Waterfowl

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, almost unknown in this region before 2000 and dismissed as escapes as late as 2010, have so proliferated that the New Jersey Bird Records Committee has ceased requiring documentation. This summer’s largest group of these energetic ducks settled in for the season in early May at their long-running summer location at the Amalfi Drive retention ponds near Clayton, Kent Co, DE (Wendy Cesario). There were 27 there on 1 Jun (Patty Masten). Numbers fluctuated thereafter, peaking at 33 on Jul 5 (Thierry Besancon, Victor Lefevre) but dropping to 11 on 8 Jul (Wendy Cesario). A pair of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks bred at the Amalfi Drive site for what we believe is the second year. Six ducklings were first observed there on 15 Jul (ph. Dennis Elder), down to five by 21 Jul (Guy DiRoma). Whistling-Ducks were last observed at this site on 1 Sep (Andrew Ednie). Small groups elsewhere in Delaware probably came from the Amalfi Drive population. A few Black-bellied Whistling Ducks appeared briefly in New Jersey, starting with four at Cape May on 10 Jun (Dan Ceravalo) and continuing much further north with one at Lake Weamaconk, Monmouth Co 27–29 Jul (m.obs.) The region’s northernmost records were around New York City, the maximum being nine at Jamaica Bay WR 11–12 Jun (m. obs.)

Fewer King Eiders than Common Eiders normally summer here. In 2024 two female King Eiders were off Great Gull Island, between the tip of Long Island and Connecticut, on 5 and 28 Jun and 18 Jul (Russell Emmons, Keenan Yakola, Emily Winslow), while a female was at Breezy Pt., Queens Co, NY from 29 Jul into mid-August (Tom Preston, Benjamin Forbes, ph Corey Finger, et al.). Common Eiders remained this season in only single digits, the southernmost being two at Island Beach SP, Ocean Co, NJ 7-23 June (Chris Thomas et al.). Forty-three Black Scoters and one imm. male White-winged Scoter at Herring Pt., Cape Henlopen, Sussex Co,  DE on 3 Jun (ph. Gregory Gough) constituted the only scoter flock so far south, but they did not linger.

A female Common Merganser with six ducklings (an Osprey took the seventh) at Thompson’s Bridge Road, Wilmington on 12 Jun (David Lewis) constituted a probable first Delaware breeding record for this species, whose breeding range is expanding southward.

Grouse to Rails

Ruffed Grouse were reported to eBird in New Jersey from only one location, in Sussex Co. No Spruce Grouse at all were reported from the Adirondacks.

The Hudson-Delaware Region shared in the American Flamingo dispersal of 2024, an echo of the previous year’s greater one. New York’s second (the state’s first was at Bellport, Suffolk Co, in Nov 1978) appeared 31 May–1 Jun at Georgica Pond, Wainscott, Suffolk Co, LI (Cathy Blinken, ph Christopher Gangemi). It was then observed spasmodically at the same location 11 Jun–8 Jul (Peter Polshek et al.). A single bird was probably responsible for all of these reports, and it may have also accounted for the Dennis, MA report on 2 Jun. The same, or another, was in the salt marsh north of Cedar Beach, Suffolk Co, LI on 5 Jun (Lori Wollerstin, Ari Weiss, m.obs.). Delaware’s first American Flamingo was at Gordon’s Pond, just south of Cape Henlopen, on the single day of 1 Jul (Bruce Peterjohn et al.), a date on which the Long Island bird was not reported.

Single White-winged Doves, nowadays almost annual in this region, were at the South Cape May Meadows, NJ on 18 Jul (Jack McDonough) and at Cape Henlopen SP, Sussex Co, DE spasmodically 7–14 June (Christopher Hinkle, Ben Filreis, Jason Horn et al.). Delaware has about a dozen records of this bird. A Black-billed Cuckoo, less than annual in summer in Delaware, was at Brandywine Creek SP, New Castle Co, on 25 Jun (Melissa Lafferty).

Eastern Whip-poor-wills have become lamentably rare in this region. One was heard at Jones Beach SP, Suffolk Co, LI on 8 Jun (Pat Lindsay, Shai Mitra) and the species was present at the Burlington Co NJ section of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (formerly Lakehurst Naval Air Station) on 18 Jul (Rachel McGovern, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey).

Robert Yunick banded only 106 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at Schroon Lake, Essex Co, NY, of which only 6 were over two years old. This marked a sharp drop from 2023 when a record 184 were banded, plus 23 returns. Yunick had similarly poor results in Maine. The only King Rail reported was one heard at the Port Penn Impoundments, Augustine WA, New Castle Co, DE on 28 Jul (Michael Moore).

