn't the long species list you can sometimes pull off on a hot migration morning at Higbee Beach. That's coming next week, and here's the prophecy part of this blog: it surely sucks we have southwest winds forecast for all three days of Labor Day weekend, but next Wednesday is going to be a hot one, bird wise. Trouble is, I'm not off from work next Wednesday. . . yet.

The prophecy comes from the frontal forecast, which shows a cold front clearing Cape May on Tuesday, and the wind forecast, which shows northwest overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. There's the recipe you want.

In the meantime, I'll gladly take what I bumped into during my turn around Higbee this morning.

 [This Prairie Warbler was very cooperative at Higbee today.]

[Least Flycatcher. How do I know? The best way - I heard its whit call note! This was one of three Least's along the center path at Higbee, which is often good for Empids.]

Fri-D: Another View of a Juvenile

So here's a looking-down-at-it view of a juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper, illustrating exactly what we mean when we say "Aged as a juvenile by the neat, crisp pale-edged upperparts feathers creating a scaled appearance." This was taken from the Leed's Eco-trail boardwalk at Forsythe NWR on August 30, 2013.

Thoughtful Thursday

"I will not be concerned at other men's not knowing me;I will be concerned at my own want of ability."
- Confucius

Wordless Wednesday: Peregrine Aerobatics

[Peregrine Falcon turning on a Semipalmated Sandpiper that shortly was reduced to possession, and lunch. South Cape May Meadows, NJ on Sunday, click to enlarge.]

On the Dike Again

 [Female Cape May Warbler at the Higbee Beach Dike, Cape May, NJ today.]

The little cold front that passed brought more than a few migrants to Higbee Beach this morning. . . how many times have I written about cold fronts and migrants, I suddenly wonder. A bunch.

Anyway, the redstarts et. al. were flying at the dike and we were trying to identify the et. al.'s and it reminded me what a good way to be humbled it is to climb up to the top of that dike and try to put names to warblers, vireos, and even Empidonax flycatchers as they fly past. It's task enough just to get a clean look. What I mean is, here are these warblers jinking and weaving and going pretty fast, and you've got to get your eyes to focus faster and then your binoculars aimed and focused and well it's very hard. . .and fun as hell. Of course you're listening all the while, too, to tiny little seeps and zeeps and buzzes which are soft suggestions of identity.

Read official counter Sam Galick's accounts of Morning Flight at the Higbee Dike here: http://cmboviewfromthefield.blogspot.com/

[It's nice when an easy one passes - Belted Kingfisher at the Higbee dike today.]