Stephen Ingraham (who?)

the unofficial site for birders and digiscopers using Zeiss equipment.

ZEISS/NJ Audubon Morning Flight Project

Dawn on the Dike. Every morning from a hour before dawn to two hours after, counting birds headed north (counter to the migration flow)..	The tower, a full time interpreter is there to explain the phenomena and help with identifications.

I went a day early for the Cape May Autumn Weekend so that I could visit the ZEISS/NJ Audubon Morning Flight project. That late in the year, when most of the warblers have passed, only a few hardy souls were out, but at the height of migration, the Morning Flight platform is a popular morning destination. The CMBO site explains the phenomena well: Morning Flight.

Michael O'Brien was on the dike where he is every morning, and Josh Lawrey was handling interpretation on the tower. There was a bitter wind, but blowing in the right direction to feed the flow of birds along north along the coastline.

While I stood there, more than a hundred Sharp-shinned and a few Cooper's Hawks came through, but that is not what Michael is counting. That morning over 57,000 Robins flew by, and 21,000 Yellow-rumped Warblers. 340 Northern Flickers and 280 Cedar Waxwings. Looking out across the empty impoundment toward the horizon, the sky was liberally peppered with Robins all morning.

A sharpy resting from the wind for a moment. Sharpies could barely make headway.

The Robin peppered sky.

Michael O'Brien	Josh Lawrey
Watching the Flickers and Sharp-shinneds	The Tower from the Dike.

It is one of those rare occurrences in the world of birding and birds that have to be experienced first hand. The count takes place from late August to the end of October every year.