Wind (current)

Sept 29th Finally Good Winds...159 Raptors

Today we finally got northwest winds,all day long. They were quite strong,sometimes gusting around 50kmh. This meant all birds were low and almost all were very close to us. Few were much above the treetops. We had great views of many Sharpshinned Hawks and American Kestrels which sometimes really had to fight the strong winds. Several Turkey Vultures passed very low and close,something we all really enjoy. At 12:55pm we had a juvenile Bald Eagle go through below us and tight to the bluffs,giving all gathered a terrific albeight fast view. A Peregrine Falcon flew by carrying something,we are still trying to figure out what? Late in the day we saw 2 close Ospreys. We saw only one local Redtailed Hawk,otherwise there was no hint of another bueteo. Thanks to Berle,Carol,Brad,Peter,Walter,Ann,Betty and Walter for all their help today. Everyone did their best to stay warm,as the strong winds made it quite cold. In the end we saw:
21-Turkey Vultures
2-Ospreys
2-Bald Eagles(12:55pm and 2:50pm both juveniles)
13-Northern Harriers
88-Sharpshinned Hawks
2-Coopers Hawks
29-American Kestrels
2-Peregrine Falcons

This puts our total for the season over 1000 finally! We are hoping for an even better day tomorrow. If you are going to attend,dress warm!..Bring everything you think you need and then throw everything else you dont think you need into your pack or car! You wont be sorry.

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