Shorebirds

Southbound fall migration begins early among shorebirds. Already on 18 Jul, Bombay Hook NWR, near Smyrna, Kent Co, DE, contained 2000 Short-billed Dowitchers, 1000 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 131 Western Sandpipers, 150 Lesser Yellowlegs, 255 American Avocets, 6 Semipalmated Plovers, 6 Greater Yellowlegs, 12 Least Sandpipers, 2 Western Willets, 1 Stilt Sandpiper, 5 Black-necked Stilts, and 200 undifferentiated peeps (David Brown).  The first fall returnee White-rumped Sandpiper was already at Jamaica Bay on 6 Jul, along with a very early Pectoral Sandpiper (Max Epstein). Even earlier was a Stilt Sandpiper in breeding plumage at New York City’s Jamaica Bay WR on 27 Jun (Andrew Baksh), a bird that may have been a holdover from spring migration. Seventy White-rumped Sandpipers, often the latest spring migrant among shorebirds, were still at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, New York City, on 13 Jun (Heydi Lopes, Peter Paul)

A Black-necked Stilt described as “juvenile” at the Edwin B.  Forsythe NWR, Atlantic Co, NJ, 28+ Jul (ph. Bill Elrick, Ron Schlegel, Johan Antus) might constitute one of very few modern breeding records in New Jersey, although this bird could have wandered north from elsewhere. Stilts bred in New Jersey commonly until the late nineteenth century, but not in the twentieth until 1993, and then sparingly. In Delaware, where Black-necked Stilts breed as far north as Bombay Hook, four at the Thousand-Acre Marsh on 11 Jul (Wendy Cesario, Jason Horn) were only the second July New Castle Co eBird record in modern times.

More American Avocets than usual stopped over in New York State on their way from their western breeding range to their customary post-breeding assemblage at Bombay Hook NWR, Kent Co, DE. That flock reached 400 by 31 Jul (Ben Filreis). The earliest Avocet arrived on 28 Jun at Fire Island Wilderness Area, west of Smith County Park, Suffolk Co, NY (Huy Truong, Dimitris Salas). The northernmost were one on 6 Jul at Charlotte pier, Monroe Co, on Lake Ontario (Chris Wood et al.), and three on Lake Erie at Barcelona Harbor, Chautauqua Co, on 10 Jul (Tim Lenz). Several records were clustered along the Hudson River, evidently a route southward. These included a very early individual at 6 ½ Station Road Sanctuary, Orange Co, on 30 Jun (Matt Seitler et al.), another single at Newburgh, Orange Co, on 17 Jul (Christopher Rohrer), and one at Piermont pier, Rockland Co, also on 17 Jul (Linda Pistolesi). Further south, one stopped at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, New York City on 6 Jul, followed by a group of 4, a larger male and three females, on 12 Jul (Russ Comeau, Jonathan Green, Nelson Pascuzzi), and another single on 27 Jun (m.obs.). About seven visited New Jersey coastal sites in July.

The outer sandy beaches of New Jersey contained 154 pairs of American Oystercatchers in summer 2024, about triple the early 2000s number (Todd Pover, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey; Emily Heiser, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife). The largest concentrations in New Jersey were 52 at Holgate, Ocean Co; 26 at Stone Harbor, Cape May Co; 15 at Horseshoe Island, Cape May Co; and 11 at Sandy Hook, Monmouth Co. Seventeen pairs of the previously understudied Delaware Bay shore population of  American Oystercatchers were banded in 2024 (19 last year, Emmy Casper, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey). Five nests there were lost to mammalian predators (mostly foxes), and three to tides and weather. Oystercatchers are more adaptable in their choice of nesting sites than other beach-nesing birds, using grassy strips in parking lots, rooftops, and manicured recreational beaches, so they are the only regional beach nester whose population is increasing (Emily Heiser).

An American Golden-Plover in breeding plumage fell between seasons on 4–7 Jul at Bombay Hook—was it coming or going? (ph Kim Steininger et al.) Arctic-breeding shorebirds that fail to complete spring migration and linger here through June remain a mystery (see also Whimbrel and Dunlin this season). Are these birds injured, malnourished or delayed in some other way?

The Long Island Piping Plover population reached 513 pairs that fledged 637 young in 2023 (the latest data available), up from 500 pairs and 618 fledges in 2022 (Long Island Colonial Waterbird Survey, hereafter LICWS). Protective barriers on LI beaches are having positive results. In New Jersey, however, Piping Plovers are struggling. Only 89 pairs nested, the smallest number since census of this species began in 1987. These figures are well below the average of 116 and far below the best year, 144 in 2003. Predation is the main threat, responsible for 79 out of 103 nest failures. Mammals are the main predators, with mink in first place. A Wilson’s Plover, a former breeder now found only irregularly in the southern part of this region, was well described at the Northern Natural Area of Island Beach SP, Ocean Co, NJ on 26 Jul (Jordan Heine).

Upland Sandpipers continue to retreat northward. South of the Saint Lawrence Valley of New York State, where they are still fairly widespread, they were reported from only three locations in c.New York: North Gage Road in Utica, Oneida Co on 12 Jun (Alan Bloom) and again on 30 Jun (Jay McGowan); the Deerfield Grasslands, Oneida Co, on 11 Jun (Michael DiWispelaere); and the horse farm at West Ames, Montgomery Co, on 10 Jun, a traditional site (Rich Guthrie et al.). The last breeding population of Upland Sandpipers in New Jersey hangs on in the Ocean Co section of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, where up to six birds were present through June (Brian Byrnes, Lynn Pollard, Kathleen Horn et al.)

