Todays northwest winds brought a good number of migrants of all shapes and sizes. The raptors seen were highlighted by 3 Osprey,one was very close to the bluff,another seemingly appeared out of nowhere,but co-operatively circled before moving on. A Northern Harrier passed by very close,as I was chatting with a gentleman originally from Etheopia,visiting from Los Angles. He was amazed by the beauty of the park,and Toronto on the whole.
Todays raptors were 3 Osprey,7 American Kestrels,a Sharp-shinned Hawk,a Coopers Hawk(plus the local who isnt included in the total),a Northern Harrier,2 Redtailed Hawks and 3 Broadwinged Hawks.
Last fall I counted only 14 Broadwinged Hawks,and thus far have seen 5 already,giving me some hope of an increase in totals,should we get more seasonal temperature as compared to the last 2 Septembers. Broad-winged Hawks move in bulk in a very small window,sometimes of only a few days. Some count sites have huge daily totals ranging from a few thousand to over 100 000. I have no delusions of grandeur that I will get such a count,but hope for substantially more then Ive counted previously.
Lately Ive been noticing the many insects around the park,a Cicada Killer Wasp really caught my eye! Many Monarch Butterflys,a few Black Swallowtailed Butterflys and an American Daggar Moth Caterpillar provided something interesting to look at when birding was slow. All of the Swallows nesting in the side of the bluffs have moved out,and of late many warblers,vireos and flycatchers can be seen early in the mornings(7am-9am).
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