Today I had the best views of Cape May Warblers ever during easily the best day of spring migration so far this year. Birds that had been trapped in the Mid-Atlantic for a week or 10 days finally moved north with heavy migration occurring on southerly winds. New England and northern New York had poor migratory conditions still, stopping a lot of birds when they arrived, and some areas of fog and/or rain also helped locally. I thought these couple of shots were the best I would get, and I was happy enough…
But they decided to stick around after the clouds cleared and show off, feeding nonstop after a cold and wet morning, putting on a show as the sun came out.
Check out that photo of it holding what looks like a tiny aphid in its bill! I heard the typical high-pitched Cape May notes in the morning, but in the afternoon we heard this small, shorter, buzzy alternate tune at point blank range while one was foraging. I have to thank these birds for the tremendous memories, and I hope you made some outdoors this weekend as well.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
