Just to keep everyone up to date. There have been no raptors counted since Nov 10th. Friday there was no count. I will not be present Saturday. Sunday is now iffy also,as predicted Northwest winds have changed to a light west wind.
I did have the pleasure of meeting Robert Shillabeer this past week,on his first visit to Rosetta McClain Gardens. Robert was the original Cranberry Marsh raptor watcher,figuring out that raptors might be seen along the shoreline there. We look forward to many return visits in the future. Another experienced,able watcher will be of great help in the future.
Right now we sit at 4490 raptors counted this season. There is at least one last big push of Redtailed Hawks yet to come. We sit 169 Redtailed Hawks short of a new countsite record,so lets hope for a few good days...or one great one! Sunday may yet surprise us. Watch the weather for Monday,it looks like the most promising day right now for a good movement of raptors. Again the large raptors that are left to come dont get moving too early,so if able drop down no earlier then 10am.
Nov 10th Streaming Redtails And Count Record 73rd Peregrine Falcon Of The Season
Today the weather was right for a decent raptor migration,though winds were light from the north,birds came. Most were quite high,but not in the "ozone"(ridiculously high). With keen spotting help from Walter,Tim and Bill,Betty,Berle,Peter,Skiff,Pat,Nancy and I saw a decent variety of raptors including :
8-Sharpshinned Hawks
8-Coopers Hawks
1-Northern Goshawk(plus the local)
4-Redshouldered Hawks
80-Redtailed Hawks
1-American Kestrel
2-Peregrine Falcons
104 Total Raptors
We saw several short streams of Redtailed Hawks. On a few occassions we saw a Redtail and then spotted a Redshoulder and a Coopers in the same vicinity. Spotting was definetly a challange sometimes,but we enjoy a challange. Betty spotted the 100th bird of the day,which is always a benchmark.
Todays 2 Peregrine Falcon sightings brings the seasons total to a new record of 73 for our count site. 72 Peregrines were seen in 2007. This is always very exciting news to me as I volunteer with the Canadian Peregrine Foundation(www.peregrine-foundation.ca). Here is the link to a video clip which is our 73rd Peregrine of this season flying by.
http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=21e3p6o&s=4
Keep your eyes on the weather. Remember we really do need a NORTH element in the wind to see much of anything this time of year. At this time in the season very few raptors fly before 10am or 11am. If your cold tolerance is low,wait to come down until around those times. Another reminder,BATHROOMS ARE CLOSED.
8-Sharpshinned Hawks
8-Coopers Hawks
1-Northern Goshawk(plus the local)
4-Redshouldered Hawks
80-Redtailed Hawks
1-American Kestrel
2-Peregrine Falcons
104 Total Raptors
We saw several short streams of Redtailed Hawks. On a few occassions we saw a Redtail and then spotted a Redshoulder and a Coopers in the same vicinity. Spotting was definetly a challange sometimes,but we enjoy a challange. Betty spotted the 100th bird of the day,which is always a benchmark.
Todays 2 Peregrine Falcon sightings brings the seasons total to a new record of 73 for our count site. 72 Peregrines were seen in 2007. This is always very exciting news to me as I volunteer with the Canadian Peregrine Foundation(www.peregrine-foundation.ca). Here is the link to a video clip which is our 73rd Peregrine of this season flying by.
http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=21e3p6o&s=4
Keep your eyes on the weather. Remember we really do need a NORTH element in the wind to see much of anything this time of year. At this time in the season very few raptors fly before 10am or 11am. If your cold tolerance is low,wait to come down until around those times. Another reminder,BATHROOMS ARE CLOSED.
Ann's Redtails and Some Recognition
This past spring and summer,one of our regular watchers Ann Brokelman observed a Redtailed Hawks nest. She regularily photographed and faithfully reported her experiences. With some of her photos and a few video clips I took on a visit to the nestsite,I put together this little video clip that summarizes the year. For a full report with a ton of great photos please view Ann's blog at http://www.redtailnest.blogspot.com/ here is a link to the video
http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2dt9ys6&s=4 Enjoy.
I was just sent a copy of the September Toronto Birds,the Toronto Ornithological Club's e-journal. In addition to records of sightings,this issue highlighted the raptor watches of Metro Toronto,including High Park,Cranberry Marsh,Iriquois Shoreline and Rosetta McClain Gardens. I was very pleased when I was asked by Glenn Coady to submit my results and some notes of explanation about how things got started and abit of history. To quote Glenn "The efforts of various sites will provide an exceptional record for students of raptors for countless years to come."
I thank everyone involved in helping the watch be the success that it is. By no means is the watch a one man show. Thanks especially to Walter,who is such a great help and subs for me when called upon to do so. Dedicated watchers old and new make it all very enjoyable.(more praise will come in the seasons end summary in December)
http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2dt9ys6&s=4 Enjoy.
I was just sent a copy of the September Toronto Birds,the Toronto Ornithological Club's e-journal. In addition to records of sightings,this issue highlighted the raptor watches of Metro Toronto,including High Park,Cranberry Marsh,Iriquois Shoreline and Rosetta McClain Gardens. I was very pleased when I was asked by Glenn Coady to submit my results and some notes of explanation about how things got started and abit of history. To quote Glenn "The efforts of various sites will provide an exceptional record for students of raptors for countless years to come."
I thank everyone involved in helping the watch be the success that it is. By no means is the watch a one man show. Thanks especially to Walter,who is such a great help and subs for me when called upon to do so. Dedicated watchers old and new make it all very enjoyable.(more praise will come in the seasons end summary in December)
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