Birds: Closing in on #200

This week I've been able to get out and do a lot of birding. Mostly normal stuff although breeding plumage Red-necked and Horned Grebes on Oneida Lake and seeing two Barred Owls at Whiskey Hollow were certainly highlights. This morning I had a single male CAPE MAY WARBLER at Great Bear, although it was one of the worst looks and toughest IDs I've had in a while (it was just so far away, couldn't get a good look through the trees). Anyway, my big news is that on Monday I leave for a couple days of birding in Cape May, New Jersey. I hope to get there around 1:00 PM on Monday and leave sometime Wednesday afternoon. Some of my goal birds are Great Cormorant, Black Rail, some southern warblers (Kentucky, Yellow-throated, Worm-eating, Prothonotary), Sharp-tailed and Seaside Sparrows, Blue Grosbeak and Black Skimmer. Not to mention shorebirds and terns galore. I've also got my fingers crossed that the Curlew Sandpiper that's been down there for several days sticks around a couple days more. Should be a lot of fun. I've picked up a nice assortment of migrants this week, bringing my 2007 North American year list up to 192. What will be number 200? It'll probably be one of my first birds in NJ but I might be able to get eight more before I leave. We'll see. That's all for now.