Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch

Mike 3's Winter Raptor Shots

2012-02-13T15:45:00.000-05:00

Mike 3 sent me some great shots he's taken this winter. Like Colin2 he saw and photographed the Peregrine Falcons at Tommy Thompson Park(The Spit),which was great to see. He also sent along a very different shot of a Redtailed Hawk that was stretching Mike wrote: I included some Coopers shots and one RT hawk. Flying Coop shots taken at Presquile in early Jan. Sitting Coop shots taken at Thickson Woods in the meadow area late Jan. snd one interesting RT shot at Presquile Provincial Park late Jan.
Thanks again Mike, I encourage Rosetta raptor fans to keep sending sighting and photos over the winter and spring.

Bald Eagles At Nanticoke

2012-02-07T10:21:00.000-05:00

Over the past few days, Ann and Janice(on their own),Tracy and I (a few days later)have been down to Lake Erie to view overwintering Bald Eagles. Ann was lucky enough to get a photo of a perched juvenile Bald Eagle and a beautiful flight shot. Thanks to Ann Brokelman for the great shots. Tracy and I saw 9 Bald Eagles soar together, sometimes calling and talon touching. While there we even bumped into Colin 1 and his wife. We had a beautiful full adult circling above us. Those are my photos.

We hope to get back there fairly soon.

Peregrines At Tommy Thompson Park

2012-02-07T10:04:00.000-05:00

Lately a pair of Peregrine Falcons has been being spotted at "the Spit". Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watchers have been there a few times and got photos. Colin 2 has sent CPF a few and recently Mike 3 sent me the two photos used here. Great shots Mike!

Fox siting today!

2012-01-31T19:41:00.001-05:00

Hey all,

I wandered over to Rosetta today to see if the daffodils and tulips had popped up and ran into Carol in the parking lot. We started to walk around when I spotted a beautiful, small red fox! I didn't have my DSLR on me but I did have my point and shoot so that will explain the quality or lack thereof of the following photos:

It saw us walking along one of the paths and started heading east. It stopped to lie down in the snow once, then I got closer (I was quite a ways away still) and it started going towards the house on the edge of the bluffs on the eastern side. There is a gate by the house and it slipped through and kept going.

I went back down tonight with Ann and we ran into Cori but no fox. However, we think this was the fox that was treated and released by TWC a few months ago. He looks really good, his coat is very plush and we didn't notice any bare patches.

Also, I set up a Facebook page for the park. Click here and "like" us!

Lee

Swimming Coopers Hawk In Whitby Harbour!!

2012-01-24T04:24:00.000-05:00

Sunday, Jan 22nd:
OMG ooops we did it again. Tracy and I went to check on a few Peregrine nest sites, and inbetween we did some general birding. We popped into Thicksons Woods to see the Great Horned Owls. We spotted one and then heard the other answer a call. Both were burried so no photos. From there we decided to drop in to Whitby Harbour, almost literally!!
We stopped and saw a Trumpeter Swan very near the road. It was too friendly. We later learned from Chris who we bumped into there(having just hung up on Ann!!,the nerve of some people) that C15 tagged Trumpeter had walked right into a primary school recently and TWC had to go and remove him! While I dallied taking the Swan's photo,Tracy heard a splash. She called to me and I heard "he's going to drown her". She had called out "she's going to drown!" I thought she was referring to a male duck mating a female as sometimes the male holds the female under while mating her, but no!! Flailing around,paddling even with both wings is a Coopers Hawk in the water. It was well into the water and really struggling. Tracy saw the Coopers Hawk,a 2nd year,female(from pics the eye wasnt totally changed colour) hit and grab onto a gull! The weight of the gull and momentum carried both into the water at least 20ft-30ft from shore. The Coopers was clamped on and trying to paddle/swim with both wings to pull the gull to shore. We dont think the gull was completely dead when they hit the water as there was an initial struggle. The Coopers was suffering under the weight of dragging the gull, and we could see it was running out of gas. Both Tracy and I contemplated jumping in the water to try to save the bird. Soon it went under completely. For a moment that seemed like forever the Coopers Hawk disappeared from view beneath the water, when with one last effort it emegered, leaving go of its meal and flying to a very low branch in the water. Its tail was still in the water from where it perched. WOW were we glad to see it at least above water. She sorted herself out, and moved to a higher perch and began preening and trying to dry off. Eventually she made her way to the shore and sat drying in the sun and terrible cold breeze. There was no way of reaching her at all. We worried she may freeze before she could dry off. We had to leave,hoping for the best.
We returned awhile later after checking the harbour. We saw a car pulled over and someone out taking photos. I spotted first what she was taking pics of. The Coopers had flown across the street and into a roadside tree,catching the last hour of sun, preening and drying further. She would be OK. The person taking the photos was our friend Chris! We told her what this Coopers Hawk had just been up to! Another sighting of a lifetime!! Tracy did get video of the swimming Coopers. I will try to get her to post it and show it to you.
Tracy's accounts of each of the last 2 days are at CPFs website with a few photos.(sorry you'll have to copy and paste the links, darned if I can figure out how to make it an active link)
Saturday
http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2012/01/sightings/a-visit-to-holcim-both-adults-present/
Sunday
http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2012/01/sightings/a-swimming-coopers-hawk-at-whitby-harbour/

Freezing 3 Falcon Day Jan 21 2012

2012-01-22T05:16:00.000-05:00

Today was just an incredible lesson in "you never know what you will see". Tracy and I have been busy checking up on various Peregrine Falcon nesting pairs around the GTA, mostly in the westend as its closer to home.
On Sunday we wanted to check a few sites. We started our day at Holcim,in Mississauga,the old St Lawrence Cement plant. We spotted the pair fairly easily and set about trying to ID both adults. The female gave us some information. She had a black over green band and a silver USFG band. This means she is possibly from New York,but we have to confirm 100% when we are able to see the band numbers in the future. That was good news and we decided to leave for our 2nd stop at King St,in downtown Toronto, BUT WAIT, we got to the corner and saw a huge flock(murmuration is the new buzz word) of European Starlings twisting and turning in the sky. We watched looking for a bird of prey among them. The Starlings landed absolutely covering powerlines. While Tracy tried to get photos as a record of just how many there were,I spotted a Kestrel just beside us. We started taking photos of that perched atop a roadside tree. We decided again, time to move on, BUT WAIT, we hear a distress call(scream) of a Starling and then see a bird fly low across the road infront of us, landing on the grass across the road. Its our 3rd falcon species in one block! A Merlin has taken down a Starling and is finishing it off. It begins to eat when it is spooked from its meal by...a Redtailed Hawk in a tree behind it! The Merlin flew up to a powerline above the abandoned meal. Clearly it was interested in going back down to eat, as it looked down upon its lunch. Moments passed and finally it swooped down and made one aborted attempt before it successfully snatched up its prize and flew off out of sight to eat! What a series of events! No wonder the Starlings were wheeling all over the sky,4 predators within a block and 3 at one intersection!!
We finally proceeded to King St. We thawed out in the pizza joint near our chosen watch location and both adults flew in. We could only verify that the male was banded black over black,making it an Ontario produced and banded bird. The couple seemed uneasy and we half expected to see a 3rd Peregrine in the territory. We were frozen again after a couple hours so we moved on. We made quick stop ins at Islington and Bloor nestsite, where we found Angel was out but Jack was in. Continuing our "Tour de Peregrine" we dropped into the William Osler site,where OConnor was out but we found Hurricane on their favorite hospital H.
It was quite a day. Such as they are here are my photos of today, I hope to post a few of Tracys superior shots soon. Id love to post a story or 2 about the rare birds some of you have been seeing around Toronto and area. Please send them to me to post if U wish. Photos would be great too!

A Peregrine Sighting and Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T18:31:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone following the blog and especially my Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch pals.
Today Jan 4th,Pat and Nancy Anderson sent Ann a photo of a Peregrine Falcon they took down at Bluffers Park. As it turned out,it is the same Peregrine Ann had photographed back in October and I had ID'd some time later. Thanks for the quick ID Ann,
Pat and Nancy observed the Peregrine hunting ducks and pigeons at Bluffers Park. Centennial as she is known caught herself a pigeon in a parkinglot near the restaurant. Thanks to them for this photo.

I have let the folks in Ohio know about both sightings,through my volunteer work with The Canadian Peregrine Foundation.
After the last sighting and reporting it to the folks in Ohio,I got this message from Amy C.
Thanks for the info on Centennial - I was at her banding at Lakeshore Power Plant, and then back as a raptor rescuer when she got blown off the nest/took a premature flight a few week afterwards. I'll let my contact @ the plant know. Chris told me about your post....it made my day!
Amy sent along this photo of the day Centennial was resecued after a premature fledge.

And this from Chad and Chris who work with the Peregrine Falcons in Ohio and who were also present at the banding:
Thanks again for the information and pics, Frank! You thrilled many with it!
Thanks to Ann,Pat and Nancy for their contributions. You all deserve credit for those thrills.

Snowy Owl Invasion

2011-12-14T07:14:00.001-05:00

This winter is an irruptive year for Snowy Owls. They are being seen all over southern Ontario and northeastern US border states. Every 3 or 4 years there is a die-off of their main prey,Lemmings. As a result more Snowy Owls than normal move south. This results in alot more human contact than usual,because so many people,most of us included wish to see and photograph them. I know the regular followers of this site follow good birding etiquette,but we have all heard the stories.Wherever you go this winter,to see a Snowy Owl,I hope you will enjoy sightings of Snowy Owls(or other species)but respect them,their space and the land owners.
Ive pinched alot of the following from our buddy Rob,of Rob and Angie,as I believe Rob said things very well. To see his posting on the same topic see his blog at http://robandtheanimals.blogspot.com/
Many of these Snowy Owls will arrive near starvation as many fly non-stop to where you find them,so allowing them the room and time to hunt is very important. Disturbing a bird that is hunting may do them out of a meal with terrible unintended results. Already several Snowy Owls have arrived at local bird and wildlife rehabilitation centres suffering from starvation. Sadly,some havent made it.
A 2nd issue is car strikes,while going after prey,so please be careful when out looking for owls. If you or someone you know comes into contact with an injured owl or otherwise distressed raptor,it is of utmost importance to get in touch with and transfer the animal to a licensed wildlife rehabiliator as soon as possible. This is in the very best interests of any wildlife you find and can mean the difference between life and death.
Please do not attempt rehabilitation of wildlife on your own. Communication with experienced, licensed rehabilitators is key to providing the best care for sick, injured or orphaned wildlife. Licensed rehabilitators have been specially trained for triage, convalescence and paliative care of wild animals.
Most provinces of Canada allow their citizens to hold onto wildlife for a maximum of 24 hours at which time the wildlife must be released or transferred to an authorized wildlife rehabilitator. It is illegal to maintain wildlife beyond this 24 hour limit without special permitting from the Ministry of Natural Resources. These regulations have been set in place to protect our native wildlife from typically well-meaning, but inexperienced people. Animals, especially those injured, sick or orphaned, require special care and medical needs that most people are unable, unwilling or too niave to provide properly.
If the bird you have found is showing signs of sickness or injury such as difficulty breathing, bleeding, stumbling, fractures or other trauma, the animal will require immediate medical attention. If you have trouble finding a local rehabilitator, consider contacting your local veterinarian. Many veterinarians can do simple, cheap procedures such as wing wrapping, pain relief and fluid therapy until a rehabilitator can be contacted.
BIGFRANK's note Try these places if the bird is in trouble:
Toronto Wildlife Centre
The Owl Foundation
The Canadian Peregrine Foundation 416-481-1233
(or me directly by email or phone(those with it) who will contact CPF staff) I hesitate to provide numbers,as these may periodically change,a quick search of the internet should provide U with what you need. Someone at these numbers should be able to help or direct you to help. For birders who are out frequently keeping the numbers handy may be worthwhile.
Lastly,the reason both Rob and I posted about the Snowy Owls...
Last Monday he and I got together and went in search of a Snowy Owl reported near where I live now in Schomberg,Ontario. It is only about 10km from me. We almost didnt bother going as the last report the owl was so far into a field even with a scope it was difficult to see. Being so close though we couldnt resist. We arrived and scoured the field with our binoculars,seeing nothing in the fields,but we both observed an interesting shape atop some white pipes a great distance away. We both agreed further investigation was merritted. From our vantage point we could see there was access down a secondary road which seemed should get us reasonably close to the Snowy Owls location. Indeed it did. We stopped short of where the owl was and got our cameras out. We each enjoyed the sighting and snapped a few photos. These are heavily cropped photos,so getting ridiculously close wasnt necessary. The bird eventually flew into a field,presumably after prey. It was a beautiful adult male Snowy Owl. Adult males are much whiter than more heavily marked females or juvenile birds.Enjoy,we sure did.
Beautiful Adult Male Snowy Owl

Special Report:Brunch Was Great...Thanks Lee!

2011-12-11T23:04:00.005-05:00

On a cold Scarborough day, a group of the Raptor Watch faithful met up at Tucker’s Marketplace for brunch. Little did we know a few birds would follow!

The food was delicious and plentiful and we didn’t get thrown out even though we tested our waitress’ patience by switching seats whenever someone left so we could talk more.
I think this will become an annual event. It’s a nice, big location and there is a great variety of food, some of it even healthy! In the wise words of Ann, “the diet starts tomorrow”!!

SPECIAL INVITATION:Brunch Dec 11th

2011-12-04T19:53:00.000-05:00

As has become tradition,all the Rosetta Raptor Watchers are invited to gather and enjoy some time together. Lee has asked me to post this message.

Hi everyone! I thought I’d organize an end of the season brunch where we can talk in comfort and without the constant interruption of calling out birds! It will be on this coming Sunday, December 11 at 11 am at Tucker’s Marketplace in Scarborough. It’s located at 880 Warden Avenue, just north of Eglinton on the west side.

If you can come, please post on the blog under the “comment” section of this entry or send me an email. If you don’t have my email address just let Frank know and he will tell me, because I don’t want to put my email address on the blog.

