Fall Migration Part One: From Toronto to Florida to Cape May, New Jersey

My chasing of confusing fall warblers and other rarities came to an end with a brief hospital stay to fix an issue with a previous spinal operation, but it was fun while it lasted.  I have chased a few rarities and survived much travel, to Florida and Cape May with a week of birding in what they say is the capital of fall migration.  Back home in Toronto, I spent most of the migration season in either Humber Bay East or Colonel Sam Smith Park.  Both have been great for fall migrants and I have added many new birds to my Col Sam Life List, finally passing 200 earlier this year.

Toronto, September 1-26:

Neotropic Cormorants, American Redstart, Spotted Sandpiper, Belted Kingfisher, Cedar Waxwings, a Pied-billed Grebe and a hungry Gray Catbird:

Florida, September 27-30:

I had hoped to find an Elegant Tern, which is rare in Florida, and would have added to my Florida Life List, but was unable to find it on a beach full of terns.  Lots of other waterfowl though, and one very cute raccoon.

Toronto, October 1-6:

I returned to Toronto just on time to not miss another rarity in Colonel Sam Smith Park, a late migrating and wayward Dickcissel, that I had heard about while still in Florida.  I had seen Dickcissels in Ontario before, and this year in Michigan, but I raced to the park upon returning home to add yet another CSSP Lifer, number 209 for the Park List.  I also added Surf Scoter, Northern Harrier and Merlin, giving me 14 new species I've added this year in this amazing park.






New Jersey, October 7-13:

Upon arriving in Cape May, NJ our first stop was for a Eurasian Wigeon at one of the many Hot Spots in the area known as The Meadows.  As my back was getting worse, the walks became slower and more difficult, but we made it out to the pond along a path that leads to the State Park, for this rarity:





We next took a Back Bay Boat Ride with a  very knowledgeable New Jersey Audubon Guide and that was full of a wide variety of water birds, including Red Knots, Brants, and even a Great Cormorant.  Along the way, the thrill of the day was seeing Nelson's, Saltmarsh and Seaside Sparrows all atop the marsh reeds at the same time.







The next morning we were treated to a Parasitic Jaeger show on one of the many morning bird walks that the New Jersey Audubon runs every day during fall migration.  At one of the sea watch platforms, we saw the jaegers harassing gulls, with the jaegers coming in very close to shore.



There was always something going on at the Cape May Point State Park Hawkwatch platform, and not always were they hawks.  We arrived one afternoon to see that some Snow Geese had arrived.  Thousands spend the winter at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge just north of Cape May.



And there were shores full of shorebirds everywhere we went:

The trip ended with lots of land birds, on land, in the trees, in the skies and Sue rescuing my hat on a blustery day on the boardwalk:







We never did see any rarities after the Eurasian Wigeon, but we had a wonderful time and we will return again, perhaps in the spring, to see the amazing Red Knot migration!