HUDSON-DELAWARE 
This adult Sharp-tailed Sandpiper at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, New York 3-4 (here 4) 
August 2008 was the first to visit this site since 1981. Photograph by Doug Gorhfeid. 
Avalon Seawatch peak counts of 29,017 Surf 
and 35,087 Black Scoters 18 Oct (SF) were a 
bit above average. Long-tailed Duck migra- 
tion along the Great Lakes seems to peak in 
late Oct: 757 flew past Derby Hill 29 Oct 
(BPu), and 782 passed Hamlin Beach 30 Oct 
(RSp). A Bufflehead at Noblewood Park, Es- 
sex, NY 23 Aug (MDM) was record early for 
that location. The only Barrow’s Goldeneyes 
reported this fall were single males at Noble- 
wood Park, Essex, NY 8 Nov (MDM) and at 
Pt. Breeze, Orleans, NY 26-27 Nov (DT,JP). A 
single locality count of 596 Hooded Mer- 
gansers at Chautauqua L., Chautauqua, NY 
(]P, DN) illustrates how dramatically that 
species has increased. Seven hundred forty 
Common Mergansers were at Dorchester 
Park, Broome, NY 21 Nov (MJI), and 8000 
Red-breasted Mergansers were along the West 
Lakeshore near Rochester 19 Nov (KCG, GL). 
An ad. Pacific Loon at Long Pt., Cayuga L., 
Cayuga, NY 1-2 Nov was well photographed 
(Ryan Douglas, TJ). A Pied-billed Grebe with 
3 chicks at Chatsworth, Burlington, NJ 24 
Aug (Dave Larsen) was rather late for this 
uncommon breeder, and 2-3 Eared Grebes 
were at their regular migration stop at Batavia 
10 Sep-r (m.ob.). Single Northern Fulmars 
were seen from shore, where rare, 24 Oct at 
Fire Island Inlet (Larry Merryman) and 1 
Nov at Montauk (AB). Pelagic trips went out 
from Belmar, NJ 24 Aug and Lewes, DE 16 & 
22-23 Aug (PAG et al.). The 24 Aug Belmar 
trip had 134 Cory’s and 33 Greater Shearwa- 
ters, and Audubon’s Shearwaters were seen 
on all three trips: 3 out of Lewes and 2 out of 
Belmar. The only Sooty Shearwater reported 
was one on the late date of 19 Oct from Smith 
Pt., Suffolk, Long 1. (CS). A White-faced 
Storm-Petrel was photographed in Delaware 
waters on the pelagic trip from Lewes 22-23 
Aug (PAG, MF). 
An imm. Brown Booby 
was photographed sitting 
on a buoy 19 km off Here- 
ford Inlet, NJ 14 Sep 
(MFr), adding to the in- 
creasing number of 
records for this species in 
the Northeast. A large sin- 
gle-day count of 16,946 
Northern Gannets was 
made at Avalon 11 Nov 
(SF); 1000 were at Fire 1. 
1 Nov (SSM); and 5 were 
seen on L. Ontario 1-14 
Nov. An American White 
Pelican that appeared at 
Brigantine 5 Jul remained 
through Aug (m.ob.), and 
another was seen flying 
over Manhattan, NY 7 Sep (TF). Great Cor- 
morants at the edges of their distribution in- 
cluded 2 at Indian River Inlet 26 Oct-t- (m.ob.) 
and one at Hamlin Beach 14 Nov (AG, RSp). 
Four frigatebirds were seen, 2 of these unam- 
biguously ad. male Magnificents: one was at 
Shinnecock 7 Sep (AnW, m.ob.) and a one at 
Cayuga L. 21 Sep (TJ, Sean Billerman). A juv. 
frigatebird was seen at the Montclair Hawk- 
watch 27 Oct 0- Bosler); another, apparently 
an ad. female, was seen at Cape May 8 Sep 
(Lesley Coley, JGu, m.ob.). The birds on 7-8 
Sep likely traveled northward with Tropical 
Storm Hanna, but the others were not defi- 
nitely storm-related and possibly represent 
this species’ increasing tendency to wander 
northward, even rather late into the autumn. 
