Hot Day,Few Raptors,Guests and Local Raptors

It was very hot and humid today...summer's last gasp I hope. Few raptors were flying but an American Kestrel and a Redtailed Hawk landed briefly in the park. Only the Redtail sat still long enough for photos. Walter and I were visited today by the kids from Cliffside and their teachers. There to see various trees,bugs,butterflys,animals and birds,though few raptors went by some students got to see a Merlin go by. Earlier in the day the same temporarily local Merlin attacked Blue Jays but missed the mark. Later most of the class got to see an Osprey fly past. Thanks for joining us today!

Young local Redtailed Hawk

In total we saw only 11 raptors today

Osprey..................................1

Sharpshinned Hawk............5

American Kestrel.................1

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

Coopers Hawk......................1

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

Many Blue Jays and Northern Flickers continued to migrate.

Yesterday from the never a dull moment at Rosetta McClain Gardens file,some of us saw this Boat/Car,below us on the lake.

Walter and I will be down to the park around sunrise,as we expect a big day. If you come,dress warm and lets hope the birds move tomorrow!

Sept 22/23 Total 65 Raptors YTD....3317

Yesterday,Betty reported 8 birds going by in the hour she visited.(all added together with Todays totals) Thursday,Walter,Betty,Peter,Terry,Trudi,Pat,Nancy and Carol saw some good birds. Peter spotted our 50th Bald Eagle at 10:30am. It almost snuck by us low and tight to the bluffs,but from his lofty heights,Peter spotted it and alerted the gang. We had a low Broadwing go by too. Kestrels and Sharpshins continued to move through,and some Northern Harriers tacked into the wind. We had a few fun sightings of local birds too,with a few low Turkey Vultures going past,a Redtailed Hawk being harassed by Crows and then diving on a squirrel without success and most exciting was a Merlin attacking a Blue Jay. The Merlin dove and hit the Blue Jay,but did not kill it. The Jay escaped screaming as it flew off with the Merlin still in chase.

Our total was:

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

Bald Eagle.....................1(1030am)

Northern Harrier.........7

Sharpshinned Hawk..22

Coopers Hawk.............3

Broadwinged Hawk....1

American Kestrel.....28

Peregrine Falcon........1

Saturday still looks like it has the potential to be a very high count day,with a strong NW wind of 25kmh predicted. Lets hope the birds watch The Weather Network!

Blue Jays continued to migrate in numbers. Walter spotted a Red-headed Woodpecker going past with one group of Blue Jays. We had a Hairy Woodpecker land in the Maple Tree behind us,a few Eastern Phoebes hawking for bugs,a Brown Creeper moving through and 6 more relatively low Common Loons.

Slow Day 14 Raptors..Locals Star

It was a slow day today. The weather was not good for much of a raptor movement at all. We did see several good birds though. We saw a reasonably close Osprey,albeight silhouetted in the photo. It was looking all around as it drifted slowly by.

Walter and I also saw 2 Peregrine Falcons,one was a juvenile the other an adult. The adult went into a stoop after a Flicker.

We had plenty of action from local birds too. A local juvenile Coopers Hawk flew around the park several times,a Sharpshinned Hawk went into a serious dive after a White-throated Sparrow,a Redtailed Hawk kitted over the park for some time barely moving a muscle and a local Turkey Vulture was harrassed by a Crow.

The final total of 14 consisted of:

Osprey..........................1

Sharpshinned Hawk....6

American Kestrel........4

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

Peregrine Falcon........2

Blue Jays have started to migrate. Id imagine the next day that there is a cold night we will see thousands fly by.

The next several days look very wet,which means there is unlikely to be any count conducted. Watch for a northwest wind coming soon for the best chance at a good flight,with low birds. Keep an eye on Saturday..though the forecast is ever changing it may yet hold good conditions for us.

50 Raptors...Peregrine Eating Breakfast

Stormin Snackin

Today,Ann,Carol,Pat,Nancy,Berle,Hugh,Bill,Cory,Betty,Helmut and Tim joined us. Thanks to Walter again for keeping count. A "local" Merlin landed briefly in the park,before heading off to the east. Most birds were very high today. Harriers were flying very high.

I was very lucky today. Just after leaving my home,I looked up to see a large bird eating on a neighbors TV antena. It was a Peregrine Falcon! Being as I do alot of volunteer work with The Canadian Peregrine Foundation,I set to trying to get band numbers for the bird. I watched for nearly 40minutes as the bird ate a Northern Flicker. Quickly I saw blue tape over the USFW band. CPF puts coloured tape over that band at banding time,so the young Peregrine is more easily recognized at fledgling watches.

Note the blue tape on right side of picture

After studying the photos,I saw that the band number was 30/Y. This is a male Peregrine Falcon banded in 2009 at The Toronto Downtown Sheraton Hotel,by The Canadian Peregrine Foundation and Ministry of Natural Resources. Stormin is his name. He was seen earlier this year in April at Torontos Leslie Street Spit(Tommy Thompson Park).

Meanwhile down at the raptor watch,we saw

Turkey Vulture....................1

Northern Harrier................9

Sharpshinned Hawk..........33

Coopers Hawk.....................1

American Kestrel................4

Merlin(local not counted)..1

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

The remainder of this week looks iffy,with lots of rain predicted later in the week. Saturday right now is setting up to be a big day,with a 25kmh NW wind predicted. Keep an eye on that ..lets hope it holds!

Sept.19 Day Count 134..YTD 3188 Season Bald Eagle Record

An Osprey provided one of few close up views today. We have now seen
165 Osprey..WOW!

Close Osprey Fly-By

American Kestrel. Thanks for todays capture Ann!

Adult Coopers Hawk

We set a Bald Eagle record today. Our previous best season we observed 46 Bald Eagles. Today we went beyond that with 3 Bald Eagles,giving us a total of 49.

Today was a little better then Id hoped for,with a decent tally of 134 raptors observed. My thanks to Mike,who took over as official recorder today and to Les for finding some vultures and an adult Bald Eagle. Mike2,Mike,Les,Sam,Norman,Hugh,Don,Carol,Ann,Berle,Zed,Cory,Shirley,Richard,Gord,Walter and I all enjoyed enough close birds to keep things interesting . I dont expect alot of raptors tomorrow.

Todays Totals

29..........Turkey Vulture

3.............Bald Eagle(juveniles 12:35,3:05,Adult 1:05

4.............Osprey

13...........Northern Harrier

57...........Sharpshinned Hawk

1.............Coopers Hawk

3.............Broadwinged Hawk

8.............Redtailed Hawk

14...........American Kestrel

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

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

Early in the morning Walter,Don and I saw a Rusty Blackbird land in a nearby tree. We dont often see that species,let alone at Rosetta McClain Gardens.