A Whimbrel at Cape Henlopen SP, DE on 27 Jun (ph Gregory Gough) and again 30 Jun (Susan Gruver, Gregory Gough) was either a very early fall returnee or a bird that failed to continue north to its breeding grounds. A Long-billed Curlew, rare in this region at any season,  stopped at Burger Park, Monroe Co, NY on 6 Jul (Chris Wood). Four Marbled Godwits returned very early to the Dupont Nature Center, on Milford Neck, Kent Co, DE on 30 Jun, the third eBird county June record (Jason Horn).

At least seven different Ruffs were reported, fewer than in the “glory years” of 1980-1990 when they reached the low double digits (the number is uncertain since opinions differed about whether new birds replaced old ones). New York had none, and New Jersey only one: a Reeve (female Ruff), abundantly photographed at Forsythe NWR 2-6 Jul, and possibly earlier (Bill Elrick and 38 other observers). Multiple Ruffs in Delaware included a Reeve at Bombay Hook on 29 Jun (ph Kim Steininger), joined by a Ruff on 3 Jun (Kyle Rambo, Scott and Cindy Ahern, ph Christopher Hinkle); a Reeve reported in flight at Oyster Rocks Rd., Sussex Co, 1 Jul (Jason Horn); a Reeve at the Port Mahon flats, Kent Co, 1- 3 Jul (ph Ben Filreis, m.obs.) and a Ruff there 4-5 Jul (ph Wendy Cesario, ph Darrick Ressler, Andie Ednie et al.); a moulting Ruff on Cape Henlopen opposite Gordon’s Pond 9-11 Jul (m.obs.); and a Ruff at Reedy Pt. Road and the nearby “Thousand-Acre Marsh,” New Castle Co, 18-19 Jul (Jason Horn).

Exceptionally, no vagrant Curlew Sandpipers turned up until August. A Sanderling was remarkably away from salt water at the Spruce Run Recreation Area, Hunterdon Co, NJ 26-28 Jul (Daniel Kroon, Peter Kwiatek, John Carbine, Frank Sencher, Jr., Alan Mart). A Dunlin in breeding plumage was interseasonal at Braddock Bay, Monroe Co,  30 Jun – was it coming or going? (ph. Austin Groff). A rare Baird’s Sandpiper “in full alternate plumage” was an early migrant at Bombay Hook on 18 Jul (Michael Moore).

About seven Wilson’s Phalaropes were a bit on the low side; the numbers lack precision because repeats are hard to distinguish from new arrivals. All were coastal. New York had at least two: one at Nickerson Beach, Nassau Co on 9 Jun (Andy Guthrie, m.obs.), and one (or was it more?) observed spasmodically at Jamaica Bay WR on 19-20 Jun (Bobby and Colleen Veltri et al.), on 27 Jun (Andrew Baksh), and from a kayak near there on 6 Jul (Louis De Marco). Surprisingly only one was reported in New Jersey, at Forsythe NWR on 6 Jul (Anthony Ciancimino, Anthony Choussy). In Delaware two were on the Port Mahon flats on 2, 5, 6 and 8 Jul (Linda Rosenberg, Frank Rohrbacher, Chris Bennett et al.) and two were at Bombay Hook on 4 Jul (Andy Ednie, Wendy Cesario et al.), when the Port Mahon birds were not reported.

Alcids to Skimmer

An early summer overnight pelagic trip out of Brooklyn on 2-3 Jun found a surprising number of alcids still present: 8 Dovekies, 3 Atlantic Puffins, and a Thick-billed Murre (Jay McGowan, Doug Gochfeld, Amy Davis et al.). A still later Dovekie was photographed off Cape May, NJ, on 19 Jun (Chris Thomas). A South Polar Skua, the expected species in midsummer, was photographed on a pelagic trip off Atlantic Co, NJ, on 27 July (Vince Elia et al.). Curiously, among jaegers only less-common Pomarines were reported from shore: one at Cape Henlopen, Point, DE on 19 Jul (Gregory Gough), and another (possibly the same) photographed exiting Delaware Bay in the rain the next day at the Coral Avenue crossing, Cape May Pt., NJ (Jack McDonough).

