Eastern Shore Migration Update: October 3, 2025

Today’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count had calmer winds than the previous few days, and clear skies made for pleasant counting. Totals of 39 species and 829 individuals were counted. 

Migration was a bit slower than previous days, but Northern Flickers still had a nice day with 153, as did Sharp-shinned Hawks with 143. Several small Tree Swallow flocks tallied 295. Nine Boat-tailed Grackles were good to see after seeing the first for the count yesterday. Warblers were very slow with only Northern Parulas breaking double digits at 10. Today saw three first-of-season species, with seven Northern Pintail, two Surf Scoters, and one Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Northern Pintail (photo by Will Burgoyne)

The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had another nice day with just shy of 800 raptors counted. Sharp-shinned Hawks continue to dominate with an even 300 counted. A great highlight was a southbound flyover flock of 14 American White Pelicans, a rare but somewhat regular fall migrant on the Eastern Shore. 

Light east northeast winds and sunny skies continue tomorrow. Winds will eventually switch around to the southeast by early next week before the next cold front arrives next week.

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog: 

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20251003

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20251003

Eastern Shore Migration Update: October 2, 2025

Northeast winds were going strong again on the Eastern Shore during the Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count today. Totals of 42 species and 1229 individuals were tallied.

While nocturnal migrants were fairly slow due to slower nocturnal migration and the easterly component to the winds, some migrants still had a nice morning with Northern Flickers being a standout. The flicker tally of 230 consisted of 165 southbound and 85 northbound individuals. A number of raptors were still moving through, and an early Ring-necked Duck and three Boat-tailed Grackles were nice first-of-seasons for the count.

Northern Harrier

Boat-tailed Grackle

The continued northeast winds provided yet another great day at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch. Though some birds were higher today compared to the past few days, many birds offered great views as they zipped over. Broad-winged Hawks had a notably good day with lots of kettling activity and 612 counted. It was one of the first big Tree Swallow days of the year, with 5596 counted southbound over the hawkwatch.

Kettling Broad-winged Hawks

Migration will likely slow down over the coming days with easterly and then southerly winds setting in. This wind switch will be accompanied by warmer temperatures. It will be nice to enjoy some of the earlier fall species lingering around over this period before the next batch of northerly winds brings more winter arrivals with it.

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog: 

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250930

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250930

Eastern Shore Migration Update: October 1, 2025

Northeast winds were blasting today on the Eastern Shore during the Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count. A very nice varied flight ensued following a night of heavy migration, and 43 species and 1453 individuals were counted.

The stars of the show this morning were Gray Catbirds, 299 of which were clicked moving north through the shrubs, most of which early on in the morning with 17 Brown Thrashers and 45 Common Yellowthroats interspersed. Many other warblers this morning were tough to get on with the high winds as they moved low through the shrubs. Birds moved higher later in the morning and became more easily identifiable. Northern Parulas and Palm Warblers dominated with 87 and 70 counted. Heralding the arrival of later fall, 11 Yellow-rumped Warblers were a nice first-of-season.

Brown Thrasher

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Strong northeast winds opened the Raptor floodgates today at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch. Birds were coming in across the sky nonstop all day, and a fantastic total of 3165 raptors were counted in total, one of the best days in recent years at the site. Standout species included 1459 American Kestrel, 892 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 318 Merlin, and 92 Northern Harrier.

Northern Harrier

Tonight is another active night of migration, and tomorrow could be another good morning flight at Sunset Beach. Continuing northeast winds will likely make for another great day at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch.

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog: 

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250930

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250930

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 30, 2025

Northeast winds and cloudy skies continued today at the Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count. Lighter migration conditions last night in turn made for a lighter flight for the last day of the month, though diversity was decent regardless. Totals of 38 species and 700 individuals were counted.

Northern Parulas have solidly taken over as the dominant warbler in morning flight, and 84 were counted this morning. American Redstarts trailed with 31. Three of each Northern Waterthrush and Yellow Warbler were nice to see as these species slow down for the season. Flocks of Brown-headed Cowbirds tallied 101, and T hree large groups of White Ibis moving south over Eastern Shore NWR totaled 230, a good count for the species for this location. A Savannah Sparrow by the parking area pre-dawn was a first-of-season for the count.

Northern Waterthrush

More northeast winds meant more raptors over at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch. The threshold of 500 Northern Harriers for the month of September was crossed in the afternoon, and a total of 49 were counted for the day. A Merlin in hot pursuit of a bat in the late afternoon was an interesting sight, though the Merlin escaped empty-handed. 

Tonight is a very active night of migration, and tomorrow could be a larger morning flight at Sunset Beach. Strong northeast winds will likely make for a great day at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch as well. Northeast winds continue into Friday, and we should start seeing arrivals of more late season and wintering species over the next few days. We’re looking forward to starting October strong! 