I just need to know how many people are coming so I can make the reservation.
Lee

Special Update:Peregrine Falcon ID'd

2011-12-04T13:23:00.000-05:00

Back in October,Ann got some really good photos of a passing Peregrine Falcon. So good,you could read its band numbers. It had a black over red 79 over H band with a purple US Fish and Wildlife band on it. As the falcon was of this years young,records werent published online yet. Recently I saw a post on a falcon forum with information about a Peregrine with band numbers close to the one in Ann's photos. I inquired with the posters who are with Ohio DNR(similar to our Ministry of Natural Resources). They informed us that the Peregrine in question was from east Cleveland Ohio,from a nest at the Lakeshore Powerplant and that the staff there had named her Centeniel.They have been informed and are very pleased to know she was alive and well. Ann graciously allowed me to post the photos on the Ohio board and in a report on the Canadian Peregrine Foundation website. See the report and a couple of photos http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/w/2011/12/sightings/record-raptor-count-and-idd-peregrine/
From time to time this winter I will update the site,with great photos or interesting stories our watchers or readers submit. Please feel free to contribute observations or photos about hawks or owls or issues affecting either. It is an irruptive year for Snowy Owls so lets hope we can all get out and see some!

Special Post - The Final Numbers

2011-12-01T23:29:00.015-05:00

Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch 2011
16 new records and 1 tied record - the result of everyone's involvement. Thank you all once again. Enjoy!

Turkey Vulture:
1866 - Best Year ever!
1726 (October) - Best Month ever!
774 (October 1st) - Best Day ever!

Osprey:
125 - 2nd best Year ever!

Bald Eagle:
67 - 2nd best Year ever!

Northern Harrier:
212 - 4th best Year ever!

Sharp-shinned Hawk:
1781 - 5th best Year ever!

Cooper's Hawk:
96 - 2nd best Year ever!
14 (October 1st) - Best Day ever!

Northern Goshawk:
20 - 3rd best Year ever!

Red-shouldered Hawk:
29 - Tied best Year ever!

Broad-winged Hawk:
757 - Best Year ever!
731 (September) - Best Month ever!
605 (September 16th) - Best Day ever!

Red-tailed Hawk:
858 - Best Year ever!
327 (November 4th) - Best Day ever!

Rough-legged Hawk:
9 - Tied 3rd best Year ever!

Golden Eagle:
5 - Tied 3rd best Year ever!

American Kestrel:
624 - 3rd best Year ever!
233 (October 1st) - Best Day ever!

Merlin:
130 - Best Year ever!
72 (October) - Best Month ever!
17 (October 17th) - Best Day ever!

Peregrine Falcon:
47 - 5th best Year ever!

All Birds:
6626 - Best Year ever!
3506 (October) - Best Month ever!
1305 (October 1st) - Best Day ever!

I found these closing comments on Ontbirds.com in the November 30th report from Bob Pettit of the Holiday Beach Hawk Watch:
"Reports are that Red-tails are hanging out north of Toronto and
elsewhere just 'waiting'." and "I estimate 2,000-3,000 more Red-tails and 30 Golden Eagles (need the adults) could pass in December."
You might want to consider heading back down to the park if you have some time over the next couple of weeks on good northwest wind days...they might still be coming!

As this will be my last post I'd just like to say thanks again Frank for allowing me to conduct this year's Watch and also to run your blog site, it's been an absolute thrill for me from start to finish. I now hand the blog back over to you.

See you all again soon,
Walter

Special Post – They Came!

2011-11-30T23:52:00.003-05:00

The Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch has now finished for another year. What a tremendous time it has been with lots of new people met and lots of new records set!

I would like to thank everyone for all of their efforts in making this the most successful RMG Raptor Watch ever. We had many days where spotting and identifying birds were really quite difficult but we did an excellent job all working together. The countless new people that we welcomed was impressive and most of them were quick to join in and start searching for birds right away. The endless camaraderie between old friends and new was extremely entertaining. Thanks to all those who were kind enough to bring food and drink to the Watch to share with others, it was very much appreciated by all. To those who brought cameras, scopes, and other viewing aids as well as those with exceptional eyesight, I can’t thank you enough as so many birds would have gone unseen or unidentified without your help. I'd also like to say a huge thank you to the park workers for their kind assistance and consideration which allows us to conduct the hawk watch at Rosetta McClain Gardens each year.

This year’s Watch was a little different in ways to the 3 previous years that I’ve attended. For example, it’s was much warmer temperature-wise throughout the fall and the lack of north winds was unusual. On numerous days the wind seemed to be from the south or southwest. To my surprise, it didn’t stop the birds from putting on some of the best aerial acrobatics we’ve ever witnessed. The local Red-tailed Hawks kept their presence known with several fly-bys almost daily. The close fly-bys along the bluffs of some of the other species like Broad-winged and Red-shouldered Hawks was spectacular. For me the best thing that I observed this year was the kettling of so many raptors. From Turkey Vultures and Red-tailed Hawks over the park to the large columns of distant Broad-winged Hawks to the north, the views were impressive to say the least! My best moment came on October 1st when for about five minutes straight I did nothing but write down birds that everyone else were calling out. Definitely our busiest time, I barely had time to turn and look up at the passing birds. When it finally slowed down again I turned only to see a whole new set of faces looking back at me…..I think we had roughly 30 hawk watchers on hand that day.

I take away so many fantastic memories of our time together enjoying these majestic creatures. Again, thank you everyone for such a wonderful time this fall season!

Walter

November 30th - Our Final Day!

2011-11-30T23:19:00.001-05:00

I must apologize for not being able to attend our final day at the Watch. I'll bet the mid-day snow storm probably made viewing a little difficult. After the snow our last bird of the season was observed flying over the park, it was a Sharpie everybody!

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Total - 1

Final Count:
Turkey Vulture - 1866
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 212
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1781
Cooper's Hawk - 96
Northern Goshawk - 20
Red-shouldered Hawk - 29
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 858
Rough-legged Hawk - 9
Golden Eagle - 5
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 130
Peregrine Falcon - 47
Total - 6626

At the park today were: BIGFRANK, Pat, Nancy, Terry 2, Gunnar, and Cori.

Walter

November 28th - Another 5 More!

2011-11-29T02:32:00.000-05:00

With only a couple of days left for the Watch it was great for everyone at the park to see a few more birds fly over.

Today:
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 3
Rough-legged Hawk - 1
Total - 5

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1866
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 212
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1780
Cooper's Hawk - 96
Northern Goshawk - 20
Red-shouldered Hawk - 29
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 858
Rough-legged Hawk - 9
Golden Eagle - 5
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 130
Peregrine Falcon - 47
Total - 6625

Rough-Legged Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

The best non-raptor of the day was a Great Blue Heron. On the lake were hundreds upon hundreds of Long-tailed Ducks and Red-breasted Mergansers.

Hawk watchers today included: BIGFRANK, Pat, Nancy, Berle, Theresa, Peter, Terry 2, and Phil.

Walter

November 25th - 2 Accipiters

2011-11-26T00:56:00.001-05:00

A Cooper's Hawk and a Sharp-shinned Hawk were all that was countable today. The local Red-tailed Hawk did a really nice slow flyby along the bluffs and the local Cooper's Hawk flew around to the north chasing the Pigeons as usual.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Total - 2

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1866
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 212
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1780
Cooper's Hawk - 95
Northern Goshawk - 20
Red-shouldered Hawk - 29
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 855
Rough-legged Hawk - 8
Golden Eagle - 5
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 130
Peregrine Falcon - 47
Total - 6620

A small flock of ducks flew over the centre of the park today and my best guess would be that they were Scaup.

At the park today were: Pat, Nancy, Berle, Peter, Phil, Carol, and Allison.

Walter

November 23rd - Year Total Pushed To 6600+

2011-11-23T21:59:00.003-05:00

A nice steady flow of hawks was observed over the park today, albeit somewhat slow. In all 32 birds came our way in the bright blue sky providing excellent views of many of the more northern Red-tails. They can have much darker markings on the underside of their bodies and wings. With today's sightings we've now pushed the 'Year' total to over 6600 raptors!

Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 10
Northern Goshawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 19
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 32

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1866
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 212
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1779
Cooper's Hawk - 94
Northern Goshawk - 20
Red-shouldered Hawk - 29
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 855
Rough-legged Hawk - 8
Golden Eagle - 5
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 130
Peregrine Falcon - 47
Total - 6618

Red-tailed Hawk

Many insects flying about the Watch today including a very late small dragonfly.

Hawk watchers today included: Carol, Ron, Berle, Cori, Theresa, Pat, Nancy, Phil, Ann, and Terry 2. Thankyou all for your help in spotting the birds up in the blue.

Walter

November 21st & 22nd - No Birds!

2011-11-22T20:52:00.000-05:00

I was at the Watch today between 11:30AM - 1:00PM and saw nothing. Peter was there for about 45 minutes before I arrived and he had nothing to report either. Pat & Nancy joined me for about an hour before the cold damp air got to them. Ann arrived just in time to offer me a drive home - so kind of her. Tomorrow's weather prediction is for more NNE and ENE winds so we'll try again.

Walter

November 20th - 10 More Birds Today

2011-11-21T00:48:00.003-05:00

A few close birds and a few distant birds today on north-west winds. Temps sure dropped as the afternoon sun set. Only 10 days to go folks!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 5
Total - 10

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1866
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 211
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1769
Cooper's Hawk - 94
Northern Goshawk - 19
Red-shouldered Hawk - 29
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 836
Rough-legged Hawk - 8
Golden Eagle - 5
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 130
Peregrine Falcon - 46
Total - 6586

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Turkey Vulture

Cooper's Hawk

Nothing to report from the non-raptor world today.

More birders than birds today with: Mike 3, Pat, Nancy, Cori, Ann, Phil, Berle, Tim, Gunnar, Mike 2, and Paul on hand.

Walter

November 18th - A Golden Day!

2011-11-18T22:53:00.002-05:00

Big highlight of the day was the appearance of an adult Golden Eagle in the blue sky right in front of us. I don't recall ever seeing an adult before and if I did, it was never as good as this! Just gorgeous!!!

Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Cooper's Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Golden Eagle - 1 (adult 12:40)
Total - 7

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1865
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 210
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1767
Cooper's Hawk - 93
Northern Goshawk - 19
Red-shouldered Hawk - 29
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 831
Rough-legged Hawk - 8
Golden Eagle - 5
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 130
Peregrine Falcon - 46
Total - 6576

Red-tailed Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Golden Eagle

Watchers today included: Mike 3, Ann, Berle, Pat, Nancy, Allison, Theresa, Gunnar, Cori, Phil, and Carol.

Walter

November 17th - Another New Record!!!

2011-11-17T22:33:00.001-05:00

Wind was good, sky was good, cloud cover was good, bird migration was not so good! Having said that we did however manage to break another old count record. 828 Red-tailed Hawks has been the record since 2006, with the 5 Red-tails counted today our new 'Year' record sits at 830!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 5
Total - 9

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1865
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 209
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1765
Cooper's Hawk - 91
Northern Goshawk - 19
Red-shouldered Hawk - 29
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 830
Rough-legged Hawk - 8
Golden Eagle - 4
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 130
Peregrine Falcon - 46
Total - 6569

Today's non-raptor highlight was a small flock of White-winged Crossbills that stopped off for a snack before continuing their journey westward.

Friends on hand today included: Ann, Theresa, Berle, Cori, Terry 2, and Ron.

Walter

Special Post - My Raptor Mentor

2011-11-17T04:20:00.001-05:00

I had to post this article,which appeared on Nov 12th in The London Free Press about Hawk Cliff and a man near and dear to me,my "raptor mentor" Colin Horstead.
While other watchers at High Park helped me along,during my initial forray into raptor watching,Colin "took me under his wing" as it were. He saw how keen I was and nutured it. He would take me aside and tell me what to look for and why a bird was what it was. The only reward he asked for was that I pass it on. He often jokes,"Ive taught you everything you know(dramatic pause)but not everything I know.",in his good natured manor. He took me out winters and we did road trips,so my crash course in raptor identification could continue even in off season. He took me to Beamer Memorial Park Hawk Watch(Niagara Pennisula Raptor Watch) several times each spring early on so Id keep learning. He took me to Hawk Cliff,by which time I was fairly skilled at identification and spotting. I owe Colin a great deal. Not only did he help me to be very proficient at raptor ID,but he became and remains a very valued and even cherish friend. Because of him I not only started the watch at Rosetta,but have met so many wonderful friends. Ive tried to honour the committment to Colin to "pay it forward",since then by teaching all I am able to the many new raptor watchers at Rosetta. Id like to think what he taught me is being passed on in a way he'd be proud of or at least satisfied with.

From The London Free Press
These hawks are no ‘dicky birds’
THE WORLD OUTDOORS

By PAUL NICHOLSON, Special to QMI Agency

Dave Brown's modest reference to the skilled and loyal corps of volunteer hawkwatchers at Hawk Cliff on Lake Erie east of Port Stanley is "the usual suspects."They scour the sky rain or shine, seven days a week, logging every raptor sighting from late August to November. Brown, who is based in Mitchell, co-ordinates schedules and publishes the detailed daily findings on the organization's website (search "Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch.") The Hawk Cliff Hawkwatch is one of about six Ontario hawkwatch sites west of Toronto and is one of about 200 sites in North America that are linked to the Hawk Migration Association of North America. The common goals are to conserve, study and appreciate raptors such as hawks and eagles.
The information gathering is a form of "citizen science" and takes advantage of observers such as Tom Bolohan, Ches Caister and Ronnie Goodhand to create a continentwide understanding of the status of raptor populations.An example of a population shift would be the recovery of bald eagles and peregrine falcons in Ontario after DDT was banned in the 1970s. As an umbrella organization, the Hawk Migration Association establishes standard methodologies for counts and is a focal point for research. Scientists also liaise directly with the Hawk Cliff crew, which has local data going back to 1974.
Jim Dunn was relied on to lead the daily count from late August, when this fall's migration started. From early September to early November, Colin Horstead was the lead counter. For the past five years, Horstead has been a lead counter with the Hawkwatch. He is a Torontonian, but he checks into the Kettle Creek Inn in Port Stanley for two months each fall.Asked about the roots of his interest in hawks, Horstead recently explained "Way, way back I was fishing on the Pickerel River. This would have been in the mid-1950s. There were ospreys around, but I didn't know what they were so I got my first bird book and found out." He has never looked back. "I got into the migration after I retired in 1992."
Perhaps because of those first osprey sightings, he does still focus on birds of prey. "I like the raptors. I just like to specialize. It's the type of person I am. I call everything else a 'dicky bird,' but I'm just joking." He confesses an admiration for those birders who are good at non-raptors. Mary Carnahan is one of the hawkwatchers who is relied on to report sightings of non-raptor species.
The balance of the migration that wraps up November 30 will be charted by Brown and the London-area watchers.Regarding this year's fall migration, Brown remarked "It's been an excellent season for birds, but a rotten season for weather." Said Horstead, "This year's been tough because of threatening rain," but tough or not, Horstead will return: "I'll be back next year. It's a passion." This sentiment reflects the remarkable commitment of all "the usual suspects."
Hawk Cliff sightings The golden eagles were again particularly good last Saturday. Some were soaring very high and others, including juveniles and adults, were lower and offered excellent views. More than 600 red-tailed hawks were also spotted, along with counts of red-shouldered and rough-legged hawks, turkey vultures, and other raptors. Great V's of honking tundra swans flew over periodically. They looked spectacular in the sun against the deep blue sky. Other sightings in the woods and thickets included yellow-rumped warblers, fox sparrows, pileated and red-bellied woodpeckers, a Northern shrike, cedar waxwings, Eastern bluebirds, rusty blackbirds and a purple finch.