A Sabine’s Gull, Brooklyn’s first and New York City’s third if accepted by the New York State Avian Records Committee, paused at Plumb Beach, Brooklyn, New York City, on 26 Jun (Peter Paul). A few Bonaparte’s Gulls usually linger into summer along the coast, but one was unexpected on the Great Lakes at Braddock Bay, Monroe Co, NY 24 Jul (ph Candace Giles). Another was exceptional inland at Spruce Run Res., Hunterdon Co, NJ 29 Jul (Beth Merriweather, Eddie Politz). The only Little Gull recorded visited Plumb Beach on 16 Jul (Peter Paul). Franklin’s Gulls were not seasonal on Lake Cayuga at Stewart Park on 11 June (Tom Schulenburg. m.obs.), and at the Round Valley Recreational Area, Hunterdon Co, NJ (ph Jeff of this region’s Ellerson, ph Frank Sencher, Jr. et al.).An early migrant described as “ratty”  appeared 28 Jul at De Korte Park, Bergen Co, NJ (ph Milton Collins). A second-year California Gull at the Port Mahon Road, Kent Co, DE on 24 Jul (Jason Horn, ph David Brown, ph Ben Filreis, ph Randy Fisher, ph Andrew Ednie) was still present 26 Jul (Mike Holthaus). It constituted Delaware’s second eBird record. A midsummer Iceland Gull was out of season at Cape Henlopen SP, DE 16 Jun (Frank Rohrbacher, Randy Fisher). Lesser Black-Backed Gulls, now a normal part of the summer avifauna, were widely present on the coast, the biggest counts being 92 at Stone Harbor Pt., Cape May Co, on 5 July (Milton Collins) and 96 at South Cape May Meadows on 28 July (Gautam Apte), numbers well within recent norms. Most were immatures.  More unusual were two at interior lakes in Hunterdon Co, NJ: one at Round Valley Recreational Area on 20 Jun (Jeff Ellerbusch, ph Frank Sencher, Jr.); and another at Spruce Run Recreational Area on 29 Jul (ph Peter Kwiatek).

Eight species of terns frequented Cupsogue Beach County Park, Suffolk Co, NY at some time or another in June or July. Arctic, Gull-billed, Caspian, Black, Roseate, and Royal Terns visited there alongside the locally breeding Common and Least Terns (m.obs.).  Once unimaginable in this region in summer, a few Arctic Terns have made brief visits to coastal spots where terns gather. Two Arctic Terns (one adult and one immature) were among other terns at Nickerson Beach, Nassau Co,  9-11 Jun (NYC RBA). At least one stopped at Cupsogue County Park, Suffolk Co, on 11 and 29 Jun (Ryan Zucker et al.), A first-summer Arctic Tern visited Stone Harbor Pt., Cape May Co, NJ where they are “very rare from shore but probably regular” (Doug Gochfeld, Christina Davis, Glen Davis, Max Carroll) on 4 Jul. A Sooty Tern at sea off Atlantic Co, NJ on 27 Jul (ph Vince Elia, Elle McGee, Jason Desenevich, Matthew Schuler, Deidre Asbjorn et al.) was unexpected in the absence of storm activity.

Least Terns are holding their own on Long Island, where colonies on popular beaches are fenced off. A total of 2,781 pairs were tallied in 2023 (the latest figures available), the most in four years, slightly below the recent maximum of 3454 pairs in 2017 (LICWS). The biggest colonies were at the Fire Island Wilderness Area (294 pairs), Fire Island Democrat Point (194), Sand City in the Town of Huntington (153 pairs), and Watermill (116), all in Suffolk Co. The situation was less positive in New Jersey, where high levels of predation and high public demand for beach access limited the state’s population to 1436 adults, 776 of them incubating at 11 sites, the lowest since counting began in 1976. Only 146 fledglings were produced (Emily Heiser). For once, storm flooding was not a problem.

At Gull-billed Terns’ northern limit, five pairs nested in four colonies on Long Island, NY, all in the town of Hempstead (LICWS). The New Jersey population of Gull-billed Terns was 77 in 4 colonies, all coastal, according to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (Christina Davis, Emily Heiser). The region’s principal Caspian Tern colony at Little Galloo Island in eastern Lake Ontario contained 1,740 nests, a 20% decline from the previous year but above the numbers of twenty years ago. There was no sign of avian influenza (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Region 6, Colonial Waterbird Summary, 2024). The next biggest, in the Buffalo, NY harbor, numbered 125 birds on 10 July (Mike Morgante). Only six nested in New Jersey (Christina Davis, Emile Heiser), in the Great Bay section of the Forsythe NWR, Ocean Co. Six wandering Caspian Terns on the Hudson River at The Landing, Dobbs Ferry, Westchester Co on 1 July (Julian Amsellem) were a first July record there, while an unusual assemblage of up to nineteen, including some begging young, gathered at Piermont Pier, Rockland Co, also on the Hudson, on 29–31 July (Stella Miller, m.obs.). Begging juvenile terns may follow their parents for long distances from their colony of origin. Nesting Black Terns are censused in New York State only every third year; they were counted in 2023 and will be again in 2026.

The Roseate Tern colony at Great Gull Island, off Orient Pt., LI, contained 2,223 nests (Margaret Rubega), up from 25 pairs when the American Museum of Natural History took over administration of the island in the 1960s. This is now the largest Roseate Tern colony in the western hemisphere. Scattered individuals straggled as usual along the coast further south. The biggest group was four at Cape Henlopen 27–28 Jun (Gregory Gough, Andrew Ednie, Benjamin Filreis). This species is not known to breed on the Atlantic Coast between Long Island and the Florida keys.

