Vagrant Birds from Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene Reaches New York City / Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

Tropical cyclones like Hurricane Irene are well-known among birders for carrying numerous birds far from their normal ranges. Aerial waterbirds – those that earn their living on the wing over open ocean – are particularly prone to displacement. The prospect of seeing storm-blown birds, especially ones that one would normally need to travel or take a pelagic trip to see, lures birders to coastal areas or inland spots with open water even before a storm has completely subsided. I made some mostly unsuccessful attempts to find unusual birds at my usual spots. Other birders had much better luck, and it turns out that Irene's track was particularly conducive to sighting entrained birds from land in this area.

Here are a few of the sightings that have been reported so far:

• Cape May was under a mandatory evacuation order, but that did not stop some birders from staying behind and birding Cape May Point the next day, with impressive results. Normally, a sighting of two White-tailed Tropicbirds from land at this latitude would be the highlight of a day's birding, but the birders at the Point also saw a probable White-collared Swift, which would be a state record and a first for the Northeast.
• Birders at Finderne Wetlands in Somerset County found a nice collection of terns for an inland site.
• In New Jersey, there were also some good birds seen along the Delaware River, Hudson River, and New York Bay.
• Corey and other NYC birders watched from several vantage points on Long Island's southern coast and found three storm-petrel species and a Bridled Tern.
• Nick Bonomo has posted several updates on Irene; his sightings on Sunday in coastal Connecticut included several storm-petrel species.
• Lake Nockamixon featured four species of terns, including Sooty Tern.
• The Nemesis Bird reports Sanderlings in Centre County, Pennsylvania.
• Nate chased some reports of coastal species at inland sites, finding some but not others.

Finally, the Hurricane Irene 2011 blog has been collecting sightings from throughout the areas affected by the storm. The Philadelphia Inquirer has an article on hurricane birding in the Philadelphia area. If you live in or near the storm's path, did you see any unusual birds this weekend?