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog: 

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250930

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250930

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 29, 2025

Today’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count featured northeast winds and high varied overcast skies. Warblers were a bit slower this morning, but Northern Flickers and American Kestrels had a nice morning. Totals of 47 species and 1020 individuals were counted.

Northern Flickers put on a nice show this morning with their first larger movement of the season of 222 individuals, with 190 southbound. A steady trickle of birds continued throughout the morning with several nice longer lines interspersed, along with the season’s first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the mix. American Kestrels had a great morning liftoff as well with 177 counted. The only notable warbler movement was Northern Parulas, totaling 122.

Northern Flicker

The Clay-colored Sparrow was still present this morning, moving around the parking lot a bit and roosting in the shrubs for extended durations when it was detectable by its call and by carefully peering into the bushes. While looking for the sparrow at the end of the count, the count’s first rough green snake was found slithering through the grass. An eastern box turtle crossing the road on the way out made for a record two reptile species on the day.

Steady northeast winds throughout the day made for yet another excellent day at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch. In addition to a lingering Mississippi Kite that made multiple appearances throughout the day, totals of 66 Osprey, 449 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 200 Cooper’s Hawks, 18 Northern Harriers, seven Bald Eagles, one Red-shouldered Hawk, 159 Broad-winged Hawks, 708 American Kestrels, 107 Merlins and 29 Peregrine Falcons were counted. 

Other hawkwatch highlights included a late southbound Olive-sided Flycatcher, an eleventh hour first-of-season for the hawkwatch. Gulf Fritillary and Long-tailed Skipper were nice butterflies to see along with a long-awaited uptick in Monarch numbers, including several individuals netted and tagged.

Northeast winds continue for the rest of the week which should continue bringing new arrivals to the shore as well as more excellent raptor flights. Peak fall migration has arrived and this week should have great conditions to witness it!

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog: 

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250929

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250929

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 28, 2025

Today's Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count had some 10mph winds from the NNW. Thankfully, it was nice and dry unlike yesterday's intermittent monsoons. The nocturnal movement was not nearly as strong as the previous nights. A total of 538 individuals of 57 species were counted.

The big highlight of the morning was a Clay-colored Sparrow that found two Chipping Sparrows to hang out with around the Sunset Beach parking lot. The sparrow passed overhead several times offering a great study in flight as well as calling its distinct flight call and chip.

Clay-colored Sparrow (Baxter's shots)

Fourteen warbler species were recorded heading over this morning. The high counts were of the usual suspects - 27 American Redstarts, 49 Cape May Warblers, and 62 Northern Parulas. A single Yellow-breasted Chat shot through the bay bushes with the trickle of Gray Catbirds.

The overcast skies encouraged or highlighted several groups of Great Blue Herons totaling 25 this morning. Unfortunately, no little pink Floridians were mingling this morning.

Another nice surprise was two Northern Rough-winged Swallows working their way north along the bay. Rough-winged Swallows are perplexing in their migration on the shore. Most of their movement on the shore occurs in the early season from July through August with some stragglers through the beginning of September. They then reappear in late October in small numbers. This second push might be of a small wintering population in some of the larger eastern cities.

The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had a great day with 1228 raptors including the new season high of 58 Peregrine Falcons. Other raptor totals include 192 Ospreys, 3 Bald Eagles, 26 Northern Harriers, 244 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 120 Cooper's Hawks, 36 Broad-winged Hawks, 441 American Kestrels, 107 Merlins, and one Mississippi Kite.

The pouring rain bands across the shore all day yesterday flooded much of the region which created proper conditions for Eastern Spadefoots to emerge and be surface active. This fascinating species lives underground in burrows much of the year only emerging after extreme rains.

Eastern Spadefoot

Don't take the Chance up north.

-Andrew

Keep up with both of CVWO's counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog:

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250924

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250924

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 27, 2025

Morning flight crew sheltered from heavy rain

After a night of diverse and numerous nocturnal flight calls overhead, our Sunset Beach Morning Flight crew was already looking forward to what today had in store, with a dash of anxiety given the forecast of likely all day rain. Though rain featured prominently in the first two hours of the flight, gaps in the rain opened the warbler floodgates and an excellent morning flight developed. Totals of 61 species and 2013 individuals were counted today.

A lapse in the south winds and rain combined with excellent migratory conditions across the northeast provided an ideal setup for a significant migratory push this morning. A dark and dreary morning sent the first hour’s birds low through the shrubs of west side of the parking lot, with most warblers offering only fleeting glimpses in the darkness. After more heavy rain passed and the skies began to brighten, warblers flew higher and became somewhat easier to identify, in no small part thanks to the skilled in-flight photography of visiting Virginia Tech Bird Club members. These photos revealed one of the many challenging backlit warblers to be a probable Cerulean Warbler, a very rare migrant on the Eastern Shore and very late as well. 

