As morning approached,wind forcasts changed continuously. What was to be a day of perfect conditions,gave way to a mid-day change in winds,moving raptors inland(more north then I could see). Still,Rob,Carol,Keith and I saw some good views of several species. While a number of Sharpies and Kestrels were high the clear blue skies made it seem worse then it was. Osprey were reasonably low,2 went through together..one was a huge female. 2 Merlin passed through,one made a dive at some small unseen by us,bird. The other zipped past,Im surprised Rob got a decent shot of it as it sped by.
The Broadwinged Hawks all circled together very high up. I caught what was eventually 8 American Kestrels together..I called them out as kestrels at first,then saw a whole stack of them and said ohhh no its just Swallows..then backtracked again when I got the colour on the tail of one of them. Getting it right in the end is what matters...isnt it? The final tally of 59 raptors consisted of:
1 Turkey Vulture
5 Osprey
1 Bald Eagle(adult at 11:50am)
2 Northern Harriers
13 Sharpshinned Hawks
1 Coopers Hawk
4 Broadwinged Hawks
30 American Kestrels
2 Merlin
Tomorrow the call is for rain..depending on if/when/for how long it comes,wind conditions are excellent. Better days to come. Provided there isnt a deluge,I will be at the park.
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