November 16th - 4 More!

2011-11-16T20:14:00.000-05:00

A very similar day to yesterday weather-wise and bird-wise. The wind was from the west once it kicked-up about mid-day.

Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
Total - 4

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1864
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 209
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1763
Cooper's Hawk - 90
Northern Goshawk - 19
Red-shouldered Hawk - 29
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 825
Rough-legged Hawk - 8
Golden Eagle - 4
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 130
Peregrine Falcon - 46
Total - 6560

24 species of birds counted in and around the park today including: Hairy Woodpecker, Red-necked Grebe, Common Goldeneye, and White-winged Scoter.

Hawk watchers today consisted of: Tony, Berle, Cori, Ron, Phil, Peter, Terry 2, and Ann.

Walter

November 15th - 4 Afternoon Birds

2011-11-15T21:29:00.001-05:00

With overcast skies in the morning I didn't arrive to the park 'til just after 12:00PM and as I approached our Watch site the folks gathered were ID'ing their first bird of the day, an adult Northern Harrier way out over the lake. Shortly after that our next 2 birds appeared in the sky over the Gardens. It was over an hour before our fourth and final bird flew by. An incredibly nice afternoon weather-wise for mid-November.

Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Total - 4

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1864
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 208
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1762
Cooper's Hawk - 90
Northern Goshawk - 19
Red-shouldered Hawk - 29
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 823
Rough-legged Hawk - 8
Golden Eagle - 4
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 130
Peregrine Falcon - 46
Total - 6556

A large gathering of Long-tailed Ducks spent the day out on the lake off of RMG.

At the park today were: Theresa, Pat, Nancy, Ann, Carol, Phil, Paul, and Cori. Oops, and Terry 2 too!

Walter

Special Post: Toronto Parks Plan Survey

2011-11-15T04:16:00.008-05:00

Les emailed me and suggested this. I did the survey and it doesnt take long. The Parks, Forestry and Recreation department of the City of Toronto is holding meetings for a new five-year parks plan. You can also go to www.toronto.ca/parks/parksplan to fill out a survey. As bird and nature lovers we should let them know what is important to us. Be sure to do a complete list of parks you've been to,I know for some of us that is pretty lengthy. Will it be listened to? The least we can do is have our say.

Frank

November 13th - Got Us Again!!!

2011-11-14T10:37:00.002-05:00

With south wind all day we sat and waited but, sadly once again, nothing came our way. Well actually one bird did, our local Red-tail. Oh well we'll try again next November 13th.

Walter

Special Post - A Few Questions Answered

2011-11-13T01:21:00.003-05:00

Q - How rare is a Golden Eagle sighting at Rosetta?
A - Out of the 37,603 raptors ever counted since 2004 only 60 of them have been Golden Eagles.

Q - Will there be another 'big' day this year?
A - 149 Red-tails were counted on the 16th of November in 2007, 171 Red-tails were counted on the 18th of November in 2008, and 100 Red-tails were counted on the 20th of November in 2006. With the warmer temperatures this Fall season it's quite possible that there are still many more Red-tails to come. They could even be later then the above dates.

Q - What's the latest dates that we've ever seen birds migrating at Rosetta?
A - The following is a list showing the latest date for each species.
October 26th - Osprey
October 29th - Broad-winged Hawk (A very late bird!)
November 18th - Rough-legged Hawk
November 21st - Turkey Vulture
November 22nd - Bald Eagle
November 23rd - Merlin
November 25th - Northern Goshawk
November 25th - Golden Eagle
November 25th - American Kestrel
November 27th - Peregrine Falcon
November 28th - Northern Harrier
November 30th - Sharp-shinned Hawk
November 30th - Cooper's Hawk
November 30th - Red-shouldered Hawk
November 30th - Red-tailed Hawk

Q - What's the deal with November 13th? A raptor day of rest?
A - Since BIGFRANK started to count birds of prey flying over Rosetta back in the Fall of 2004, on the 13th of November only 1 single bird has ever been counted...a lone Rough-legged Hawk. I'll be at the park early Sunday to try and at least double that number.

Walter

November 12th - Record Broken!!!

2011-11-12T22:05:00.005-05:00

After standing at the Watch site for the last 3 months, day after day, bird after bird, and coffee after coffee, when it came time for the record breaking bird to fly passed and be counted...I missed it!!! My thanks to those who were at the park earlier in the day scanning the sky 'til #6546 flew by. Great job! My reward came a little while later!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 5
Golden Eagle - 2 (juvenile 12:41 x2)
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 10

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1864
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 207
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1761
Cooper's Hawk - 89
Northern Goshawk - 19
Red-shouldered Hawk - 29
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 822
Rough-legged Hawk - 8
Golden Eagle - 4
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 130
Peregrine Falcon - 46
Total - 6552

The record breaking Red-tails

Red-tailed Hawk

At 12:41PM Mike 3 spotted a very distant bird in the gap circling. I quickly got the bins on it and thought that it might be one of the local Red-tails hunting in the park just to the east of RMG. Something about it just didn't look right though. I said "I think it might be an Eagle!" It sloooowly made it's way towards us but was also drifting out over the lake at the same time. The worst thing was that I couldn't tell the others where it was because we had nothing but blue sky, no reference points. All I could say is look in the area where I'm looking by standing beside me. That worked as everyone started to spot it. At that point I said "I think it's a Golden Eagle!" The bird then turned and started it's long journey towards us. As it got closer everyone could easily see the white patches on the wings. Amazingly it was right above us by the time it got back over land. What an absolute thrill for all those gathered and for some a 'Life' bird. This was for me the best and longest view that I've ever had of a Golden Eagle in my four years of hawk watching at Rosetta. Seconds later as we were all enjoying what we had just witnessed, I spotted another large dark bird flying over the centre of the park heading towards the west. A second Golden! Here are a couple of excellent shots of the first Eagle.

Golden Eagle

The non-raptor of the day was Great Black-backed Gull, we had 3 of them fly by. The third, a first year bird, gave us a nice up close fly by. For those who have never seen one, their wingspan is 65 inches. That's 2 inches wider than an Osprey! Also seen today was a very late Green Darner dragonfly.

Guess who?

On hand were: Phil, Josh, Ann, Carol, Mike 2, Mike 3, Pat, Nancy, Allison, Tony, and today we welcomed Joe who was visiting from Calgary. Another Calgarian and a former RMG hawk watcher and photograper Rob McKay suggested to Joe to come visit us while in Toronto. Thankyou!

Walter

November 11th - So Close!!!

2011-11-12T03:19:00.002-05:00

What a terrific late Fall day at the park with wind blowing down from the north all day. Unfortunately birds numbers were a little short of what was hoped for. We now must start to wonder what's left out there.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Northern Harrier - 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 6
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 11
Rough-legged Hawk - 1 (dark morph)
Merlin - 1
Total - 25

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1863
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 207
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1760
Cooper's Hawk - 89
Northern Goshawk - 19
Red-shouldered Hawk - 29
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 817
Rough-legged Hawk - 8
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 130
Peregrine Falcon - 45
Total - 6542

Only 4 birds to count for a new 'Year' record!!!

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Turkey Vulture

Red-tailed Hawk (OMG, What did it eat?)

Red-tailed Hawk

A small flock of 5 Tundra Swans was observed flying overhead heading due south. Several flocks of White-winged Crossbills were seen flying over the park earlier in the day.

Hawk watchers today included: Ann, Berle, Peter, Tom, Theresa, Jen, Cori, Carol, Phil, Pat, Nancy, and Allison.

Walter

November 10th - Thought it might have been better!

2011-11-10T23:23:00.001-05:00

With cold air moving in to the area after the rain last night we thought that we have a few more birds flying today than we did. The lower level clouds were coming in from the WNW most of the day but that didn't seem to interest the birds at all.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Northern Goshawk - 1
Total - 5

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1862
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 204
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1754
Cooper's Hawk - 88
Northern Goshawk - 19
Red-shouldered Hawk - 28
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 806
Rough-legged Hawk - 7
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 129
Peregrine Falcon - 45
Total - 6517

One of the local Red-tails hunting along the bluffs.

A high flying Goshawk

Today's non-raptor highlights included a Hairy Woodpecker and a flock of 12 migrating Tundra Swans.

Hairy Woodpecker

Tundra Swans

Looking westward

Lots of folks on hand today including: Tony, Carol, Terry 2, Berle, Theresa, Phil, Pat, Nancy, Allison, Peter, Ann, Hugh, Bill, Lee, and Cori.

Walter

November 7th - Inching Our Way Closer!

2011-11-07T21:36:00.002-05:00

Another not-so-great day at the Watch but we are inching our way closer to a new 'Year' record. It shouldn't be an issue with lots of time left this month.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
Total - 4

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1862
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 204
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1751
Cooper's Hawk - 87
Northern Goshawk - 18
Red-shouldered Hawk - 28
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 806
Rough-legged Hawk - 7
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 129
Peregrine Falcon - 45
Total - 6512

A few 'Year' records we should break this month.
Red-shouldered Hawk - Only 2 more birds needed!
Red-tailed Hawk - Only 23 more birds needed!
Total - Only 34 more birds needed!

Our team today consisted of: Berle, Theresa, Terry 2, Pat, Nancy, Cori, Peter, and Phil.

Walter

November 5th - Only 4 Birds!

2011-11-05T19:36:00.000-04:00

South and south-east winds are just not condusive to good bird migration. Better days ahead!

Today:
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
Total - 4

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1862
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 204
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1750
Cooper's Hawk - 86
Northern Goshawk - 18
Red-shouldered Hawk - 28
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 804
Rough-legged Hawk - 7
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 129
Peregrine Falcon - 45
Total - 6508

Watchers today were: Mike 2, Phil, Margaret, Theresa, Hugh, Lee, and Cori.

Walter

November 4th - Best November Day Ever!

2011-11-04T20:06:00.006-04:00

Wow, what a spectacular afternoon! The morning started off a little slow and I wasn't 100% sure that we'd have a good day. The fact that there weren't any clouds didn't help either. The wind picked up around 11:00 AM or so and the birds started to fly. Before we knew it the birds were everywhere. The Red-tails were low at first but quickly covered the sky at all levels and all directions. What a wonderful challenge for all watchers today to try and spot birds against the blue sky and the few clouds that drifted over the park.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 13
Bald Eagle - 4 (juvenile 12:33, 1:30, 1:55 x2)
Northern Harrier - 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 6
Cooper's Hawk - 2
Northern Goshawk - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 8
Red-tailed Hawk - 327 (Best 'Day' count ever!)
Rough-legged Hawk - 3
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 371 (Best November 'Day' count ever!)

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1862
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 67
Northern Harrier - 204
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1750
Cooper's Hawk - 86
Northern Goshawk - 18
Red-shouldered Hawk - 28
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 800
Rough-legged Hawk - 7
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 129
Peregrine Falcon - 45
Total - 6504

Only 42 more birds for a new 'Year' record!!!

Bald Eagle

Merlin

Northern Goshawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawks filled the sky

Lots of non-raptors flying today including: flocks of 10-20 White-winged Crossbills with some landing in the park, flocks of 20-30 Snow Buntings flying low over the park, flocks of Pine Siskins also flying low, 3 Snow Geese up high, and a Northern Shrike. Also late today was another Eastern Red Bat flying about which I had excellent views of. The hair on the back of these bats is orangy-red.

The passengers were probably waving to each other!

On hand for today's spectacle were: Mike 3, Norm, Dave, Carol, Allison, Tim, Terry 2, Yvonne, Theresa, Betty, Pat, Nancy, Ann, Berle, Lee, Hugh, and Phil. Thankyou everyone for your endless help today finding and ID'ing the birds.

Walter

November 3rd - A Nice Day For A Harrier

2011-11-03T21:48:00.004-04:00

Our first decent November day brought 29 raptors passed the Watch, this is an excellent start. Hopefully tomorrow will bring many more!

Today:
Northern Harrier - 12
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 8
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 3
Rough-legged Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 4
Total - 29

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1849
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 63
Northern Harrier - 199
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1744
Cooper's Hawk - 84
Northern Goshawk - 17
Red-shouldered Hawk - 20
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 473
Rough-legged Hawk - 4
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 624
Merlin - 128
Peregrine Falcon - 44
Total - 6133

Rough-legged Hawk

Northern Harrier

Today's best non-raptor was American Pipit and also an Eastern Red Bat was observed flying above.

A migrating Eastern Red Bat

I'd like to thank everyone who arrived in the morning to run the Watch in my absence. Hawk watchers today included: Ann, Theresa, Terry 1, Terry 2, Allison, Berle, Tom, Pat, Nancy, Carol, Betty, Hugh, Phil, Gunnar, and Lee.

Walter

November 2nd - Red-shouldered Hawk Released

2011-11-02T22:02:00.001-04:00

Today was another fabulously slow day at the Watch but we did have some excitement when we quickly found out that Toronto Wildlife Centre was about to release a Red-shouldered Hawk back in to the wild. The release was done on the lawn in front of the Mountain Ash trees. The young bird wasted no time in taking flight once the box was opened. Albeit brief, for those lucky enough to be at the park at that time it was wonderful to witness.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Total - 5

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1849
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 63
Northern Harrier - 187
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1736
Cooper's Hawk - 83
Northern Goshawk - 17
Red-shouldered Hawk - 20
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 470
Rough-legged Hawk - 3
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 620
Merlin - 128
Peregrine Falcon - 44
Total - 6104

Red-shouldered Hawk release

Non-raptor sightings today included a pair of Eastern Towhees and a couple of Eastern Phoebes.