A total of 20 warbler species were identified this morning. The bulk of the flight went to 427 Northern Parulas, followed by 257 American Redstart and 126 Cape May Warblers. Gray Catbirds also had their first big morning, with 115 counted working their way north through the shrubbery. American Kestrels were also a near-constant presence towards the second half of the count, with 119 counted. The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had a very good flight after the morning’s showers including a great count of 681 American Kestrels and a diverse flight of raptors and songbirds alike. Gray Catbirds also moved in force at the hawkwatch, with 187 counted. 

With this most recent significant rainfall event behind us, migration is back in action and many birds will likely continue to move over the next few days on more favorable winds. The early morning hours of tomorrow will feature northwest winds, the best wind for morning flight here in the Eastern Shore. If there are enough birds migrating up to our north, it could be another big morning. We will continue to monitor possible effects of tropical systems over the coming days as well. 

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog: 

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250927

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250927

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 26, 2025

Today’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count had yet another day of south-southwest winds. It was a slow day with a few interrupting downpours following a night of heavy rain and thunderstorms, so not a ton was on the move. As always there were still a couple of nice highlights in the flight, and a total of 24 species and 94 individuals were counted.

The big highlight of the morning was an Olive-sided Flycatcher that dropped into the snags just south of the count area in the third hour. The bird looked around for a few minutes before a feisty cardinal kicked it off its perch, and it then flew north over the parking lot. Though typically a very rare migrant on the Eastern Shore, this has been a fantastic season for this species and is also our second at Sunset Beach.

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Other bright spots on this rainy morning were few and far between, though a Wilson’s Warbler first thing after the first round of showers let up was very nice to see. Cape May Warblers were once again the dominant warbler species, with 22 counted.

Wilson’s Warbler

The Kiptopeke Hawkwatch had a very nice later afternoon and evening flight after a wind shift to the west northwest with 161 American Kestrels counted from 5 to 6 pm! A nice late flight of 13 Common Nighthawks also accompanied the kestrels in the evening movement. Other species were moving in good numbers including Northern Harriers which were even coming over in small groups. The total raptor count for the day was 473 birds.

As south winds and rain clear out overnight a massive migration movement is underway, though rain tomorrow may interfere with morning flight. If the rain holds off we may see a very nice movement, and hopefully enough birds will be “in the pipeline” for some notable movements over the next few days as well.

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update on Facebook, Instagram, and the CVWO Blog: 

https://vawildliferesearch.org/cvwo-blog-1

Follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250924

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250924

Eastern Shore Migration Update: September 25, 2025

Today’s Sunset Beach Morning Flight Count had yet another day of south-southwest winds. Despite it being a very slow day in terms of migration, there were still several interesting highlights, and a total of 22 species and 87 individuals were counted.

On a humid day with south winds and very few migrants for what is approaching peak fall migration, it was great to see a late Prothonotary Warbler that dropped right in to the shrubs by the count site. Given the south winds and late date, it seems possible this migrant was carried up to the Eastern Shore from somewhere farther south rather than a migrant approaching from the north. Only two other warbler species were counted, a Cape May and two Northern Parulas.

Prothonotary Warbler

The other nice highlight of the morning was another late departing migrant, an Eastern Willet in a flock of Western Willets. Eastern Willets breed in the salt marshes of the Eastern Shore, and are typically very early to depart the area in fall. There have been a couple hanging around on the seaside at large shorebird roost sites, but this individual was definitely a surprise. Western Willets are common transients and winter residents on the Shore.

Eastern Willet (second from right) with Western Willets

Things slowed down today at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch, but the raptors were still moving against the wind with 105 individuals counted. Sharp-shinned Hawks were the most numerous with 66 individuals. Large raptor flights will very likely resume with the return of northeast winds next week!

Looking ahead weather-wise, a tropical disturbance east of Florida seems poised to become a hurricane that will likely bring significant precipitation to the area over the next week. While the track of the storm is still far from certain, chances are increasing that we will see impacts by the end of the month. We will keep an eye on the storm’s progression and will aim to interpret any likely bird-related impacts. In the short term, winds will vary from southerly to easterly over the next few days, but good chances for precipitation most days may keep migrants bottled up to our north.

Keep up with both of CVWO’s counts with our daily migration update right here on the CVWO Blog, and follow along with our counts live every morning on our Trektellen pages:

Sunset Beach Morning Flight: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/3748/20250924

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch: https://trektellen.nl/count/view/4022/20250924