2 More Bald Eagles..What a flight display!!

Merlin Munching(photo by Pat)

Today was a short day,we expected a few left over raptors to fly through today,which had come fairly close yesterday and continued onward this morning. Walter spotted a Bald Eagle waaaay out over the lake around 9:13am. He and I watched it for many minutes as it circled and began flying towards the shore. Betty joined us and soon so did Beryl,Colin arrived towards the end of it all. The immature Bald Eagle came into the shoreline,along infront of our watch position and began circling again. It drifted back to where "The Big Poplar" is and just as Walter got the prophetic words "lets see if its waiting for someone" out,a 2nd immature Bald Eagle joined the first! What a sighting!! Later Walter and others saw a Merlin eating a Goldfinch,in a bare tree,bluff-side.

Here is a short video clip I put together.

Bald Eagles Over Rosetta

The final total was:

Osprey...........................2

Bald Eagle.....................2(immatures..2nd year? at 9:13am)

Sharpshinned Hawk....3

American Kestrel........2

Merlin...........................1

Total............................10

Watch Friday Sept. 3rd's weather. Right now its setting up for a big day. There is to be a substantial rain on Thursday,followed by Northwest winds on Friday. That should mean good conditions for a large movement of raptors. It may change but worth watching.

Best August Day Ever...88 Raptors

Bald Eagle..Juvenile

With perfect conditions for a good flight of raptors today,Walter,Leon,Murray,Lee,Ann,Carol,Pat,Nancy,Bruce,Colin,Margaurite,Terry,Betty and I enjoyed wonderful day of raptor watching. We had fantastic views of several of the Broadwinged Hawks,some very close views of Osprey and 4 Bald Eagles. Twice we had great size comparison opportunities. Example one was a Broadwinged Hawk circling with a Redtailed Hawk. The size difference was very obvious as were the styles of soaring. I was able to get a shot I am very happy with of a Broadwing,over head. On several occassions we saw them below us. The 2nd example of the size differences in raptors came when a Broadwinged circled with a Bald Eagle. The Broadwing was dwarfed by the Bald Eagle. As we have a few newish raptor watchers this was a great opportunity to observe Broadwings close up. Among the Broadwings was our first adult Broadwing of the season.

By 4pm we had seen:

Turkey Vultures...........4

Osprey.........................15

Bald Eagles...................4(Juvenile(hatch year)10:13am,2 Adult 12:33pm,Juvenile 1:35pm)

Northern Harrier........5

Sharpshinned Hawk..15

Broadwinged Hawk...26

Redtailed Hawk...........4

American Kestrel.......12

Merlin...........................2

Peregrine Falcon.........1

Total............................88

American Kestrels

Broadwinged Hawk

Sharpshinned Hawk

Year to date we have now seen 142 raptors,which is the high end of normal for August,and a terrific start to the 2010 count season. Things will slow down with the expected heat and humidity coming...watch for the next winds with a north element. Watch the first Friday in September.

Five Minute Flurry...4 Raptors

We expected better today,but were able to enjoy a 5minute flurry at 10:45am when 4 raptors went through rapid fire. After a few drops of rain and alot of very dark cloud cleared out we had 4 raptors pass,that must have all came from the same general area. I looked up at just the right time and saw an Osprey. As Walter,Betty,Carol,Beryl and myself watched that a 2nd large bird came into view..a juvenile Bald Eagle. Soon a 3rd bird was seen before the other 2 made it out of sight...later from a photo we could ID it as a moulting Northern Harrier. Because of the very gray sky,there was no perspective,and we thought at first it was a larger bird higher up. Almost immediately we saw another juvenile Bald Eagle. While not award winning we did get photos of them.

Bald Eagle 1

Osprey

Bald Eagle 2..Notice the similar way the wings are held in the Osprey and young Bald Eagle photos. Its abit odd to see this posture from a Bald Eagle.

Todays Total....4 raptors

1-Osprey

2-Bald Eagles

1-Northern Harrier

Walter and I enjoyed an interesting morning too. We had many feeding Chimney Swifts flying around the park . A cloud of bugs hung over a large Poplar tree,which they really seemed to like. Additionally Walter and I saw what we believed was a Yellowlegs fly by,a Common Loon,a single Common Nighthawk and a surprise was a Whimbrel that popped up close to us from below the bluff and called as it flew to the east. This is the first time during fall migration that we have seen a Whimbrel pass the park. Also observed was what we believe were 2 female Indigo Buntings. We are now hopeful that Thursday could bring a good number of early raptors. Keep an eye on the winds.

Aug 20/21 A Few More Raptors

Its been pretty slow the last few days,but seasonally so. In the last few days we were able to see the following:
Osprey....................2
Redtailed Hawk.....2
American Kestrel..1
Merlin.....................1
Peregrine Falcon...1

Monday looks very promising for the best day of the season.(30 birds or so maybe) Walter and I will be up with the sun and over to the park. Prime time is usually between 10am and 2pm. If the Northeast and North winds do come,I suspect we should see some good birds.