Featured Photos, L to R, from this fall's Kiptopeke Migration Count: Yellow-billed Cuckoo; Broad-winged Hawk; Long-tailed Skipper; Bald Eagle; Julia Magill, CVWO Hawkwatch Intern and Educator. All photos by Julia.
Read her story here.
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Your CVWO News from the Field
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Greetings!
We hope you will enjoy this up close look at several of CVWO's research projects and the efforts of our paid seasonal staff and dedicated volunteers.
Our young research biologists are on duty NOW on at Kiptopeke State Park — recording migrating raptors and Monarchs and sharing the mystery and science of fall migration with children of all ages on the hawk watch platform.
CVWO has committed to paying these biologists this fall. We need your support to fulfill our commitment to them as well as provide their housing, equipment, and supplies. Just this fall we purchased a tablet and other hardware to allow Anna Stunkel, our hawk watcher, to record her tallies in real time.
You can see live updates, hourly and daily counts, species composition and season summaries at the Hawkwatch
here
.
And please visit us on the Hawkwatch platform at Kiptopeke State Park! We'd love to share the excitement of fall migration with you.
Sincerely,
Brian Taber
CVWO President
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The 2018 Kiptopeke Challenge
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The Kiptopeke Challenge is a fun and friendly team birding competition where teams compete to identify the greatest number of bird species in a single day. The primary goals of KC are to raise funds for CVWO and to raise awareness of fall bird migration on the Eastern Shore and along the coastal plain of Virginia.
The challenge takes place each year in late September, during peak migration, when birds sing little and many have molted their breeding plumages. Add in hatch-year birds, and you’ll understand why the event is called the Kiptopeke Challenge!
See the results of this year's competition held on September 22
here
.
See the KC Species list
here
.
Below are excerpts from stories written about the challenge. Follow the links to read the full stories!
"With the light quickly fading and our total at 89 species, we girded ourselves for the mosquitoes of the Woodland Trail in the hope of getting a few warblers and filling in some empty spots. We quickly found a Red- headed Woodpecker and a Downy plus Cattle Egrets hanging out with the ponies in the marsh. A Barred Owl started calling. The mosquitoes were a foretaste of what was to come..."
--
Shirley Devan
"The highlight of the challenge was the amazing Great Blue Heron flight towards the end of the day. 105 of them were spotted moving south, including one flock of 22 and another of 37! Seeing flocks of that size is uncommon at Kiptopeke, so it was an exciting sight."
--
Julia Magill
"The tide was ebbing but we had plenty of water to explore. Rick knew a good nearby area where we quickly viewed many peep, Willets, dowitchers, both yellowlegs, a few Dunlins, and egrets and our first Little Blue Heron. But the real show was provided by hundreds of Marbled Godwits. Buried in the middle of the godwits was a well-viewed Hudsonian Godwit. When it flew, it showed off its white tail band, dark underwings, and thin white wing stripe." --
Bob Ake
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Monarch Migration at Kiptopeke
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CVWO's Monarch Biologist Michael Ferrara is on duty at the tip of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. He'll be counting and tagging Monarchs as they migrate south. You may see him at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch platform if you visit the park
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There was an amazing Northern Flicker flight on September 29th and 30th. 1,284 flew south on Saturday and 1,403 on Sunday, often flying in quick succession one after another over the observatory. It gave the passed around role of "Flicker Clicker" a run for their money. 36 Bald Eagles were counted on September 29th, which tied the observatory's second highest record (the highest was 38). The Raptor count hit
10,000
on October 3! Photo of Norther Flicker by Steve Thornhill.
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Visit and Share CVWO's New Website! You'll find information on raptor, butterfly, songbird and waterbird research as well as beautiful photos and rich stories from the field!
And don't forget to
support our nonprofit work with your tax-deductible donation!
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Read CVWO's Blog Stories!
Follow us on social media (links below) for updates and bookmark our blog. The photo above, by CVWO president Brian Taber, is of
Julia Magill showing the identifying characteristics of the American Kestrel to a visiting school group on September 29, Outdoor Exploration day at Kiptopeke State Park.
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