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Towhee

Lots of people in and out of the park including: Berle, Theresa, Ann, Lee, Lorne, Betty, Gunnar, Phil, Carol, and today we welcomed Yvonne.

As many of you already know I won't be at the park tomorrow morning so if you go please take note of what you see and please keep an eye out for those 'pepper specks' way up high. I should be there in the early afternoon. Thanks and see you when I get there.

Walter

November 1st - 5 more!

2011-11-01T23:38:00.006-04:00

Another one of those days! Wrong wind.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 3
Total - 5

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1848
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 63
Northern Harrier - 187
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1734
Cooper's Hawk - 83
Northern Goshawk - 17
Red-shouldered Hawk - 19
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 469
Rough-legged Hawk - 3
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 620
Merlin - 128
Peregrine Falcon - 44
Total - 6099

Today's big excitement was the low flyover of a Common Raven. Not a common sighting in Toronto for sure. Another dozen or so Monarchs, a Clouded Sulphur, and a Red Admiral were seen passing by.

Common Raven

Downy Woodpecker

Cedar Waxwings were enjoying the Mountain Ash berries.

Theresa, Terry 2, Pat, Nancy, Ann, and Phil were on hand today.

Walter

Special Post - Some October Results

2011-11-01T01:29:00.000-04:00

Seven of the Fifteen raptors that we normally see over Rosetta had great results in October. The 'Month' total for Turkey Vultures easily surpassed any previous 'Year' total that we've ever had at the park.

Turkey Vulture - Best month ever!
Bald Eagle - 2nd best month ever!
Cooper's Hawk - 2nd best month ever!
Northern Goshawk - 2nd best month ever!
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2nd best month ever!
Red-tailed Hawk - 2nd best month ever!
Merlin - Best month ever!

Walter

October 31st - Another Few Afternoon Birds

2011-10-31T23:55:00.001-04:00

Another quiet day at the park today to bring an end to the month. Overall though it was an excellent month for hawk watching at Rosetta.

Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 3
Total - 6

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1848
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 63
Northern Harrier - 187
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1732
Cooper's Hawk - 83
Northern Goshawk - 17
Red-shouldered Hawk - 19
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 466
Rough-legged Hawk - 3
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 620
Merlin - 128
Peregrine Falcon - 44
Total - 6094

Only 5 Monarchs counted today.

On hand today were: Terry 2, Pat & Nancy, Berle, Theresa, Phil, Peter, Ann, and Carol.

Walter

October 30th - Slooow!

2011-10-30T23:02:00.002-04:00

Another absolutely gorgeous Fall day at the park but completely wrong for bird migration. Watch for the next day with a 'north' element in the wind.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Northern Goshawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
Total - 7

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1848
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 63
Northern Harrier - 186
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1730
Cooper's Hawk - 83
Northern Goshawk - 17
Red-shouldered Hawk - 19
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 463
Rough-legged Hawk - 3
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 620
Merlin - 128
Peregrine Falcon - 44
Total - 6088

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Bird of the day was a juvenile Red-throated Loon that we watched through Linda's scope for about an hour as it hung around on the water just out in front of the Watch site.

At the park today were: Norm, Berle, Peter, Mike 2, Theresa, Carol, Ann, Mike & Leslie, and today we welcomed Linda.

Walter

October 29th - 5 In 4 Hours!

2011-10-29T22:47:00.000-04:00

Very quiet at the park today. I arrived at 11:00 AM just as a high-flying Cooper's Hawk was going by.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
Total - 5

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1848
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 63
Northern Harrier - 186
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1728
Cooper's Hawk - 83
Northern Goshawk - 16
Red-shouldered Hawk - 19
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 459
Rough-legged Hawk - 3
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 620
Merlin - 128
Peregrine Falcon - 44
Total - 6081

Some 20+ Monarchs still migrating by.

Theresa, Margaret, Peter, Gunnar, Betty, and Carol were at the park today.

Walter

Special Post - November

2011-10-29T01:26:00.004-04:00

Just to echo and further add to BIGFRANK's comment on what to expect as we now head in to the last month of the Watch. If birds have not been held back due to the warmer weather we've experienced this Fall season, some species' numbers will sharply drop off. We're still expecting more Turkey Vultures and Red-tailed Hawks are just starting to appear over Rosetta. Golden Eagles and Rough-legged Hawks are coming through now but in their usual small numbers. Bald Eagles, Northern Harriers, Peregrine Falcons, and others will still be migrating but sightings will be a little less frequent. Any days with a 'north' element in the wind will now definitely be the best days from here on in and with that said, they'll probably be cold days with heavy cloud cover. Please join us at Rosetta any time you have the chance but please pick and choose your days wisely.....and don't forget to dress warmly!

The following is a cumalutive summary of what's been seen over the years during the month of November.

2004-2010:
Turkey Vulture - 41
Osprey - 0
Bald Eagle - 12
Northern Harrier - 65
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 156
Cooper's Hawk - 78
Northern Goshawk - 29
Red-shouldered Hawk - 36
Broad-winged Hawk - 0
Red-tailed Hawk - 1592
Rough-legged Hawk - 37
Golden Eagle - 19
American Kestrel - 28
Merlin - 9
Peregrine Falcon - 17
Total - 2119

Walter

October 28th - Only 5 Birds!

2011-10-28T22:34:00.000-04:00

A crazy slow day today with only 5 birds seen. Most people that showed up thought that we had good conditions for a decent movement of Vultures and Red-tails but it just didn't happen over Rosetta. The sky was perfect for spotting and viewing all day but unfortunately the wind was from the wrong direction.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
Total - 5

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1848
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 63
Northern Harrier - 186
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1726
Cooper's Hawk - 82
Northern Goshawk - 16
Red-shouldered Hawk - 19
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 457
Rough-legged Hawk - 3
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 620
Merlin - 128
Peregrine Falcon - 44
Total - 6076

At least 3 small flocks of Snow Buntings were seen and heard flying over the park today. A nice unexpected surprise for many who could now add them to their 'Year' lists without travelling north out of the city.

Birders today included: Mike 3, Terry 2, Norm, Berle, Pat, Nancy, Allison, Betty, Freida, Hugh, Theresa, Tom, Carol, Gunnar, Phil, Peter, and today we had a short visit from our friend Daniel who was back in Toronto for the day.

Walter

October 27th - Red October

2011-10-27T23:36:00.002-04:00

The skies over Rosetta turned 'red' again this afternoon as we observed lots of high-flying Red-tailed Hawks pass over the park. Unfortunately most birds today appeared as black pepper specks up against a gray sky making spotting and ID'ing fairly difficult. I'd like to thank everyone for their help once again today.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Bald Eagle - 2 (juvenile 1:00, 2:30)
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 202
Rough-legged Hawk - 2
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 2
Total - 216

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1848
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 63
Northern Harrier - 186
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1723
Cooper's Hawk - 82
Northern Goshawk - 16
Red-shouldered Hawk - 19
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 455
Rough-legged Hawk - 3
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 620
Merlin - 128
Peregrine Falcon - 44
Total - 6071

Rough-legged Hawk

Peregrine Falcon

Cooper's Hawk

Those who hung in today were rewarded with a Short-eared Owl which flew overhead heading west and a Northern Shrike which landed in the big Maple for a brief rest before moving on.

Short-eared Owl

Northern Shrike

Thermals?

Watching Red-tails passing over the north end.

Many Hawk watchers including: Peter, Lorne, Terry 2, Tom, Betty, Ron, Berle, Theresa, Ann, Phil, Gunnar, Pat & Nancy, Tony, Bruce Falls, and we welcomed Brian to the Watch today.

Walter

October 25th - Now Our 2nd Best Year Ever!

2011-10-25T19:50:00.007-04:00

Wow, 12 out of a possible 15 species today including our first Rough-legged Hawk of the season. During the morning many birds flew by low providing excellent views and photo ops. 43 Turkey Vultures passed by so low that only a couple were seen above the treeline. Terry, Betty and I went up to Kingston Road to count them as they kettled over Birchmount Park. In the afternoon many of the birds appeared much higher in the sky. We watched as many Red-tails, a couple of Eagles, a Roughie, and a few others soared overhead. The dark clouds and rain moved in to the area around 3:30 PM sending everyone packing.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 111
Bald Eagle - 3 (juvenile 1:20, 1:45, 2:15)
Northern Harrier - 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 51
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Northern Goshawk - 2
Red-shouldered Hawk - 7
Red-tailed Hawk - 117
Rough-Legged Hawk - 1
Golden Eagle - 1 (juvenile 1:50)
Merlin - 2
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 301

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1847
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 61
Northern Harrier - 186
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1721
Cooper's Hawk - 79
Northern Goshawk - 16
Red-shouldered Hawk - 18
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 253
Rough-legged Hawk - 1
Golden Eagle - 2
American Kestrel - 620
Merlin - 127
Peregrine Falcon - 42
Total - 5855

Rough-legged Hawk

Golden Eagle

Bald Eagle

Northern Goshawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Turkey Vulture

Northern Harrier

Thousands of Blackbirds, Starlings, Waxwings, and Robins flying through again early this morning including many small flocks of Eastern Bluebirds. A juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker was a great surprise today. It appeared in the big maple tree right behind us and then flew over to the apple tree before moving on to the spruce trees.

My thanks to everyone for their help in spotting and ID'ing so many high and far birds today. Watchers today included: Terry 2, Freida, Berle, Betty, Pat, Nancy, Ann, Tom, Theresa, Norm, Phil, Peter, Gunnar, Lee, Allison, Carol, and Cori.

Please note if you're thinking of joining us at the Raptor Watch the washrooms are now closed for the season.

Walter

October 24th - After The Rain

2011-10-25T00:38:00.001-04:00

Once the morning rain finally stopped we all headed for our favourite little park. Not a lot of birds flying but we did get a nice variety of the ones that did.

Today:
Bald Eagle - 1 (juvenile 3:30)
Northern Harrier - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 3
Merlin - 2
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 9

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1736
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 58
Northern Harrier - 182
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1670
Cooper's Hawk - 78
Northern Goshawk - 14
Red-shouldered Hawk - 11
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 136
Golden Eagle - 1
American Kestrel - 620
Merlin - 125
Peregrine Falcon - 41
Total - 5554

Peregrine Falcon

Red-tailed Hawk

Merlin (bird is fully 'cropped', not the photo!)

Bald Eagle

The tip of Bluffer's Park

A nice crowd gathered including: Berle, Ann, Terry 2, Theresa, Phil, Peter, Gunnar, and Betty.

Walter

October 23rd - Not Too Many Today

2011-10-23T18:21:00.001-04:00

Another absolutely gorgeous Fall day at the park but not so great for migrating hawks. They were very few and far between.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 9
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
Merlin - 1
Total - 14

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1736
Osprey - 125
Bald Eagle - 57
Northern Harrier - 181
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1670
Cooper's Hawk - 77
Northern Goshawk - 14
Red-shouldered Hawk - 11
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 133
Golden Eagle - 1
American Kestrel - 620
Merlin - 123
Peregrine Falcon - 40
Total - 5545

2 fairly late Red Admiral butterflies and a handful of Monarchs were seen today.

Hawk watchers today included: Chris, Mike 2, Mark, Norm, Tony, Phil, Pat & Nancy, Mike & Leslie, Theresa, Hugh, Carol, Janice, Lee, Jane, Bob, and Effi.

Walter

October 22nd - Turkey Vultures!!!

2011-10-22T19:46:00.008-04:00

With almost no wind, today was a fairly slow day up until about 2:15PM. We were standing looking out over the lake when Tom, who was facing more towards the north, jokingly and very nonchalantly said "Oh, what's that?" I turned around just in time to see the north sky blackening with Vultures. I quickly went over to look through the back gap to see and count the first ones passing through. Within 15 minutes we had tallied up 178 of them streaming passed. As the Vultures were finishing up a Bald Eagle appeared over the centre of the park.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 178
Osprey - 2
Bald Eagle - 1 (adult 2:30)
Northern Harrier - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 16
Cooper's Hawk - 5
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Red-tailed Hawk - 5
American Kestrel - 4
Merlin - 3
Peregrine Falcon - 3
Total - 223

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1736
Osprey - 124
Bald Eagle - 57
Northern Harrier - 180
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1661
Cooper's Hawk - 77
Northern Goshawk - 14
Red-shouldered Hawk - 11
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 131
Golden Eagle - 1
American Kestrel - 620
Merlin - 122
Peregrine Falcon - 40
Total - 5531

American Kestrel

Merlin

Osprey

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Passing overhead today were several thousand Blackbirds in mixed flocks and many small flocks of Cedar Waxwings. Down on the lake 300+ Common Loons were counted.

Cedar Waxwing

Another fabulous bunch of people on hand today including: Lorne, Ann, Mike 2, Berle, Peter, Pat, Norm, Freida, Sam, Mike 3, Franca, Betty, Chris, Tom, Gunnar, Bob, Ron, Allison, Mark, Margaret, Carol, Sherri, and Cori.

Walter

October 21st - Our First Golden Eagle!

2011-10-21T19:29:00.006-04:00

It was an amazing but somewhat cold day at the park today with a great variety of raptors and non-raptors on the move. The Golden Eagle was spotted just out over the lake beyond Bluffer's Park and heading right towards us. As it moved closer and closer, we watched silently hoping to be the first to make the call "It's a Golden!" Sadly, no photos were taken, most photographers had left the park by then and the rest of us were more than happy just seeing it. What a magnificent bird!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 55
Osprey - 2
Northern Harrier - 13
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 91
Cooper's Hawk - 7
Northern Goshawk - 2
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 24
Golden Eagle - 1 (juvenile 2:30)
American Kestrel - 7
Merlin - 9
Total - 213

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1558
Osprey - 122
Bald Eagle - 56
Northern Harrier - 178
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1645
Cooper's Hawk - 72
Northern Goshawk - 14
Red-shouldered Hawk - 7
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 126
Golden Eagle - 1
American Kestrel - 616
Merlin - 119
Peregrine Falcon - 37
Total - 5308

Seconds after this shot was taken the bird was attacked by another Merlin. A Merlin's territory is wherever it is at that moment!