Nests were not officially counted this summer at the great Common Tern colony on Great Gull Island (Margaret Rubega). The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife censused the Common Tern population of coastal New Jersey at 1,895 birds in 28 colonies (Christina Davis, Emily Heiser). Forster’s Terns easily outnumbered them: 4,247 in 80 colonies (Christina Davis, Emily Heiser). A few Forster’s Terns ventured unusually far up the Hudson. One was at Piermont pier, Rockland Co, on 30 June (Cassie Luke, ph Jay Luke), and one (conceivably the same) visited both sides of the Hudson on 6 Jul, at Newburgh, Orange Co (Jeanne Cimorelli) and at Beacon, Dutchess Co (ph Sean Camilleri). A Forster’s Tern was especially unexpected inland on 1 July at Ashokan Reservoir, Ulster Co (Sean Camilleri), at the foot of the Catskills. Up to four Sandwich Terns lingered all summer at Cape Henlopen, DE, well south of known breeding areas (ph Kyla Snowden, ph Phil Misseldine, m.obs). One photographed there on 18 Jun (Wendy Cesario) seemed subadult, showing much white on the forehead.

Black Skimmers had one immense colony at Lido Beach, Nassau Co, LI (1,115 adults, the average of several counts, LICWS), and four smaller ones elsewhere on Long Island: Breezy Pt. (260 adults), Democrat Point (102), Arverne by the Sea (22), and Gardiner’s Island (20). In New Jersey, skimmer colonies were down to three, the fewest since records began to be kept in 1976, but the total number of birds involved did not seem much diminished. The largest was Horseshoe Island, a new island in Cape May Co containing 1,347 adults, of which 625 incubated and fledged 576 chicks. Next came Holgate, within the Forsythe NWR, containing 240 adults of which 90 incubated and fledged 88 chicks. Finally, Stone Harbor Point, Cape May Co, had 898 adults, of which 385 incubated and fledged 330 chicks (Christina Davis, Emily Heiser).

Loons to Pelicans

Three Pacific Loons in one summer season were unprecedented. The first was photographed off Jones Beach and Long Beach, Suffolk Co, LI on 8 Jun (Elias Markee-Ratner). Another was at Cape Henlopen Pt, DE 1–2 Jul (Michael Moore, Bruce Peterjohn et al.). The third, in non-breeding plumage, associated with an outsized assemblage of 20 non-breeding Common Loons at Ashokan Reservoir, Ulster Co NY 7–14 Jul 2024 (ph Jeanne Cimorelli, ph Matt Zeitler et al.). A nearby Red-throated Loon in breeding plumage completed a loon trifecta on Ashokan, part of the New York City water system at the southern edge of the Catskills.

The 2–3 Jun overnight pelagic trip off Atlantic Co, NJ and to Hudson Canyon counted 588 Wilson’s Storm-petrels, 1 Leach’s Storm-petrel (the species feeds nocturnally), 2 Band-rumped Storm-petrels, and 2 Fea’s Petrels (Jay McGowan, Doug Gochfeld, Amy Davis et al.). One Black-capped Petrel was also observed, near the species’ northern limit. Shearwaters on this trip numbered 135 Sooty, 68 Great, 9 Cory’s, and one Audubon’s. An apparent Scopoli’s Shearwater, a recent split from Cory’s Shearwater, was photographed on 26 July from the Lewes ferry in Delaware waters (David Brown).

A Magnificent Frigatebird unrelated to any storm was an outstanding find over Herring Pt., Cape Henlopen, DE on 19 Jul (Bruce Peterjohn, Gregory Gough, Andrew Markel, Tracy Mosebey).

Brown Boobies, once an occasional rarity, have become annual. In summer 2024, in addition to one about 60 mi. s.e. of Cape May on the Cape May Whale Watch Research Center’s 24-hour pelagic trip off Atlantic Co, NJ on 27 Jul, an adult female was truly remarkable inland at Manasquan Res., Monmouth Co, NJ, on 23 Jun (ph Michael Gage). Seven Northern Gannets on the aforementioned pelagic trip on 3 Jun were a reminder that many immatures summer far south of the breeding grounds. No adults were detected. An Anhinga, an increasingly frequent visitor from the south, soared over Cape May on 3 Jun (Michael O’Brian, Louise Zemaitis, Bill Boyle), and again 4 Jun (Michal O’Brian).

A scarce summering Great Cormorant was at Jarvis Sound, Cape May Co, NJ on 16 Jun (Aidan Griffith). One at the Port Mahon Road marshes on 27 Jul was a first eBird July record for Kent Co, DE (Jason Horn). The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation took steps again in summer 2024 to limit Double-crested Cormorant populations on eastern Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River valley, where their growing numbers are having a negative impact on other species and, fisherman claim, on fish populations. These measures are having some effect. Cormorant nests in the eastern basin of Lake Ontario were down to 2111 (4510 in 2022). This figure does not include islands in the Saint Lawrence River, where similar numbers occur. The Hudson River Neotropic Cormorant arrived on 9 Jun and shuttled back and forth between Newburgh, Orange Co, and Beacon, Dutchess Co, for its third summer (Bruce Nott).

