Yup, there’s definitely still some passerines on the move. A Blackpoll Warbler was singing at Florida Lake Park on Friday, and later I found a skulking female Mourning Warbler at Bayview Preserve. A Magnolia Warbler in the backyard on Saturday was also likely still on the move – it’s been about 2-3 weeks since we’ve had one around.

With the smattering of passerines still trickling through, I decided to make one last visit for the season to the Portland migration traps. I began at Dragon Field, once again failing to find my Mourning Warbler for my Patch List here. However, I did turn up one migrant – another truant Magnolia Warbler.

Stops at Evergreen Cemetery, Capisic Pond Park, and the Eastern Promenade did not, however, produce any more migrants for today. However, it was really a tremendously beautiful morning, and with the breeding season in full swing – even though some stuff is still migrating – each stop was certainly rewarding.

Despite not find that Mourning Warbler at Dragon Field, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the male Indigo Bunting making his rounds proclaiming his territory. However, it does look like there is only one male on territory here this year – there’s usually three. The highlight, however, was my best view yet of the Red-tailed Hawk kid(s). One bird was visible in the nest this morning, and it was really visible – standing on the edge of the nest, wing feathers just starting to grow in, surveying the surrounding airspace that in a few short weeks will be its home.

Good looks at a Green Heron and a Black-crowned Night Heron were to be had at Evergreen, but once again I missed out on the Orchard Orioles at Capisic Pond Park. 11 Yellow Warblers were on territory along the Eastern Promenade, along with 3 American Redstarts, 2 Common Yellowthroats, and 1 Chestnut-sided Warbler. Meanwhile, Ospreys called vociferously overhead.

Ah yes, summer is here!

Unfortunately, I am going to end today’s entry on a down-note. In a move that is not only disheartening, but also inconceivable, unfathomable, and possibly – in my opinion – even criminal, a judge in Delaware struck down Delaware's two-year ban on harvesting horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay, saying the crustaceans' population is healthy enough to allow a limited harvest. This is a major setback to efforts to save Horseshoe Crabs, but also the shorebirds – especially the rufa subspecies of Red Knot - that critically depend on their eggs for food. Read more about the issue from NJ Audubon and the American Bird Conservancy.