Rain Rain Go Away Day Total 9

Well...Saturdays good conditions disappeared. Happily almost everyone read the weather right and stayed home today. A flurry of 2 Coopers Hawk,a Kestrel and an Osprey arrived at 10:01am,almost clashing. Luckily the good company helped pass a poor day. Ann got a couple of silhouettes today. I thought with little to report Id show 2. A Peregrine Falcon and an American Kestrel.

They are both in the falcon family. The Peregrine is the largest falcon we see in southern Ontario on a regular basis. The American Kestrel is the smallest. One defining feature of a falcon is the "sharp" wings. They are "pointed",while hawks have rounded wings. The Kestrel has a wing span of 23inches(58cm) and a length of 10inches(26cm),while the much larger Peregrine Falcon has a wingspan of 36-44inches(91-112cm) and a length of 16-20inches(41-51cm). In both species females are larger then males. In the case of Peregrine Falcons females can be up to 2/3 larger then the male,whose name is tiercel which means one-third.

Todays count was:

2-Osprey

1-Sharpie

2-Coopers Hawks

3-American Kestrels

1-Peregrine Falcon

Conditions for Sunday remain excellent as at the time of posting 940pm Saturday.

East Winds Slow Day

There was no count the last few days,but I have included a few birds people saw while at Rosetta over the last few days. We counted today and saw only a few birds again. Total 34 Birds.
Saturday is iffy now as to whether there will be a large movement..we remain hopeful. I will be on site irreguardless of the weather tomorrow. Sunday still looks great for a big movement of raptors.

Recent count:
7-Turkey Vultures
2-Osprey
1-Northern Harrier
13-Sharpshinned Hawks
4-Coopers Hawks
5-American Kestrels
1-Merlin
1-Peregrine Falcon

This pushes this years total to over 1300 raptors. That is down significantly,owing mostly to missing a few big days of Sharpshinned Hawk counts. Because of weather conditions good and bad,fewer Sharpies have moved past the count area. Most other species aside from Harriers(as noted earlier likely a poor breeding year) are at the levels of previous seasons or even a little ahead. Large movements abit later of Redtails and Turkey Vultures will be necessary to make up the numbers.

No Birds,So You Get A Few Photos

Today no raptors were seen that could be counted at Rosetta. Peter Wood came by to show me his article on myself and the Rosetta McClain Raptor Watch. I will wait until the article is out before posting it. It is both complimentary and informative. It hits all the high points.

The photos are,my shot of 3 Peregrine Falcons in almost a perfect formation..they really put on a show. Thanks to Susan for her shot of a Turkey Vulture. Lastly a shot of a Redtailed Hawk,also mine.

The next couple of days dont look very good,thats to say the weather is too nice for much in the way of migration. Its unlikely I will attend the site on Wednesday. Friday through next Tuesday look like there are many promising days. Fridays strong east wind,Im interested to see what it brings. Depending on when predicted rains come Saturday,it could be very good. Sunday and beyond look excellent for good movements of birds.

Beautiful Day Few Raptors..26

We enjoyed a beautiful day today,but after a steady start,by 11am not much was flying. Watchers broke away to check nearby trees for migrating Warblers. We did enjoy close passes of an Osprey and a few Redtailed Hawks. One was chased by a family of American Crows. Walter and I had a good look at a Merlin,which is the medium sized falcon. Being lakeside,we are fortunate to consistantly see all 3 falcon species in one day,American Kestrel,Merlin and Peregrine Falcon. Todays total of 26 birds of prey consisted of:
1-Osprey
1-Northern Harrier
13-Sharpshinned Hawks
1-Coopers Hawk
3-Redtailed Hawks
4-American Kestrels
3-Merlin

Right now Saturday is forecast as a good Northeast wind,which would move a good number of birds. The remainder of this week is hit and miss. There is a chance Friday's strong east wind will bring a number of Peregrine Falcons along beside the bluffs.

Day Count 109 High Birds Today

With northeast winds most of the day,we enjoyed a good day,with 109 raptors. A 2nd year Bald Eagle was fairly close up,while one of the Osprey went by bluffside. Much thanks to Leslie and Walter for their spotting. We had a good group of folks out today including Ann,Carol,Berle,Murray,Bryan,Mike,Les,Walter,Andrew and Don..my thanks to everyone for your contirbutions. Todays total consisted of::

Osprey-5

Bald Eagles-2

Northern Harriers-3

Sharpshinned Hawks-56

Coopers Hawk-1

Redtailed Hawk-1

American Kestrels-39

Merlin-1

Peregrine Falcon-1