Merlin

Cooper's Hawk

Northern Harrier

Osprey

Red-shouldered Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

This RT shot was from yesterday.

All kinds of non-raptors observed migrating in decent numbers today including: Common Loon (230+), Red-breasted Merganser, Long-tailed Duck, Wing-winged Scoter, American Robin, European Starling, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, and our first flocks of Eastern Bluebird.

Eastern Bluebirds

Lots of eyes on the skies today including: BIGFRANK, Ann, Tony, Allison, Terry 2, Carol, Gunnar, Betty, Mike 3, Theresa, Pat & Nancy, Barb & Ken, Ron & Jean, Hugh, Cori, Shirley, Richard, The kids from Cliffside PS, Bill, Peter, Bill 2, and Bob. Thanks for all your help today.....and the coffee, donuts, and cookies!

Walter

October 19th - Cold and Very Windy!

2011-10-19T13:38:00.005-04:00

Not exactly sure where the NE winds were this morning, most of what we saw were east winds on land and out over the lake the winds were from the south. Many birds observed today were fighting the wind all the way across the sky. Until today, I'd never seen a Great Blue Heron soar without flapping and going along sideways and backwards. By lunch the rain had moved in and chased us out of the park.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Bald Eagle - 1 (juvenile 11:07)
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 1
Merlin - 2
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 8

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1503
Osprey - 120
Bald Eagle - 56
Northern Harrier - 165
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1554
Cooper's Hawk - 65
Northern Goshawk - 12
Red-shouldered Hawk - 5
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 102
American Kestrel - 609
Merlin - 110
Peregrine Falcon - 37
Total - 5095

The tail-end of a Bald Eagle

This morning a few of us watched as a nice tightly packed flock of 40-50 unidentified shorebirds flew out over the lake just a little too far for our binoculars. It was so windy today that a low flying Great Blue Heron stopped and rested in the half-dead tree on the east side of the park. I believe this is a first.

Great Blue Heron

Interesting cloud formations just before it rained.

OMG, It's not a peanut!

Betty, Theresa, Hugh, Berle, Terry 2, and I all showed up this morning hoping for a good movement of birds.

Walter

October 18th - 5000!

2011-10-18T20:06:00.002-04:00

Early this morning, thanks to Ann and Tony, we counted our 5000th raptor of the year, a Sharpie! I arrived at 9:00 AM only to find that things were already well under way with 23 birds counted and more in the air. Before long we were up and over 50. Great to see so many Sharpies coming through today.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 34
Northern Harrier - 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 61
Cooper's Hawk - 2
American Kestrel - 1
Merlin - 2
Total - 105

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1502
Osprey - 120
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 165
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1554
Cooper's Hawk - 64
Northern Goshawk - 12
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 102
American Kestrel - 608
Merlin - 108
Peregrine Falcon - 36
Total - 5087

Turkey Vultures passing overhead

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Lots of wonderful friends at the park today to enjoy the birds including: Tony, Carol, Berle, Gunnar, Terry 2, Pat, Cori, Peter, Ann, Bill, and Phil.

Walter

October 17th - 17 Merlins!

2011-10-17T19:37:00.007-04:00

Merlins sure seem to like the southwest winds we've been experiencing the last 2 days. The photographers in the group got many truly amazing shots of these fast flying birds as they whizzed across the park just above the tree tops. We enjoyed many side-splittin' laughs as the comedy duo of Melendez & Brokelman were with us for most of the day. Ann emailed me just after dropping me off at the house and said that she had counted 43 Vultures flying above the intersection of Kingston Rd. and Midland Ave. and that they were heading for Rosetta.

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 52
Osprey - 2
Northern Harrier - 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 20
Cooper's Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 3
Merlin - 17 (new 'day' record!)
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 100

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1468
Osprey - 120
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 160
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1493
Cooper's Hawk - 62
Northern Goshawk - 12
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 102
American Kestrel - 607
Merlin - 106
Peregrine Falcon - 36
Total - 4982

A couple of Sharpies

Northern Harrier

Merlin

American Kestrel

Turkey Vulture

We saw our first large group of Red-breasted Mergansers arrive today, probably 300+ strong. They, and about a hundred or so gulls went at it down on the lake in several frantic feeding frenzies. Also today we saw yet another Common Buckeye butterfly. These beautiful visitors from the U.S. have been seen all over southern Ontario this fall.

"Under a blood red sky, a crowd has gathered..." - U2

Terry doing a scan of the lake for waterfowl and low flying hawks.

Some of the many Red-breasted Mergansers that arrived today.

One of our friendly Blue Jays.

Our hawk watchers included: Bob, Ann, Janice, Terry 2, Berle, Pat, Nancy, Betty, Carol, Peter, Allison, and today we welcomed Sydney and her sister Annabelle who was visiting from Florida. Thank you all for another terrific day at the park.

Walter

October 16th - Another Record Falls!

2011-10-16T20:19:00.011-04:00

Today was very similar to yesterday weather-wise but a few more sunny breaks and a very slight WNW wind up high probably helped get a lot more birds moving. Today was a banner day for those who are 'Merlin crazy'. With today's 9, that put us at 89 birds, 2 above the old record. There's still time for many more!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 28
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 12
American Kestrel - 3
Merlin - 9
Peregrine Falcon - 2
Total - 56

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1416
Osprey - 118
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 156
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1473
Cooper's Hawk - 61
Northern Goshawk - 12
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 102
American Kestrel - 604
Merlin - 89
Peregrine Falcon - 35
Total - 4882

Turkey Vulture

Just a few of the Merlins

Red-tailed Hawk (local)

Peregrine Falcon

Today we observed many Common Loons flying south and a real nice surprise was a Wilson's Snipe which flew along just out over the lake at eye level. Bird number 193 for Rosetta McClain Gardens! Only about 10 Monarch butterflies were seen today.

Pretty Kitties

Several folks out enjoying the day: Ann, Theresa, Gunnar, Norm, Irv, Mike 2, Pat, Nancy, Mike, Leslie, Mike 3, Barb, Ken, Tony, Pat 2, Carol, and Felicity. Thanks again everyone for the help!

Walter

October 15th - Another 7 Raptors Today

2011-10-15T22:50:00.003-04:00

With high winds and heavy clouds we thought there might have been a few more birds but it just didn't happen. Rain moved in and put a halt to the day around 1:30 PM.

Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 2
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 2
Total - 7

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1388
Osprey - 117
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 155
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1461
Cooper's Hawk - 61
Northern Goshawk - 12
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 102
American Kestrel - 601
Merlin - 80
Peregrine Falcon - 33
Total - 4826

Here's an excellent shot of one of our young up-and-coming birder's.

Today's group included: Betty, Lorne, Carol, Ron, Norm, Berle, Pat & Nancy, Pat 2, Ann, and Phil.

Walter

October 14th - Another Lousy Day!

2011-10-14T19:58:00.001-04:00

Lot's of off and on again rain today.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 7
Total - 7

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1388
Osprey - 117
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 154
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1460
Cooper's Hawk - 61
Northern Goshawk - 12
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 102
American Kestrel - 599
Merlin - 79
Peregrine Falcon - 31
Total - 4819

At the park today were: Pat & Nancy, Terry 2, and Ann.

Walter

October 13th - An Afternoon Flurry

2011-10-13T23:02:00.000-04:00

I'd like to thank Terry 2 for manning the post this morning for a couple of hours before the rest of us decided to show after lunch. We had a small flurry of birds in the early afternoon and then the rest came slowly after that. We counted 2 Red-tails that appeared to be migrating up high but they returned later in the afternoon, both being local birds.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 5
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Northern Goshawk - 1
Total - 11

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1381
Osprey - 117
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 154
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1460
Cooper's Hawk - 61
Northern Goshawk - 12
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 102
American Kestrel - 599
Merlin - 79
Peregrine Falcon - 31
Total - 4812

Today we counted roughly 50 migrating Monarchs.

Hawk watchers today included: Terry 2, Berle, Allison, Carol, Bob, and Phil.

Walter

October 12th - Not Much Today!

2011-10-12T21:51:00.000-04:00

Very slow today with rain moving in by lunchtime. Believe it or not, our count today beat Metropark in Detroit by 1 bird.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 2

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1381
Osprey - 116
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 153
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1455
Cooper's Hawk - 58
Northern Goshawk - 11
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 102
American Kestrel - 599
Merlin - 79
Peregrine Falcon - 31
Total - 4801

A few Monarchs still passing overhead today.

Peter, Carol, Berle, Lorne, Theresa, Cori, and Pat 2 were present this morning waiting patiently for the show to begin.

Walter

Special Post - Bald Eagle Sightings

2011-10-12T00:47:00.000-04:00

So far this season we've observed 55 Bald Eagles fly over Rosetta. The following is a breakdown of the times that they've been seen. Although anytime is good time for Eagles, it appears that between 12 and 3 PM seems to be best this year.

07:00-07:59AM - 1
08:00-08:59AM - 0
09:00-09:59AM - 3
10:00-10:59AM - 2
11:00-11:59AM - 3
12:00-12:59PM - 11
01:00-01:59PM - 11
02:00-02:59PM - 10
03:00-03:59PM - 6
04:00-04:59PM - 5
05:00-05:59PM - 3

Walter

Special Post - A View of the Stats

2011-10-11T22:48:00.003-04:00

Thought you might be interested in knowing who is watching. Here are the stats for the last 24 hours and the last week on this blog.

Day

Week

It's great to know that other people around the world are also interested in what we're doing. A big hello to you all!

Walter

October 11th - The End of the Heat!

2011-10-11T21:11:00.001-04:00

Today we had a decent backdrop of cloud, good wind from the south and southeast, and a much cooler temperature for viewing the birds. Many of them flew by high and fast with the tail-wind pushing them along. Low cloud moved in to the area around noon and put an end to the Watch for the day.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Osprey - 2
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 9
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Northern Goshawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 6
Merlin - 1
Total - 24

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1381
Osprey - 116
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 153
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1454
Cooper's Hawk - 58
Northern Goshawk - 11
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 102
American Kestrel - 599
Merlin - 79
Peregrine Falcon - 30
Total - 4799

Bird of note today were Dark-eyed Juncos. A handful were seen flying around the park. Monarch butterflies were flying overhead sideways and backwards facing in to the wind.

The gang today consisted of: Theresa, Terry 2, Betty, Phil, Peter, and Cori.

Walter

October 10th - The Heatwave Continues!

2011-10-10T18:54:00.004-04:00

Pretty much a repeat of yesterday's weather. Very hard to spot birds up in the blue sky.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 12
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 3
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 2
Total - 20

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1379
Osprey - 114
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 152
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1445
Cooper's Hawk - 57
Northern Goshawk - 10
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 757
Red-tailed Hawk - 101
American Kestrel - 593
Merlin - 78
Peregrine Falcon - 30
Total - 4775

Peregrine Falcon (adult)

Sharp-shinned Hawk (adult)

Today's best non-raptor was a Belted Kingfisher which flew by heading east. The best butterfly today was a Common Buckeye.

Just some of the gang from today.

Look at this great shot that Phil's young son took of me on Sunday. Thanks Josh!

Another good crowd on hand today including: Ann, Chris, Allison, Margaret, Carol, Heather, Peter, Pat, Nancy, Norm, Freida, Phil, Mike 3, Sheldon, and Naish McHugh and his wife.

Walter

October 9th - Another 33 birds!

2011-10-09T17:25:00.004-04:00

Another August-like day today complete with heat, haze, and almost no wind. Also again today, zero percent cloud cover. All this combined made for very poor migration viewing. I'd like to thank everyone for their help in spotting birds up in the blue!

Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 22
Cooper's Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 3
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 3
Total - 33

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1379
Osprey - 114
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 152
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1433
Cooper's Hawk - 56
Northern Goshawk - 10
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 756
Red-tailed Hawk - 101
American Kestrel - 590
Merlin - 77
Peregrine Falcon - 28
Total - 4755

Cooper's Hawk

Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon (adult)

Very few songbirds were found in the park today. With the end of their migration near, Monarchs numbers appeared to be up slightly today. Of interest, a Wild Indigo Duskywing butterfly was observed several times along the bluff-side of the fence. This is the first time this species has been seen at Rosetta.

Our friendly Jay.

A local Red Fox was out for a stroll in the park.

A great group of folks today including: Lorne, Janet, Freida, Ann, Pat 2, Leslie & Mike, Pat & Nancy, Ron, Effi, Phil & Joshua, Hugh, Cori & Shirley, and Carol.

Walter

October 8th - 33 Birds Today!

2011-10-08T16:48:00.003-04:00

A fairly quiet day in the park today, many folks are probably up north or just taking it easy this long weekend. Not many birders either today.

Today:
Northern Harrier - 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 27
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 1
Total - 33

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1379
Osprey - 114
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 151
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1411
Cooper's Hawk - 54
Northern Goshawk - 10
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 756
Red-tailed Hawk - 100
American Kestrel - 587
Merlin - 76
Peregrine Falcon - 25
Total - 4722

Cooper's Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk (adult)

Red-tailed Hawk

Lots of Kinglets around again today. Red-breasted Nuthatch, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Downy Woodpecker also seen. In the world of butterflies not much is being observed now: Sulphurs, Whites, and still a few Monarchs moving through.

Our bird watchers today were: Berle, Mike 2, Mike 3, and Allison.

Walter

October 7th - Just 3!

2011-10-07T20:57:00.002-04:00

Another fantastic fall day brought very very few our way. I left by lunch time.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Total - 3

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1379
Osprey - 114
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 148
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1384
Cooper's Hawk - 53
Northern Goshawk - 10
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 756
Red-tailed Hawk - 99
American Kestrel - 586
Merlin - 76
Peregrine Falcon - 25
Total - 4689

There was another Goshawk sighting today but I'm not going to count it just yet. I'm starting to think that it's hanging around along the bluffs somewhere. Today it was carrying a small animal.

Speaking of small animals, Pat saw the local Red-tail swoop down and grab a squirrel that Nancy was trying to feed. By the time the bird flew by us seconds later he'd dropped the squirrel. He then flew to the east side of the park where he continued to hunt. He swooped down and landed on a branch just 5 feet away from Bob who was quietly photographing a Kinglet.

On hand today just incase things picked up were: Bob, Terry 2, Pat, Nancy, Phil, Peter, Betty, and Cori.

Walter

Special Post - Thankyou!