HERONS THROUGH RAPTORS 
An astonishing count of 80 American Bit- 
terns was made at dawn at Cape May 5 Oct, 
along with 200 Green Herons and 300 Black- 
crowned Night-Herons (MO’B). Peak counts 
of egrets included 324 Greats and 193 
Snowies at Bombay Hook 15-16 Aug 0 - 
Bosler, K. GrafO, and 524 Greats and 350 
Snowies at Brigantine 24 Aug (Al Martens, 
MH). Seventeen Little Blue and 19 Tricolored 
Herons flew by the Avalon Seawatch 7 Oct 
(SF). Thirteen Cattle Egrets were at Bombay 
Hook 30 Aug (WE); a total of 8 was found in 
New Jersey; and others were seen n. to Staten 
1. 1 Nov (2 birds; HF) and Long 1. 8 Sep-19 
Oct (PJL, SSM). Following a moderate inva- 
sion during the summer, 5 imm. White Ibis 
were found 15 Aug-13 Sep, the northern- 
most being at the DeKorte Park, Bergen, NJ 
26 Aug-13 Sep (RD, MBr, m.ob.). Peak 
counts of Glossy Ibis were 232 at Bombay 
Hook 15 Aug OBo) and 132 at Brigantine 21 
Aug (Al Martens), and a White-faced Ibis was 
at Jamaica Bay 16-19 Aug (DGo, SSM). The 
northernmost Black Vultures were at Perin- il 
ton, Monroe, NY 14 Sep (DT) and ' 
Williamsville, Erie, NY 13 Sep (Richard ■ 
Salembier); a high count of migrant Turkey 
Vultures was 1093 at the Bishop Road Hawk- 
watch 17 Oct. Single Swallow- tailed Kites 
were well documented at Millsboro, Sussex, 
DE 6 Sep (Steve Cardano), Stokes S.E, Sussex, 
NJ 17 Sep (Giselle Smisko et a!.), and Cape | 
May 4 Oct (m.ob.), and up to 2 Mississippi 
Kites were at Cape May 29 Sep-5 Oct (Pat 
Sutton, m.ob.). The weakness of the fall mi- i 
gration was underscored by the feeble accip- : 
iter counts: a peak of only 400 Sharp- 
shinneds at Cape May 30 Sep and 4 Oct 
(compare the maximum day count there of 
11,000 in 1977!) and 150 Cooper’s Hawks | 
there 3 Oct (DGo). Thirty-seven Northern | 
Goshawks were reported, a bit above the past 
two falls’ counts. Thirty-three Red-shoul- ' 
dered Hawks passed the Ashland Hawk- 
watch, New Castle, DE 19 Nov (Matt Sileo), 
and 3318 Broad-winged Hawks were over 
Merrill Creek Res. 18 Sep (TV). A year-old 
Swainson’s Hawk was at Cape May 23-30 Sep 
(CJV et al.), and another, a light-morph ad., 
was at Cape Henlopen 17 Oct (FRo), poten- 
tially a first for Delaware. Six hundred thirty- 
four Red-tailed Hawks at Braddock Bay 18 I 
Aug illustrate the peculiar early fall move- ; 
ments of imms. along the L. Ontario 
lakeshore (DT). About 30 Rough-legged , 
Hawks were reported 10 Oct+. A one-day to- 
tal of 36 Golden Eagles 1 Nov at Franklin 
Mountain Hawkwatch, Delaware, NY is in- 
dicative of this species’ continuing increase; 
on the other hand, a maximum count of 300 
American Kestrels at Cape May 29 Sep QGu) 
is one-tenth of the daily totals of the 1980s. 
RAILS THROUGH ALCIDS 
Forty-five Common Moorhens were at Mon- 
tezuma 6 Aug (TL), and one was at Braddock 
Bay 3 Oct (KCG). Higher counts of our ex- 
panding Sandhill Crane population included 
44 at the Savannnah Mucklands, Wayne, NY i 
23-29 Nov (AG et al.) and 12 at Husted Land- : 
ing, Cumberland, NJ 28 Nov (James Blumen- ' 
stein). Peak counts of migrant shorebirds 
were mostly below average: 1240 Black-bel- 
lied Plovers at Brigantine 11 Oct (MH); 3700 
Semipalmated Plovers at Brigantine 4 Sep ' 
(MH); a 122 American Golden-Plovers at | 
Cuylerville, Livingston, NY 17 Sep (a relative- ^ 
ly high count for recent years; JK); 340 j 
Killdeer at East Barre, Orleans, NY 23 Oct 
(DT); 450 American Oystercatchers at Stone 
Harbor, Cape May, NJ 24 Sep (TL, MJI); 475 
American Avocets at Bombay Hook 15 Aug 
QBo); 800 Greater Yellowlegs (including 15 
juvs.) at Brigantine 22 Oct (TL); 326 Lesser j 
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NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 