Two American White Pelicans, an increasing visitor from the west, visited the Thousand Acre Marsh, New Castle Co, DE on 1 Jun (Michael Moore, Andrew Ednie et al.) and one was there (Chris Bennett) and at the nearby Augustine WMA and its environs on 25–26 Jun (Frank Rohrbacher, Ben Filreis, Christopher Hinkle, Ian Teaell, Carolyn Holland).

Herons

Except for Green Herons and some night-herons, this region’s herons are concentrated mostly, and perhaps vulnerably, in three giant colonies: New York Harbor; the toll plaza at the west end of the Ocean City 9^th Street Bridge in Atlantic Co, NJ; and Pea Patch, an island in the Delaware River off Delaware City, New Castle Co, DE.

The New York harbor heronry continued its gradual decline, totaling 1,497 birds, compared with 1,655 nests in 2001. The species count is as follows (Shannon Curley, NYC Bird Alliance):

• Great Egret 387
• Snowy Egret 318
• Black-crowned Night-Heron 577
• Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 85
• Little Blue Heron 7
• Glossy Ibis 115
• Great Blue Heron 5
• Green Heron 4

A state-wide survey of New Jersey’s egrets, herons and ibises in 2024 found 4,885 birds in 27 colonies (Christina Davis, Emily Heiser). This total is roughly similar to last year, although a one-time snapshot may not provide a firm basis for comparison. It is clear, however, that the number of colonies has diminished from 43 in 2013, due to erosion and the disappearance of islands.

• Little Blue Heron: 29 in six colonies
• Tricolored Heron: 61 in 11 colonies
• Snowy Egret: 868 in 20 colonies                                                
• Yellow-crowned Night Heron 161 in six colonies
• Black-crowned Night-Heron: 468 in 12 colonies
• Yellow-crowned Night-Heron: 161 in six colonies
• Great Egret: 1,526 in 22 colonies
• White Ibis: 455 in six colonies

One NJ colony alone, at the toll booth of the Ocean City 9^th Street Bridge,  totaled about 560 birds on 29 Jun 2024 (Adrian Binns):

• Little Blue Heron 12                                                             
• Tricolored Heron 12
• Snowy Egret 150                                                                               
• Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 10
• Black-crowned Night Heron 16                                       
• White Ibis 300                    
• Glossy Ibis 30          

   Cattle Egrets did not breed north of Delaware once again, confirming one of the greatest population retreats of recent years. The explosive growth of White Ibis is phenomenal. This species has nested in New Jersey only since 2020, when the state’s first three nests were found in the same Ocean City colony. In summer 2024 small groups of White Ibis were ubiquitous in Delaware wetlands.

The Pea Patch heronry is in gradual decline, especially for Snowy Egrets and Glossy Ibis (Chris Bennett). The Great Blue Herons there are noteworthy, for further north in this region they breed only inland. Bennett made the following count from the adjacent shoreline in the evening of 25 Jun 2024:

• Great Blue Heron: 200 (birds flying in + birds flying out)
• Little Blue Heron 216                                                                                      
• Snowy Egret 65
• Black-crowned Night-Heron 85
• Great Egret 275
• Cattle Egret 208
• Glossy Ibis 122   

A Glossy Ibis ventured north to Montezuma NWR, Seneca/Wayne/Cayuga Cos, NY, on 18 Jul and remained there through the end of the period (Chris Tessaglia-Hymes). No White-faced Ibis were detected nesting at the Ocean City heronry this season; the region’s northernmost observation was at Forsythe on 2 Jul (Robert Dodelson). In another echo from last year, a Roseate Spoonbill was found on South Reedy Point Road, New Castle Co, DE on 18 Jul (Carolyn Holland, Frank Rohrbacher, ph Michael Moore and John Manger) and remained in the general area into August (m.obs.). This species was first found in Delaware only in 2009, and had visited (sometimes in groups) only three times (2018, 2021, 2023) since then.

Raptors

Each June birds of prey move eastward mysteriously along the Lake Ontario shore past Braddock Bay, Monroe Co, NY well after expected migration dates. The tally on 5 Jun 2024 was 223 Turkey Vultures, 6 Ospreys, 83 Bald Eagles, 233 Broad-winged Hawks, 8 Red-tailed Hawks, and one Am. Kestrel (Michael Tetlow). Later still, on 24 Jul, 39 Bald Eagles, 61 Red-tailed Hawks, and three Broad-winged Hawks passed the same point (Michael Tetlow). Most of these birds, perhaps all, are immatures.

There were 808 Osprey nests in New Jersey in 2023 (the latest year available), 54 more than in 2022, the most ever. A total of 762 young were fledged from 657 nests surveyed, a productivity index of 1.16. But a nor’easter in June followed by smoke from wildfires in the west made feeding difficult and caused 32% of the nests to fail in “one of the worst breeding seasons in recent years.” (Ben Wurst, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey; Kathleen Clark, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife)

Three Swallow-tailed Kites, more than normal, ranged as far north as Staten Island, New York City on 16 Jun (Anthony Ferrino) and Duanesberg, Schenectady Co, NY 20 Jul (Susan Simons). Another visited Cape May, NJ, on 8 Jul (Robert Stamps, Rick and Peggy Price). Far more unusual was a White-tailed Kite, well-photographed on the border between Lodi, Seneca Co and Hector, Schuyler Co, NY, on 11-12 Jun (ph Dylan Welch), a potential first Cayuga basin and second state record if approved. This essentially Central and South American predator breeds in the United States only in s. Texas and coastal California.