2011-10-06T23:37:00.003-04:00

I would like to take this time to let everyone know that I've had endless positive feedback and sincere thankyous about how welcoming we all are and how quick we are to share our hobby with others joining us for the first time and also folks just passing by on walks through the park. The plethora of excellent photographs displayed on our Blog page has drawn several new people down to the Watch and to the park itself.

I would just like to say thankyou to all of you for making the Raptor Watch a huge success once again this year.

Walter

October 6th - Nothing But Blue Skies!

2011-10-06T22:38:00.002-04:00

Another beautiful day to be out and at the park but not too great for hawk watching.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Osprey - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 5
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Northern Goshawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 1
Merlin - 2
Peregrine Falcon - 2
Total - 16

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1379
Osprey - 114
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 148
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1381
Cooper's Hawk - 53
Northern Goshawk - 10
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 756
Red-tailed Hawk - 99
American Kestrel - 586
Merlin - 76
Peregrine Falcon - 25
Total - 4686

A few more excellent shots of a Northern Goshawk.

Lots of cute little Golden-crowned Kinglets around today leaping from branch to branch in search of a meal. There seemed to be more Cabbage White butterflies in and around the flower beds today with the warmer weather. On the office wall were several different moths including a beautiful Pandora Sphinx.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Pandora Sphinx Moth

Today's hawk watchers included: Theresa, Terry 2, Terry, Berle, Peter, Cori, Phil, Ann, Lee, and a class of kids from Cliffside PS. Thank you all.

Walter

October 5th - Mysterious End To The Day.

2011-10-05T22:35:00.002-04:00

Everyone who came today expected a good day again watching the birds of prey pass over but for some mysterious reason that just didn't happen. I'll be curious to see what other Watch's saw today. I would imagine either the birds were further north or perhaps we simply ran out of birds and we'll have to wait for the next wave of them to come through, it does happen. Today, very few birds were seen after about 10:00 AM. Oh well, to get over 100 birds on a slow day is still fabulous!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 88
Osprey - 2
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 11
Cooper's Hawk - 4
Northern Goshawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
American Kestrel - 3
Merlin - 2
Total - 114

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1377 (new 'year' record!)
Osprey - 113
Bald Eagle - 55
Northern Harrier - 148
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1376
Cooper's Hawk - 52
Northern Goshawk - 9
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 756
Red-tailed Hawk - 98
American Kestrel - 585
Merlin - 74
Peregrine Falcon - 23
Total - 4670

2 wonderful photos of the big female Northern Goshawk that came to visit.

Lots of little warblers, kinglets, and others throughout the park today. Also a Northern Mockingbird flew over heading east. In the morning the Blue Jay migration continued in grand fashion with several layers of birds passing over us at the same time.

Many watchers today including: BIGFRANK, Ann, Lee, Felicity, Terry 2, Bob, Berle, Bill, Hugh, Theresa, Dave, Norm, Freida, Betty, Carol, Peter, Cori, and Bruce.

A note from BIGFRANK:
I thought Id let everyone know what a great time I had at the watch the past several days. It was great to reconnect with my old friends and make some new ones. Walter is doing a terrific job of running things in my abscence and its great to see so many people contributing their photos and expertise to the blog. It was as always a pleasure sharing the many hundreds of birds with all of you! BIGFRANK

Thanks Frank, I think I can speak for the gang and say it's been a real joy for us having you back (albeit short) sharing your vast knowledge, great stories, and good humour. And for me personally, it's been an absolute thrill knowing that you were on hand to observe the biggest day ever at Rosetta and to see so many of the old count records fall once again. Take care and see you back again soon.

Walter

October 4th - There's Yesterday...

2011-10-04T21:22:00.007-04:00

...And Then There's Today!

Our 2nd big number day of the month already, that's excellent news! The 3rd bird that flew over the park today was the 35,000th raptor ever counted at Rosetta, it was a cute little Sharpie.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 393
Osprey - 5
Bald Eagle - 12 (adult 1:40) (juvenile 12:15 x2, 1:25, 1:40, 1:50, 2:00, 2:05, 2:20, 2:30, 2:40, 3:22)
Northern Harrier - 8
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 103
Cooper's Hawk - 6
Northern Goshawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 8
Red-tailed Hawk - 34
American Kestrel - 24
Merlin - 3
Peregrine Falcon - 3
Total - 602

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1289
Osprey - 110
Bald Eagle - 52
Northern Harrier - 146
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1364
Cooper's Hawk - 48
Northern Goshawk - 8
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 756
Red-tailed Hawk - 95
American Kestrel - 581
Merlin - 72
Peregrine Falcon - 23
Total - 4556

Today's numbers would not have been possible without the wonderful help spotting and IDing from: BIGFRANK, Berle, Terry 2, Theresa, Tom, Hugh, Bill, Ron, Pat, Nancy, Lee, Phil, Allison, Cori, Betty, Ann, Richard, and anyone I might have missed. Thanks to all.

Walter

October 3rd - Quiet Again Today!

2011-10-03T21:29:00.001-04:00

With scattered showers all around today not much was flying. It was one of those 'more birders than birds' type of days. Oh well, we'll try again tomorrow. It will be better!

Today:
Osprey - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 5
American Kestrel - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 9

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 896
Osprey - 105
Bald Eagle - 40
Northern Harrier - 138
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1261
Cooper's Hawk - 42
Northern Goshawk - 5
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 748
Red-tailed Hawk - 61
American Kestrel - 557
Merlin - 69
Peregrine Falcon - 20
Total - 3954

A few small flocks of Blue Jays and Pine Siskins flying through today. Many different species of songbirds around the park as well.

The group today included: BIGFRANK, Bob, Terry 2, Berle, Betty, Hugh, Bill, Peter, Pat, Phil, and Ann.

Walter

October 2nd - Lots O' Rain Today

2011-10-02T17:29:00.002-04:00

BIGFRANK arrived early again today and had another list of birds ready by the time I got there. As the rain came and went we waited under the tall Spruces enjoying a good chat with others, downing coffee after coffee, and munching on cookies & donuts. Many thanks again to those kind folks who contribute to the Watch with food and drink, it's very much appreciated.

Peter was at the park late in the afternoon and added 8 more birds to the count including an Osprey and 3 more Eagles. One of the Eagles he saw actually landed in the Poplar tree on the bluffs. That must have been amazing to see.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Bald Eagle - 4 (adult 3:28, juvenile 7:52, 3:48, 4:45)
Northern Harrier - 6
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 10
Northern Goshawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
American Kestrel - 26
Merlin - 2
Total - 52

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 896
Osprey - 104
Bald Eagle - 43
Northern Harrier - 139
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1257
Cooper's Hawk - 42
Northern Goshawk - 5
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 748
Red-tailed Hawk - 62
American Kestrel - 557
Merlin - 69
Peregrine Falcon - 19
Total - 3945

Lots of Warblers, Thrushes, Golden-crowned Kinglets, and White-throated Sparrows around the park this morning. Several small flocks of Pine Siskins were observed flying by in both directions. One flock was unsuccessfully attacked by a passing Merlin.

A few brave souls came out today including: BIGFRANK, Bob, Lorne, Gunnar, Mike 2, Pat, Nancy, Ron, and then Peter later in the day.

Walter

October 1st - Wow!

2011-10-01T20:56:00.005-04:00

BIGFRANK got to the park at 7:00 AM and already had about 10 birds before I arrived twenty minutes later. We both thought this was going to be the day. By 10:00 AM when we were already up over 200 birds, we knew for sure!

Kestrel after Kestrel to start the day and at one point 17 zipped through in the span of about 90 seconds. During the afternoon I didn't see a bird with my binos for roughly 10 minutes because I was so busy writing down what everyone was calling out!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 774 (new 'day' record!)
Osprey - 11
Bald Eagle - 11 (adult 10:20, 11:35) (juvenile 9:43, 9:50, 12:40, 1:40, 2:49, 4:11 x2, 4:16, 4:50)
Northern Harrier - 48
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 144
Cooper's Hawk - 14 (new 'day' record!)
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 6
Red-tailed Hawk - 46
American Kestrel - 233 (new 'day' record!)
Merlin - 11 (new 'day' record!)
Peregrine Falcon - 3
Total - 1305 (new 'day' record!)

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 896
Osprey - 103
Bald Eagle - 39
Northern Harrier - 133
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1247
Cooper's Hawk - 42
Northern Goshawk - 4
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 748
Red-tailed Hawk - 60
American Kestrel - 531
Merlin - 67
Peregrine Falcon - 19
Total - 3893

Some spectacular shots taken today even though most birds were a little high up. Great job guys!

Sharp-shinned Hawk

A Sharpie heading due south!

A Red-tailed Hawk and Turkey Vulture seeing eye to eye.

Red-tailed Hawk

Broad-winged Hawk

Bald Eagle

American Kestrel

Turkey Vulture

Some non-raptor sightings included: 2 Cackling Geese, Belted Kingfisher, Pine Siskin, and 2 flocks of Sandhill Cranes - about 50 Cranes total!

Belted Kingfisher

A bus load of hawk watchers today including: BIGFRANK, Lorne, Peter, Bob, Pat, Nancy, Mike 2, Mike 3, Berle, Mary, Katherine, Norm, Freida, Ron, Huey, Tom, Allison, Bruce, Phil, Tim, Jean, Barb, Pam, Brad, Theresa, Bob 2, Gunnar, Mark, Leslie 2, Betty, Frank, Margaret, Sheldon, Randy, Ann 2, Julie, plus many others that I didn't get the names of unfortunately. A big thankyou to all for your help in spotting and ID'ing birds today! Also, thanks for all the coffee/donuts (yesterday and today), it's very much appreciated.

Just some of the crowd.

Walter

September 30th - A Nice End To The Month

2011-09-30T20:31:00.003-04:00

Once again the weather people were not exactly correct with their prediction for the day. It turned out to be a beautiful ever-changing kind-a day. The birds were slow to come at first but really picked during the afternoon as the wind changed direction.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 31
Osprey - 18
Bald Eagle - 1 (juvenile 2:10)
Northern Harrier - 8
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 23
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
American Kestrel - 11
Peregrine Falcon - 7
Total - 104

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 122
Osprey - 92
Bald Eagle - 28
Northern Harrier - 85
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1103
Cooper's Hawk - 28
Northern Goshawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 14
American Kestrel - 298
Merlin - 56
Peregrine Falcon - 16
Total - 2588

The best non-raptors of the day were 2 shorebirds flying west out over the lake. My best guess would be Greater Yellowlegs but we'll never know for sure.

Hawk watchers today included: Theresa, Terry 2, Gunnar, Pat, Lee, Betty, and Ron & Jean.

The next few days are still looking excellent for large movements of raptors. Please join us as many birds should be flying passed quite low and easy to see.

Walter

September 29th - A Tied Record!

2011-09-29T19:46:00.001-04:00

With Terry 2's morning report today we've now tied our 'single month' record for Merlin at 52 birds. We've only tomorrow left to break the record! I added a Harrier and a couple of Sharpies to the Count in the afternoon. Today's off and on rain brought few birds our way.

Today:
Osprey - 2
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 5
Northern Goshawk - 1
Merlin - 1
Total - 10

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 91
Osprey - 74
Bald Eagle - 27
Northern Harrier - 77
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1080
Cooper's Hawk - 25
Northern Goshawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 12
American Kestrel - 287
Merlin - 56
Peregrine Falcon - 9
Total - 2484

During the morning Watch several waves of Warblers passed through the park and during the afternoon Watch, I noticed that the Monarchs were flying right along the top edge of the Bluffs one after the other.

The morning crew consisted of Terry 2 and Berle and the afternoon crew consisted of Peter and myself. Thanks for your help again.

Walter

September 29th - The Mega-Weekend Cometh?

2011-09-29T07:25:00.001-04:00

If the predicted NW 30-35kph winds come on Saturday and Sunday, we could be in for one heck of a good show. I'm talking hundreds of birds down low and in your face. The stuff dreams are made of! Phone the neighbours, wake the kids, it's gonna be wild!!!

Or, it could turn out to be just like any other weekend.

Walter

September 28th - Not Too Bad Today

2011-09-28T21:55:00.002-04:00

On a day that we didn't quite know what to expect, we did alright seeing 52 raptors. The weather was very different then what was predicted, it turned out to be hot, hazy, and humid.

Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 38
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Northern Goshawk - 1
American Kestrel - 8
Merlin - 3
Total - 52

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 91
Osprey - 72
Bald Eagle - 27
Northern Harrier - 76
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1075
Cooper's Hawk - 25
Northern Goshawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 12
American Kestrel - 287
Merlin - 55
Peregrine Falcon - 9
Total - 2474

Blue Jay migration continued with many flocks flying down low and right over our heads. We weren't counting them but I think a thousand wouldn't be too far off.

A few early morning shots of the lake.

Today we had: Theresa, Berle, Pat, Nancy, Betty, and Allison on hand.

Walter

September 27th - Another 33 Birds Today

2011-09-27T19:40:00.001-04:00

Again, my thanks to all who helped spot and count raptors today in my absence. I'll be back at the park tomorrow, weather permitting.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 19
Osprey - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 5
American Kestrel - 5
Merlin - 2
Total - 33

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 91
Osprey - 72
Bald Eagle - 27
Northern Harrier - 75
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1037
Cooper's Hawk - 24
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 12
American Kestrel - 279
Merlin - 52
Peregrine Falcon - 9
Total - 2422

More than 1000 Blue Jays were seen flying over the park and also today, over 250 Northern Flickers were observed flying westward.

Hawk watchers today included: Terry 2, Betty, Peter, Berle, and Phil.

Walter

September 26th - Strong East Wind Today

2011-09-26T21:21:00.001-04:00

My thanks to Theresa and Terry 2 for staying and counting raptors this afternoon after I had left at 11:30 AM. Again today we had fairly strong wind from the east so many of the birds seen were moving through a little faster than normal.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 19
American Kestrel - 7
Merlin - 1
Total - 28

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 72
Osprey - 70
Bald Eagle - 27
Northern Harrier - 75
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1032
Cooper's Hawk - 24
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 12
American Kestrel - 274
Merlin - 50
Peregrine Falcon - 9
Total - 2389

Today we had another Cackling Goose mixed in with a small flock of Canada Geese. 5000+ Blue Jays moving through. Many Monarch butterflies also fluttering by today.

