The month of October has been full of excitement here at Turkey Point. With the leaves nearing peak color and with temps cold enough to warrant a beanie and gloves, it sure looks, feels, sounds, and smells like fall. The Point has been loaded with birds for the past month, with some epic flights of woodpeckers, nuthatches, finches, and just about everything. With the wide range of weather conditions, from cold and clear, to fog, rain, and wind from every direction possible, I have been provided excellent models of what different species do with different conditions and wind directions.

The current scene at Turkey Point is quite different compared to when I wrote my last post. Massive flocks of American Robins and never-ending strings of Common Grackles occupy most of the airspace. Eastern Bluebirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, Cedar Waxwings, and an assortment of hawks and finches fill in the gaps. Other arrivals include Eastern Meadowlarks, Rusty Blackbirds, large migrant flocks of Double-crested Cormorants, and many species of waterfowl.

The Hawkwatching at the Point was spectacular in October. Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks dominated the first half of the month along with a handful of falcons, harriers, Red-tailed and Red-shouldered. Things started to heat up in the past two weeks with 92 Sharp-shinned counted on the 19th, and a nice buteo flight on the 28th brought 61 Red-tailed and 2 dozen Red-shouldered past the Point. On the 23rd, a light but cold north wind and low clouds set up a nice Turkey Vulture flight with 322 counted. The highlight of the month had to be two Northern Goshawks that circled overhead, one on the 9th and another on the 27th. They are an extremely rare migrant in MD and the unquestioned king in the hawk department.

The most notable flight of the month, and perhaps the entire season so far, was 641 Red-bellied Woodpeckers moving past the Point on the 10th. This represents the highest count ever recorded for the species throughout its range and brings the total for the season to 3,677. Compare that to 126 counted in the entirety of last year. This extreme uptick is from a lack of food in the north woods, likely caused by the boom and bust cycle of oaks and similar trees. Last year there was an excellent crop of acorns which supplied them with plenty of food to survive the winter and gave them no need to move south.

White-breasted Nuthatches are in the same boat as their food source is generally the same. Their top flight was 122 on Oct 22nd, with the season’s total sitting at 1,080. Even though we have passed their peak, there are still plenty moving on days immediately after a cold front. They are one of my favorite birds to watch for in the morning flight, so hopefully, they will continue their invasion into November. Similar to Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a mere 10 were counted all of last fall.

The more typical irruptive species continue to put on a show here at the Point. All month, droves of purple finches move past every morning, and well over 100 can be seen under the right conditions. House Finches and our beloved American Goldfinch have also been incredibly abundant, with hundreds of each counted daily. Pine Siskins, the goldfinch’s cousin, have been in relatively short supply all season but have picked up in the past week. Another northern specialty that can be seen in MD on certain years is Evening Grosbeak, and after more than a week of anticipation, one finally arrived on the 30th. This species is an excellent indicator of even more incredible species that come down from the boreal forest. With excellent reports north of us, everything is on the table, including crossbills, redpolls, Black-capped Chickadee, and even a Pine Grosbeak is not out of the question.

Warbler diversity has declined significantly since my last post and will continue to taper off as the season winds down. Myrtles, however, are still going strong and have by far been the most abundant this month. 2,026 were counted on Oct 24th and 1,100 on Oct 15th. There are a handful of Palms, and even a few Cape Mays still around, along with a smattering of other late-season species like Blackpoll, Tennessee, and Nashville. 

Besides the Northern Goshawks that I mentioned earlier, several other rarities have been seen at the Point. An adult Franklins Gull made its way down the bay on the 3rd, both species of scoters, Red-throated Loon, Royal Tern, and a nice flock of Brant are the most notable. November is the best month for western vagrants like kingbirds and flycatchers, so hopefully one will swing by the Point, fingers crossed.

Thanks for reading and happy birding!

Jonathan