The usual scattering of individual Northern Harriers summered in New Jersey and Delaware, generally in female/immature male plumage, but without evidence of breeding. More suggestive of breeding was a presumed female at Bombay Hook every few days between 18 Jun (ph David Brown, Kim Steininger) and 10 Jul (Ben Filreis). A “scrappy” immature male was also seen there on 11 Jul (Jason Horn et al.) They breed regularly in this region now, instead of only in n. New York State.

Only one pair of Bald Eagles nested in New York in 1970; in 2023 there were 475 (NYDEC). This species was removed from the New York Endangered Species list in 2007. New Jersey, starting from similar scarcity,  had 286 territorial pairs of Bald Eagles by 2023, of which 255 fledged 309 young. They nested in all 21 counties of the state (New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife).  Delaware had four active nests in 1987 and 82 in 2023 (Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife).

No Mississippi Kite nests were found in this region in summer 2024, but several individuals visited. Three were reported in New York State: one at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Great River, Suffolk Co on 1 Jun (ph Lisa Nasta); one at the Teatown Reservation, Westchester Co on 7 Jun (Steve Rappaport); and one at Jericho, Nassau Co, on 9 Jun. Delaware had four reports: two at Cape Henlopen on 8 Jun (Gregory Gough), and two singles: one at Prime Hook NWR Sussex Co, also on 8 Jun (Roshan Vignarrajah, Vitus Li) and the other in New Castle Co north of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal near the Maryland state line on 21 Jun (Michael Moore).

Woodpeckers to Nuthatches

Red-headed Woodpeckers were widespread in the Hudson-Delaware Region but everywhere scarce and declining. Many observations were of single birds seen only once. In New York they were reported to eBird from 22 of the state’s 64 counties, but only seven widely dispersed counties had evidence of breeding: Erie, Niagara, and Jefferson in the Lake Ontario plain; Oneida, Seneca, and Tompkins in the Finger Lakes area; and Ulster in the Hudson Valley. In New Jersey Red-headed Woodpeckers were found at three locations: two in the Pine Barrens:  Joint Base Lakehurst—Dix McGuire (ph Hannah Leddy) and Tabernacle, Burlington Co (a known location), 27 Jul (Gwen Allen); and one in the highlands: Kingswood Twp in Hunterdon Co on 28 Jul (Peter Kwiatek). In Delaware Red-headed Woodpeckers were limited to one traditional location: the Naudain Tract, Blackbird State Forest, New Castle Co (Rod Murray).

American Kestrels are a threatened species in New Jersey, but 450 chicks were banded in 100 boxes in the state in summer 2024 by the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (Rachel McGovern). Merlins gained no new ground in summer 2024 in their recent southerly expansion, but they probably bred in two places: the Trumansburg Fairgrounds, Tompkins Co, NY, where an exchange of prey was noted on 20–21 Jun (Alicia Plotkin); and Geneseo, Livingston Co, where a family group of five was observed on 10 Jul (James Kimball).

Two Acadian Flycatchers were photographed near their northern frontier on 11 Jun at Tonawanda WMA, Niagara Co, NY (Phil Mills). The northernmost was apparently one that summered at Hamlin Beach, Monroe Co, NY on Lake Ontario (Andie Guthrie).

A northerly White-eyed Vireo outpost is at Brooktondale, Tompkins Co, NY, where they have summered fourteen times since 1997, not quite annually (Charles Eldemir), north of all but a few atlas locations. Fish Crows are gradually expanding in north central New York. They are now “pretty usual” at Verona SP, Oneida Co, where one was present on 6 Jul (Dylan Roberts). A Fish Crow summering at Jones Beach, on Lake Ontario, was believed to be a first Orleans Co record (Chris Wood). Common Ravens did not nest again at the Dover Speedway, Kent Co, DE,  but that pair seems to have moved to the  Smyrna area where they were frequently observed. There was no evidence of nesting, however (Christopher Heckscher).

A Black-capped Chickadee was out of range at Sandy Hook, Monmouth Co, NJ, 26–29 Jul (Daniel Markovitch, Jeff Ellerbuch, Kirsten Abildskov, Piper Weldy). A Brown-headed Nuthatch was photographed and recorded at the Ocean Co, NJ section of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (Chris Thomas, Amy Davis, et al.), the northernmost record in New Jersey and in the region. A few breed further north in the Middle West.