Strange sighting of the day was a very bright yellow bird mixed in with a flock of Blue Jays that flew right overhead. The unID'd bird was smaller than a Jay but bigger than a Goldfinch or any of the Warbler species. Also, it had a very long narrow tail. My best guess would be a Budgie (Budgerigar).

Attendees today included: Pat, Terry 2, Theresa, Berle, Betty, and Peter.

Walter

September 25th - Not Quite As Good As We'd Hoped

2011-09-25T19:11:00.002-04:00

Today was not quite as good as we'd hoped. With mostly east winds a lot of the birds were up high and moving through fast. A few birds put on beautiful aerial displays for us a little lower down.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 3
Osprey - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 31
Cooper's Hawk - 4
American Kestrel - 8
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 49

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 72
Osprey - 69
Bald Eagle - 27
Northern Harrier - 75
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1013
Cooper's Hawk - 24
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 12
American Kestrel - 267
Merlin - 49
Peregrine Falcon - 9
Total - 2361

Sharp-shinned Hawk

American Kestrel

Turkey Vulture

Cooper's Hawk (adult)

Cooper's Hawk

Merlin

Peregrine Falcon

Both Blue Jay and Monarch numbers were way down today.

A local Blue Jay catchin' a peanut on the fly.

Lots o' people on hand today including: Lorne, Ann, Heather, Theresa, Carol, Rodger & Jane, Pat & Nancy, Norm, Jack, Mike 3, Mike 2, Lee, Murray, Leslie 2 & Peter 2, Mary, Phil and his 2 little ones, Mike & Leslie, Bruce & Sue, and Anne 2.

The 3 Mikes

Walter

September 24th - Monarchs Filled The Sky

2011-09-24T18:27:00.011-04:00

Today most birds were fairly high up and difficult to find through all the Monarchs but we did also have some nice low passes as well. Another four more Osprey today, the first one almost got by us but sharp-eyed Nancy spotted it in the gap circling over the field at Birchmount Collegiate.

Today:
Osprey - 4
Northern Harrier - 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 58
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 6
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 77

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 69
Osprey - 68
Bald Eagle - 27
Northern Harrier - 75
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 982
Cooper's Hawk - 20
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 12
American Kestrel - 259
Merlin - 48
Peregrine Falcon - 8
Total - 2312

Sharp-shinned Hawks

Osprey

Northern Harrier and a Sharpie.

Monarch migration was in full swing today with numbers well in to the hundreds per hour. In Whitby at the Cranberry Marsh Raptor Watch, they reported seeing 800 - 1000 per hour, I would say that those numbers were fairly accurate for our site too. In the morning we could see the butterflies flying at all heights of the sky and then later on they were down low and right in our faces.

A very still Lake Ontario.

Our crowd today included: Mike 3, Pat, Nancy, Norm, Sam, Ann, Theresa, Ron, Lee, Betty, and we welcomed newbie Leslie 2.

Walter

September 23rd - Before The Rain Came

2011-09-23T21:31:00.003-04:00

Going by what everyone told us, there were 17 Turkey Vultures up in the air before we even arrived this morning. Apparently they put on quite the show along the bluffs dipping and diving in the wind. I feel enough people told us about them so I'm counting them. Hey, we're not an 'Official' Count Site anyway, we can write down anything we want! - LOL!! The birds that we did manage to see we only had a second or two to ID them as the strong east wind pushed them along. By lunchtime the rain had moved in and we all scattered.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 17
Osprey - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 11
American Kestrel - 7
Total - 36

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 69
Osprey - 64
Bald Eagle - 27
Northern Harrier - 70
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 924
Cooper's Hawk - 19
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 11
American Kestrel - 253
Merlin - 47
Peregrine Falcon - 7
Total - 2235

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Today we heard and then saw our first fall sparrow species, White-throated Sparrow.

Some of today's watchers were: Theresa, Terry 2, Carol, Ann, Doug, Marg, Rodger, Jane, and Frank 2.

Walter

September 22nd - Another Gorgeous Day!

2011-09-22T20:06:00.004-04:00

Thankyou to everyone who participated in today's count. What a gorgeous day to be at the park! I wished that I could've joined you.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 7
Osprey - 3
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 50
Cooper's Hawk - 4
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 14
Merlin - 1
Total - 81

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 52
Osprey - 63
Bald Eagle - 27
Northern Harrier - 70
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 913
Cooper's Hawk - 19
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 11
American Kestrel - 246
Merlin - 47
Peregrine Falcon - 7
Total - 2199

Osprey

Merlin

Sharp-shinned Hawk

During the morning more than 5000 Blue Jays flew by.

Monarchs were also on the move.

Today's group included: Bruce, BIGFRANK, Berle, Carol, Ann, Cori, Bill, Ron, Betty, Norm, Bruce 2, Sue, and Terry 2.

Walter

September 21st - Silhouette Day!

2011-09-21T20:09:00.002-04:00

With today's fog and overcast skies, it was a real challenge trying to ID some of the birds. A few of the Sharpies magically morphed in to Kestrel as they flew overhead. Many of today's birds flew above us or just out over the bluffs and many were gliding a little further as well indicating that they were flying on air rising up from the bluffs. This happens with any winds from the south or southwest.

Just when I think it's over:
As I finished packing everything up and was ready to leave I looked up one more time only to see a Sharp-shin fly through, then a Kestrel...so back to the fence I went. Within a minute of standing there an Osprey appeared over the trees, then another Sharp-shin. That was the last bird I saw before the rain moved in.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Osprey - 2
Northern Harrier - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 54
American Kestrel - 11
Merlin - 3
Total - 73

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 45
Osprey - 60
Bald Eagle - 27
Northern Harrier - 69
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 863
Cooper's Hawk - 15
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 10
American Kestrel - 232
Merlin - 46
Peregrine Falcon - 7
Total - 2118

American Kestrel

Our watchers and visitors today included: Ann, Theresa, Carol, Rodger, Jane, Betty, Terry 2, and Murray.

Tomorrow (Thursday) I will more than likely not be at the park at all so if you go and you do see any raptors, please let me know as soon as you can.

Walter

Septermber 20th - A Much Better Day

2011-09-20T22:12:00.003-04:00

Some amazing views of the birds today as they flew by. Our 2 local Red-tails decided to join us and sat in the trees on the west side of the park for a few minutes providing excellent views, especially for Maretha who was visiting us all the way from South Africa.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 13
Bald Eagle - 1 (juvenile 12:15)
Northern Harrier - 6
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 45
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 8
Merlin - 2
Total - 77

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 44
Osprey - 58
Bald Eagle - 27
Northern Harrier - 67
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 809
Cooper's Hawk - 15
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 10
American Kestrel - 221
Merlin - 43
Peregrine Falcon - 7
Total - 2045

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Turkey Vulture

Our local Red-tailed Hawks

Maretha and I talking about African raptors.

Our unknown gull from last Sunday afternoon was nothing more than a Ring-billed Gull that had some sort of staining on it's breast. Probably something that it sat down in like motor oil in a parking lot.

Lots of people on hand today including: Dave, Peter, Ann, Bob, Betty, Terry 2, Berle, Carol, Theresa, BIGFRANK, Bruce, Effi, 'Bobobird', and Maretha.

Walter

September 19th - A Short Day Today

2011-09-19T20:01:00.002-04:00

Not too much happening today with southeast wind blowing in the morning and rain during the afternoon. Our biggest excitement came while we were watching a local Red-tailed Hawk dive out of the sky from the east side of the park and attempt to remove a squirrel off the trunk of the big maple tree just behind us. With wings up and talons down, it came through the 'gap' and right along the top of the bluffs passing by us at near full speed less than 5 feet away. Luckily for the squirrel the hawk pulled out at the last moment. It's never a dull day at the Raptor Watch!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Peregrine Falcon - 2
Total - 9

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 31
Osprey - 58
Bald Eagle - 26
Northern Harrier - 61
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 764
Cooper's Hawk - 14
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
American Kestrel - 213
Merlin - 41
Peregrine Falcon - 7
Total - 1968

Blue Jays were migrating through in better numbers today.

Today's gang was: Lee, Pat, Nancy, Terry 2, BIGFRANK, Carol, Rodger, Jane, Betty, and we welcomed Brenda to our Watch.

Walter

September 18th - Only 9 Birds Today

2011-09-19T06:53:00.002-04:00

Today we had a bunch of great friends on hand to watch the raptors fly by but unfortunately the birds didn't really care. The bird of the day was a juvenile Bald Eagle that almost got by us down low on the lake. A big thanks to Bruce for spotting it! The falcon that was in question today turned out to be a Merlin and not a Peregrine as I had originally thought. Thanks everyone for your input and Effi for the photo!

Today:
Bald Eagle - 1 (juvenile 9:50)
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Merlin - 4
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 9

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 27
Osprey - 58
Bald Eagle - 26
Northern Harrier - 61
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 761
Cooper's Hawk - 14
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
American Kestrel - 213
Merlin - 41
Peregrine Falcon - 5
Total - 1959

Not much in the way of non-raptor species flying today, the highlight was an unusual looking gull that flew over us several times. Photos of it have been sent to our 'Gull Experts' for identification purposes. A Black Swallowtail butterfly was seen along the top edge of the bluffs.

Today we had several watchers at the ready including: Bruce, Mike 2, Norm, Lee, Mike, Leslie, Harvey, Laura, Theresa, Effi, and Peter.

Walter

September 17th - Rather Slow Today

2011-09-17T20:24:00.000-04:00

With light winds coming from all the wrong directions today, very few birds were seen in the sky over Rosetta McClain Gardens. Cloud cover was very good so I doubt that we missed any birds that were flying high up.

Today:
Northern Harrier - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 10
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 2
Total - 15

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 27
Osprey - 58
Bald Eagle - 25
Northern Harrier - 61
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 758
Cooper's Hawk - 14
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
American Kestrel - 213
Merlin - 37
Peregrine Falcon - 4
Total - 1950

Monarch flight was a little higher up in the air today and many of the butterflies were misidentified by all as birds at first sight.

Today's crowd included: Lorne, Mike 2, Lee, Betty, Theresa, Norm, Ivor, Allison, and Carol. Thankyou all for hanging in as long as you did today!

September 16th - Broad-wings and More Broad-wings!

2011-09-17T04:02:00.003-04:00

Wow, what a day! Between 12:00 PM and 4:15 PM we saw several large kettles of Broad-winged Hawks circling in the air over the north end of the park. Many of the birds were distant and not seen by all watchers unfortunately. One kettle had 150 birds in it, what a beautiful sight! Our previous record was 225 Broad-winged Hawks for the entire season, today we saw a total of 605. Our season total now stands at 741 BWs and counting!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 11
Osprey - 4
Bald Eagle - 3 (adult 3:30, juvenile 3:40 x2)
Northern Harrier - 7
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 43
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 605
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
American Kestrel - 13
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 691

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 27
Osprey - 58
Bald Eagle - 25
Northern Harrier - 59
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 748
Cooper's Hawk - 14
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 741
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
American Kestrel - 211
Merlin - 37
Peregrine Falcon - 4
Total - 1935

Mike Dizonno (Mike 3) was kind enough to share the following raptor photos with us:

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Northern Harrier

Turkery Vulture

Northern Goshawk

Red-tailed Hawk

The park was fairly quiet today for non-raptor species. A few more Blue Jays were observed flying over the park this morning and Monarch butterflies continue their migration south.

Our peanut-eatin' pal.

An excellent shot of our Watch site.

Watchers today included: Terry 2, Norm, Pat, Richard, Mike 3, BIGFRANK, Betty, Bruce, Cori, Hugh, and we welcomed newbies Allison, and Sherry. Thanks again everyone for your help.

Walter

September 15th - The Broad-winged Hawks Have Arrived!

2011-09-15T23:45:00.003-04:00

What an amazing day at the park, I'm going to let the numbers speak for themselves.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Osprey - 7
Bald Eagle - 2 (juvenile 12:35, 1:45)
Northern Harrier - 11
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 155
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 116
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 80
Merlin - 6
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 383

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 16
Osprey - 54
Bald Eagle - 22
Northern Harrier - 52
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 705
Cooper's Hawk - 14
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 136
Red-tailed Hawk - 7
American Kestrel - 198
Merlin - 36
Peregrine Falcon - 3
Total - 1244

Bald Eagle

Sharp-shinned Hawks

Broad-winged Hawk

We also saw a Brown Thrasher, Swainson's Thrush, and Common Nighthawk. Blue Jay migration appears to be underway with a number of small flocks seen moving over the north end of the park.

A very beautiful Blue Jay

A very comfortable Carol

People on hand today included: Peter, Terry 2, Dave, Betty, Carol, Berle, BIGFRANK, Pat, Nancy, Lee, Theresa, Bill, Norm, Murray, Hugh, and Bruce.

Walter

September 14th - A Good Day Today, 90 Birds

2011-09-14T21:33:00.002-04:00

Another magnificent day for raptor watching today. A few clouds would have helped us even more though. At one point, Frank looked up at a Cormorant with his binoculars and then noticed an Osprey flying along just above the Cormorant - no one else saw his Osprey as it blended in to the blue sky. I wonder if we missed anything else up high today.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 65
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 11
Merlin - 5
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 90

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 15
Osprey - 47
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 41
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 550
Cooper's Hawk - 11
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 20
Red-tailed Hawk - 6
American Kestrel - 118
Merlin - 30
Peregrine Falcon - 2
Total - 861

Today's best non-raptor sighting happened just along the fence in front of us when a brave young guy got down on one knee and proposed to his girl, lucky for him she said "yes!"

Lots of wonderful people on hand today including: BIGFRANK, Berle, Pat, Nancy, Rob, Diane (Frank's mom), Carol, Murray, Rodger & Jane from the UK, Cori, plus Ama & the gang. It was great that the kids (about 20 of them) were able to see many of the birds down low while at the park today. Hopefully you'll all be back again sometime soon.

THURSDAY IS THE DAY!!! Cancel all your plans and come down and see the birds. There should be lots of them!!!

Walter

September 13th - "There Are Slow Days...

2011-09-13T17:11:00.005-04:00

...And then there's today!" (Terry 2)

I arrived at the park at 7:30 AM this morning not knowing exactly what to expect. There was good wind blowing, just not in quite the right direction. At 9:15 AM I had a flurry of 3 birds fly over the park. It was a looong time after that before the next bird came along!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 2
Total - 4

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 15
Osprey - 46
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 36
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 485
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 6
American Kestrel - 107
Merlin - 25
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 771

The park was very quiet again today as far as songbirds go. We also didn't see much in the way of Monarch migration either. With winds from the west most of the day the Monarchs might have actually been blown backwards a bit!

