The 14 species of warblers seen this week shows that songbird migration has increased tremendously. The Gay Head Cliffs are where these migrating songbirds concentrate while awaiting favorable conditions for crossing the Atlantic Ocean toward New York City and points south. Six of the 14 species of warblers seen this week nest here but that does not mean these individuals did not nest well to the north and are just passing through.
The common yellowthroat was reported 11 times. Bob Bobowski spotted one at Lighthouse Beach in Edgartown on August 19, the next day Charles Morano found five at the right fork of South Beach State Park and Brian Bobowski saw two at Sheriff’s Meadow Sanctuary, while on August 21 Brian Bobowski located one at Edgartown’s Lighthouse Beach and Sky Kardell and David Benvent counted 10 at the Gay Head Cliffs, while Allen Keith spotted one there. Nancy Weaver observed one at Gay Head Cliffs on August 22, Bob Shriber located one in Gay Head on August 23, Philip Edmundson found two near the southern end of Watcha Pond on August 24, the same day that Nancy Nordin observed one in her West Tisbury yard. Wendy Culbert spotted one at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport August 25.
Prairie, yellow and black-and-white warblers are the next most frequent sighting with five sightings each. Prairie warblers were found by Charles Morano, two at the right fork of South Beach State Park on August 20, Sky Kardell and David Benvent spotted five at the Gay Head Cliffs on August 21, Nancy Weaver three at the Gay Head Cliffs the same day, Richard Goldenberg and Bob Shriber one at Aquinnah on August 22 and Bob Shriber three in Gay Head on August 23.
Yellow warblers were seen by Bob Bobowski one at Edgartown’s Lighthouse Beach on August 19, Charles Morano two at the right fork of South Beach State Park on August 20, Sky Kardell and David Benvent eight at Gay Head Cliffs on August 21 and Bob Shriber one at Old South Road and two elsewhere in Aquinnah on August 23.
Black and white warblers were spotted five times: Sky Kardell and David Benvent two at Gay Head Cliffs on August 21, Nancy Weaver one at Gay Head Cliffs on August 22 and on August 23, Bob Shriber two at Old South Road and two elsewhere in Aquinnah, while Allan Keith one at Squibnocket Point.
American redstarts were found four times. Charles Morano saw one at right fork of South Beach State Park on August 20, David Benvent saw five at Gay Head Cliffs on August 21 and on August 23 Bob Shriber saw one at Old South Road and two elsewhere in Aquinnah.
Ovenbirds were seen three times. Allan Keith saw one at Gay Head Cliffs on August 21, Bob Shriber saw one in Aquinnah on August 23 and Nancy Nordin saw two in her West Tisbury yard on August 24.
Pine warblers — the last of our nesting warblers — were observed twice. Charles Morano saw one at the right fork of South Beach State Park on August 20 and David Benvent saw four at Pond Road in West Tisbury on August 23. The remaining eight species of warblers spotted this week are migrants. Charles Morano spotted one chestnut-sided warbler at the right fork on August 20 and Bob Shriber found another in Aquinnah on August 23. On August 21 at the Gay Head Cliffs, both David Benvent and Allan Keith found a blackburnian warbler. Sky Kardell and David Benvent located a Cape May warbler at the Gay Head Cliffs on August 21.
Rich Couse observed one palm warbler at the Gay Head Cliffs on August 25. Bob Shriber saw one bay-breasted warbler at Old South Road on August 23 and a black-throated green warbler elsewhere in Aquinnah on August 23. Allan Keith spotted a northern waterthrush at Squibnocket on August 21 and a magnolia warbler at Menemsha Hills on August 25.
Sky Kardell and David Benvent saw the first of the fall warbling vireo at the Gay Head Cliffs on August 21 and another by Allan Keith at Squibnocket on August 23. Sky Kardell found a first of the season indigo bunting at the Gay Head Cliffs on August 21 and Alex Lin-Moore spotted one there on August 24, the same day that Nancy Nordin spotted one elsewhere in Aquinnah.
Jenna Albaugh reports a red-breasted nuthatch at Mytoi Gardens on August 20. I found one immature at Little Beach on August 23.
Matt Pelikan reports that on August 24 there were at least 60 bobolinks, lots of savannah and song sparrows, American goldfinches, house finches and one hairy woodpecker at Katama Farm. Allan Keith reports a female bobolink at Katama Farm on August 25. Matt then moved on to Sarson’s Island where he found 240 common terns, a few roseate terns, a few least terns, a mix of the usual shorebirds and 65 black skimmers. Sky Kardell and David Benvent spotted one glossy ibis at the Gay Head Cliffs on August 21, the same day that Francesca Zeta got a distant view of an out-of season horned grebe in full breeding plumage in Eel Pond.
It is unusual to have two species of godwits on the same beach within a few days of each other. Lanny McDowell spotted two marbled godwits working along the Norton Point tideline on August 23 and two days later Allan Keith found an Hudsonian godwit at the western end of Mattakessett Bay, in addition to a flock of 21 American oystercatchers and some short-billed dowitchers.
Charles Morano spotted a northern harrier at the right fork on August 20. John Freylinghuysen saw a juvenile merlin along Fuller Street in Edgartown on August 23, the same day that Lanny McDowell found an immature female peregrine falcon on Norton Point and Wayne Smith found a pair of barn owls perched in a West Tisbury tree. Susan Whiting saw a sharp-shinned hawk at Tisbury Great Pond on August 24 and osprey are still prevalent and noisy.
Please email your sightings to birds@vineyardgazette.com
Robert Culbert is an ecological consultant with Nature Watch living in Vineyard Haven.
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