Wrens to Dickcissel

Only three Sedge Wrens were reported, typically late in the season: Holland Patent, Oneida Co, NY 2 July (Wally Ramsey); Laurel Run Park, Burlington Co, NJ 25–30 Jul (Michael Gage, Semantha Hagler et al.); and Bombay Hook (a regular location) 30–31 Jul (Rod Murray, Kim Steininger, Ian Teaall et al.). “Multiple” Bicknell’s Thrushes were recorded on 12 Jun around the Hunter Mt. firetower, Green Co, NY, the species’ southernmost breeding site, as well as its type locality (Timothy Spahr). Hermit Thrushes still breed in the Long Island pine barrens; at least two sang on the Hot Water Street trail, Suffolk Co, on 5 Jul (Kevin Munroe). An American Pipit was seriously out of place at Georgica Pond, Suffolk Co, LI on 25 Jun (ph David Medd).

Red Crossbills were nesting in the Adirondacks at Long Lake, Hamilton Co, on 21 Jul (Joan Collins). A few were observed outside the Adirondacks. One was near Worcester, Otsego Co, on 4 Jul (Julian Amsellem), and at least two flyovers of “Appalachian Type 1” were detected at Cincinnatus, Cortland Co (Matthew Young) the same day. The only White-winged Crossbill reported was at Massaweepie Mire, Franklin Co, NY, in the Adirondacks, on 2 Jul (Jay McGowan)

Late Pine Siskins frequented the feeder of Willie D’Anna near Buffalo 6–9 Jun, and they were also found well south at Wolf Brook Multiple Use Area, Sullivan Co, NY 1 Jul (John Haas), following a modest irruption winter.

Clay-colored Sparrows were once again widely distributed in small numbers across the northern tier of New York, where they have bred only since 1971. A few White-throated Sparrows always linger in this region, but nine in New Jersey and two in Delaware this summer were a bit above normal. Several Henslow’s Sparrows attracted attention. One sang and was abundantly visited on 5 Jun at Brookside Farm, Candor, Tioga Co, NY (Adam Troyer, Tom Schulenberg, Ryan Zucker, Jay McGowan); up to three Henslow’s Sparrows were widely observed at Saratoga National Historical Park, Saratoga Co, NY, from mid-June to 5 Jul (Nick Hoffmann, Drew Hopkins, Christopher Franks et al., ph John D. Erickson); they could still be found at a traditional site on Dog Hill Rd., La Fargeville, Jefferson Co, on 9 Jun (Germ Germain).

The northernmost Orchard Oriole known to us was at Gorham, Ontario Co, NY on 16 Jun (Lynn Braband). The only report of declining Rusty Blackbirds came from Sargent Ponds Wild Forest, in the central Adirondacks, in n. Hamilton Co, NY, on 3 Jul (Bill Lenhart).

Brewster’s Warblers were noted at Oxford, Chenango Co, NY on 5 Jun (Josh Houck), and at several places in n.w. New Jersey: in Passaic Co, at powerline cuts on Paradise Road and Orden Road, 13+ Jun (Chris Payne, Kristin Milecrain); and in Sussex Co, at the Pequannock watershed  and at Wawayanda SP (Andrew Eppedio). We learned of no verifiable Lawrence’s Warbler. A pair of Prothonotary Warblers fledged young in July from a woven basket on a porch in Tuxedo Park, Orange Co, NY (Robert Autier). Three Tennessee Warblers were banded on 15 Jul, an exceptional date even for this often-early migrant, at the Truax Trail, Albany Pine Bush Preserve, Albany Co, NY (Neil Gifford). Not far behind was another banded and photographed at the Hackensack Meadowlands, NJ on 26 July (Michael Turso). Common Yellowthroats can be ubiquitous in appropriate habitat: 54 were counted at Bombay Hook NWR on 29 Jun (Kim Steininger). Southbound Yellow-rumped Warblers were already present in Central Park, New York City by 26 Jul (Tom Fiore). Yellow-throated Warblers summered and presumably bred again at Bayard Cutting Arboretum SP, Great River, Suffolk Co, LI (m.obs.), their current north-eastern limit.

The only Summer Tanager north of their traditional Long Island site at Calverton, Suffolk Co was at Harriman SP, Orange Co, on 2 Jun (Stella Miller). Blue Grosbeaks were singing north of their usual limit near Kingston, Ulster Co, on 16 Jun (Peter Schoenberger et al.), at two locations in Dutchess Co, NY, on 2 Jun, Woodward Hill Road and Red Hook (Ryan McLean), and at three locations in Westchester Co, NY: Rockefeller SP Preserve on 5 Jun (Tom Warren), the Marshlands Conservancy at Rye on 6 Jun (Christopher Mignone), and the Cliffdale Farm at Teatown SP on 11 Jun (Steve Rappaport).

No Dickcissels were confirmed breeding in this region in summer 2024, but they probably did. A pair was present again from 31 May until well into June near Middletown, New Castle Co, DE (Ben Filreis, m.obs.). A male sang at the Gloucester Co, NJ solid waste complex in Woodbury Heights after 7 Jun (ph Eric Zawalski on 2 Jul) and one was noted more fleetingly at the Dupont Nature Center at Milford Neck, Sussex Co, DE on 19 Jul (Tracy Moseby, Andrew Markel), possibly an early migrant. Dickcissels bred regularly if sparingly in this region in the nineteenth century, and then, for reasons unknown, the species nearly died out here.

Report processed by Randi Minetor, 13 Mar 2025.