Today's watchers included: Carol, Terry 2, Betty, and Peter.

Better days ahead!

Walter

September 12th - The Return Of BIGFRANK!

2011-09-12T22:58:00.012-04:00

Today we welcomed the return of our friend BIGFRANK to the Raptor Watch and before long he was back at it calling out the birds "There's a bird in the gap and another coming over the centre" - ah, music to my ears! Unfortunately today was not a great day for bird movement, it was hot, hazy with very little cloud cover. We did manage to find a total of 37 birds flying through including 2 more Osprey.

Today:
Osprey - 2
Northern Harrier - 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 24
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 7
Total - 37

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 46
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 36
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 484
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 6
American Kestrel - 105
Merlin - 25
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 767

Frank and I doing a load test to one of the park benches.

Red-tailed Hawk (local)

Cooper's Hawk (local)

Turkey Vulture (local)

On hand today were: Berle, Bob, Charles, Terry 2, Pat, Barb, Betty, Joe, and of course, BIGFRANK. Also, for those who know him, retired park worker Billy stopped by this afternoon to say hello to everybody.

Here's a photo of some of the group from today's Watch.

Walter

September 11th - Our First Goshawk!

2011-09-11T19:16:00.012-04:00

Again today we had to do some deep sky searching to find many of the Sharpies but when an unexpected Northern Goshawk came flying along the edge of the bluffs our troubles were forgotten. What a surprise, the second earliest 'Gos' since the Watch was started back in 2004! Unfortunately things came to an end early in the afternoon when the winds shifted more to the south.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 34
Northern Goshawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 6
Merlin - 4
Total - 48

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 44
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 33
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 460
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 5
American Kestrel - 98
Merlin - 25
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 730

Both Ann and Effi got amazing shots of the Goshawk today.

Northern Goshawk

Merlin

Also early this morning, an empty boat was found floating near Ashbridge's Bay and a woman was reported missing so a large scale search was already underway when I arrived at the park. A C-130 Hercules plane from Trenton Air Base was part of the search effort. At one point it made a very low pass over the Gardens.

C-130 Hercules

Other birds seen today included: a Black-throated Green Warbler, a Common Tern, and a Pileated Woodpecker. Pat Anderson sent along some photos and this great story about his attempt at photographing the majestic Pileated.

"...this bird really rocked me today as I followed him from tree to tree through the whole park, darting here and there, playing hide and seek behind limbs while eyeing me constantly. The bone-chilling calls he made only a few feet away, the quiet rustling of his wings as he passed only a couple of feet from me so close that I could not focus for a shot. I actually shivered when he whizzed past and landed on a tree trunk 6 feet away then made eye contact with me in a way I will never forget...too stunning to believe." Pat

Today's group consisted of: Lorne, Ann, Pat & Nancy, Norm & Jack and their wives (sorry I forgot their names...way too much coffee today!), Leslie & Mike, Gary & Diane, Lee, Carol, Peter, Kate & Denny, Cori, and today we welcomed Effi to the Watch. Thankyou everyone for another tough day of spotting the birds. Thank goodness we had some decent cloud cover to help us.

Here's a great shot of some who were at the Watch today.

Weather-wise, we may see some rain over the course of the next 2 days but Wednesday is looking very promising at the moment. I'll be at the park tomorrow as the rain is not supposed to arrive until 5 O'Clock. Southwest winds are predicted for tomorrow afternoon so we may see a few Osprey or Peregrines fly by.

Walter

September 10th - 5 More Osprey!

2011-09-10T20:20:00.005-04:00

Wow, another gorgeous day to be at the park. Most of today's action came this morning when the winds were from the northeast. During the afternoon very few birds were seen so most of us took advantage of the beautiful weather and just sat and chatted for a couple hours. The Sharpies (Sharp-shinned Hawks), always a crowd pleaser, continue to dominate the sky.

Today:
Osprey - 5
Bald Eagle - 1 (juvenile 10:03)
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 30
American Kestrel - 10
Merlin - 4
Total - 51

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 43
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 32
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 426
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
American Kestrel - 92
Merlin - 21
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 682

A distant juvenile Bald Eagle searching the lake for a fish.

A good non-raptor sighting this morning was that of a Cackling Goose which was mixed in with a small flock of 9 Canada Geese. They flew right over top of me not too high up heading westward. A Cackling Goose is a smaller version of a Canada Goose. Of the butterflies, a Black Swallowtail, Northern Crescent, and Fiery Skipper continue to be seen flying around the top edge of the bluffs and new today was an Eastern Tailed Blue.

Observers today included: Lorne, Paul, Norm, Jack, Lee, Theresa, Betty, Berle, Mike 2, Peter, Mike 3, Carol, Barb, Ken, and also today we welcomed Ama and her 2 children who were lucky enough to see one of the Osprey fly by fairly close.

Walter

September 9th - Streaming Sharpies

2011-09-09T20:34:00.003-04:00

Most birds today were seen flying directly above us or just out over the lake at various heights. With little to no cloud cover today I was quite surprised at how many birds we picked out of the blue sky. Great spotting by everybody!

Today:
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 58
American Kestrel - 2
Merlin - 4
Total - 66

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 38
Bald Eagle - 19
Northern Harrier - 31
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 396
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
American Kestrel - 82
Merlin - 17
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 631

Today the park was extremely quiet for little birdies and butterflies.

On hand were: Pat, Norm, Betty, Peter, Pat 2, and Ron. Thanks everybody for the help in spotting and a special thanks to Ron for sharing some of his extensive knowledge and amazing birding stories.

We should see another good flight of birds tomorrow with morning winds predicted to be NE 20kph. Hope to see you at the park.

Walter

September 8th - Look Way Up High!

2011-09-08T21:58:00.011-04:00

The first bird of the day was a Sharp-shinned Hawk and even though there was a layer of cloud up high for an excellent backdrop, the bird appeared as a dot, a very small dot at that! I thought it was just another high flying Monarch butterfly. This was how many of the Sharpies were observed today. As a Bald Eagle flew overhead we were surprised to find another one already circling behind us. Overall a gorgeous day to be outside.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Bald Eagle - 2 (juvenile 12:40 x2)
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 35
American Kestrel - 3
Merlin - 4
Total - 46

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 37
Bald Eagle - 19
Northern Harrier - 30
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 338
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
American Kestrel - 80
Merlin - 13
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 565

Turkey Vulture

This morning Pat noticed a flock of birds flying westward over Kinston Road and as he and I moved back a bit to get a better look at them through the gap in the trees, we totally missed them as they made a big sweeping turn over the trees and came back over top of us heading eastward. It turned out that they were shorebirds of some type, just not sure what type unfortunately. Again today a small group of Warblers were seen moving through the fruit trees. Butterflies were spectacular today, not in numbers but in species. A few Northern Crescents, A Common Buckeye, A Fiery Skipper, and a pair of Black Swallowtails were observed as well as the regulars and migrating Monarchs.

Common Buckeye

Cedar Waxwing enjoying a berry from a Mountain Ash tree.

Female Cardinal picking a peanut off the top of the fence.

This little guy is all attitude!

My thanks to Peter, Pat, Nancy, Terry, Berle, Carol, and Ann for all their help. Today we also welcomed Phil, a photographer for one of the local community newwpapers.

Walter

September 7th - 4 More Eagles

2011-09-07T19:41:00.010-04:00

Today was a slow day as the winds were not as predicted from the northeast, they were mostly from the east and southeast all day. With the remnants of Hurricane Lee just across the lake the waves were constantly bashing the shoreline, making for a somewhat noisy day but nowhere near as bad as the guys using the sand-blasting equipment have been! Thank goodness they're done! Today's best bird was a juvenile Bald Eagle that flew by at eye level just out from the bluffs. Luckily Ann was at the Watch during her lunch break and was able to get some fantastic shots (once again!) An hour later Betty spotted another eagle flying up a little higher and as we watched it fly by, I noticed another one flying just behind it.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Bald Eagle - 4 (juvenile 11:36, 12:07, 1:10 x2)
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 14
Merlin - 1
Total - 20

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 36
Bald Eagle - 17
Northern Harrier - 29
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 303
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
American Kestrel - 77
Merlin - 9
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 519

Bald Eagle

Today's watchers were: Carol, Peter, Pat, Nancy, Lorne, Betty, Ann, Bill, and Mark.

Walter

September 6th - Another Good Day!

2011-09-06T19:03:00.006-04:00

The follow-up day to yesterday's big day turned out to be not too shabby, 93 birds in all including an amazing 16 more Osprey. The RMG Raptor Watch's old 'single day' record of 15 Osprey, which held for a couple of years, seems to be easily surpassed lately. This is the 5th time in the past 2 years that we've had 15 or more in a day. Many birds today were seen flying very high up in the sky which made it fun for some watchers but almost impossible for others.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 8
Osprey - 16
Bald Eagle - 3 (juvenile 12:15, 1:00, adult 2:16)
Northern Harrier - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 37
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 21
Merlin - 1
Total - 93

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 35
Bald Eagle - 13
Northern Harrier - 29
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 289
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
American Kestrel - 77
Merlin - 8
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 499

A few Warblers came through the park today including a Chestnut-sided, a Wilson's, and an American Redstart. A Great Blue Heron flew through the centre of the park at tree-top level. Many more Monarch butterflies are being seen now flying up high in the air and also down low through the garden. The Stable Flies were bad this afternoon, long pants are a must!

Today's crew consisted of: Betty, Peter, Berle, Norm, Carol, Pat, Peter 2, Cori, Shirley, Bruce, and first time watchers Doug and Marg. Ann and Lee both helped out by alerting us of birds that they were seeing a little further east in the Kingston Road and Markham Road area. Eventually all birds appeared in the sky over Rosetta. Thanks everyone.

Walter

September 5th - What A Difference A Day Makes!

2011-09-06T01:04:00.013-04:00

Wow, what a difference a day makes! More seasonal temperatures and good north element winds brought us an amazing number of birds today. I got to the park at 7:00 AM this morning and within minutes our first raptors started passing by. Highlights today included 6 Bald Eagles and 8 Osprey, and overall a total of 240 birds were counted. A great find was a high flying Bald Eagle that was carrying a fish. It was noticed after the fact while Ann was reviewing her photographs of the bird.

Today:
Osprey - 8
Bald Eagle - 6 (juvenile 11:35, 12:15, 12:37, 1:45 x2, 2:28)
Northern Harrier - 11
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 161
Cooper's Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 7
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 41
Merlin - 1
Total - 240

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 6
Osprey - 19
Bald Eagle - 10
Northern Harrier - 27
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 252
Cooper's Hawk - 7
Broad-winged Hawk - 18
Red-tailed Hawk - 3
American Kestrel - 56
Merlin - 7
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 406

Here are just some of the photos that Ann took today.

Merlin

2 Sharp-shinned Hawks playing.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle carrying a fish.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Osprey

Northern Harrier

Today's added bonuses included: 3 Common Nighthawks and 2 Scarlet Tanagers. Also seen was the US Navy's V-22 Osprey 'tilt-rotor' plane from the CNE Airshow.

Scarlet Tanager

Common Nighthawk

Just some of the group from today.

Lots of people came to the Watch today knowing the winds and weather were finally right, they included: Bruce, Peter, Gunnar, Ann, Carol, Pat, Nancy, Mike 2, Anthony, Bob, Colin, Marguerite, Betty, Berle, Murray, Bruce 2, Sue, Gord, Norm, and Charles, plus we welcomed first timers: Barb, Rob, Angie, Denny, Kate, Paul, and Jack. Thank you for all the help in spotting and IDing the birds today everybody! What a great day!

Walter

September 4th - More Balloons Than Birds!

2011-09-06T00:32:00.003-04:00

Early this morning Pat, Nancy, and myself watched as 39 balloons in 2 big bunches floated above us up high heading out over the lake. I wondered then if we'd see that many birds. Unfortunately it didn't happen, the winds just weren't right for a good flight of raptors today.

Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 14
Merlin - 2
Total - 17

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 6
Osprey - 11
Bald Eagle - 4
Northern Harrier - 16
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 91
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 11
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
American Kestrel - 15
Merlin - 6
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 166

Again today there were very few creatures and critters moving about the park. The best non-raptor sighting was a Common Buckeye butterfly - a very beautifully marked butterfly for those lucky enough to ever see one.

Pat, Nancy, and Peter were on hand for some of the fun today.

Walter

September 3rd - Hot & Humid!!!

2011-09-05T22:51:00.005-04:00

The birds that we saw fly by today were just above the trees making IDing them very easy. The humidity today was absolutely insane, I thought that I was having water poured on me all day long! Speaking of water, just before the rain came in the afternoon, our first Peregrine Falcon flew through the centre of the park. As the storm clouds moved east towards Pickering it brought an end to the bird watching for the day.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 26
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 2
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 32

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 6
Osprey - 11
Bald Eagle - 4
Northern Harrier - 15
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 77
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 11
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
American Kestrel - 15
Merlin - 4
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 149

Osprey

Our watchers today were: Ann, Betty, Berle, Peter, Mike 2, and Cori.

Walter

September 1st - Look everybody, it's a Sharpie!

2011-09-01T21:47:00.010-04:00

Well, we had another hot and hazy day with a thunderstorm and a few light showers thrown in. On a happier note, we did reach double figures on the bird count for the day, 10 birds in all. A pair of Sharp-shinned Hawks appeared out of the haze right above us. I'd like to thank Terry who returned to the park after the storm only to see an Osprey fly by very close, how lucky!

Today:
Osprey - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 8
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Total - 10

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 6
Osprey - 10
Bald Eagle - 4
Northern Harrier - 14
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 51
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 11
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 13
Merlin - 4
Total - 117

Ann got this shot of a Sharpie flying overhead.

The only other thing of interest at the park today was a little Squirrel Smackdown. 2 of the little Reds were really having a go at one another over a peanut and a little territory. Quite funny to watch. Nancy was able to restore the peace when she threw a handful of nuts to them.

If the weather person is correct and things don't change too much, we may see some birds in between rain showers over the weekend. Monday is looking excellent with N 25kph winds! Hope to see you at the Watch.

Walter