Sept 24th Finally Some Migrating Raptors 44 Today

Thankfully we finally had some decent winds,although the count was lower then we had hoped for,it was a good day. Walter and I started off the day when a newly local Merlin went by with prey in its tallons. It landed again in the same tree as a few days ago,where it ate alittle before moving to a different spot. It had a Golden-crowned Kinglet. WARNING The following photos and video show a raptor with its prey!

Walter,Berle,Carol,Bruce,Bill,Betty,Peter,Lee and a small group of students with their 2 teachers(sorry I will get the right info from U on next visit) Enjoyed a good day. The students had several questions about the raptors and other birds we were seeing. We look forward to their return sometime soon to enjoy the marvelous raptors we see. Todays sightings were:

3-Turkey Vultures

4-Osprey(YTD 70)

5-Northern Harriers

15-Sharpshinned Hawks

3-Coopers Hawks

1-Northern Goshawk

3-Redtailed Hawks

9-American Kestrels

1-Peregrine Falcon (YTD..24)

The next several days do not look very good for raptor movements. The next remotely promising day would seem to be Tuesday or Wednesday. Sunday a small movement may take place. Note if there is all day rain it is unlikely anyone will be present to count. If it is terribly slow,we may leave early. We also saw many White-throated Sparrows,thousands of Blue Jays and a Piliated Woodpecker.