September 8th - Look Way Up High!

The first bird of the day was a Sharp-shinned Hawk and even though there was a layer of cloud up high for an excellent backdrop, the bird appeared as a dot, a very small dot at that! I thought it was just another high flying Monarch butterfly. This was how many of the Sharpies were observed today. As a Bald Eagle flew overhead we were surprised to find another one already circling behind us. Overall a gorgeous day to be outside.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Bald Eagle - 2 (juvenile 12:40 x2)
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 35
American Kestrel - 3
Merlin - 4
Total - 46

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 37
Bald Eagle - 19
Northern Harrier - 30
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 338
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
American Kestrel - 80
Merlin - 13
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 565

Turkey Vulture


This morning Pat noticed a flock of birds flying westward over Kinston Road and as he and I moved back a bit to get a better look at them through the gap in the trees, we totally missed them as they made a big sweeping turn over the trees and came back over top of us heading eastward. It turned out that they were shorebirds of some type, just not sure what type unfortunately. Again today a small group of Warblers were seen moving through the fruit trees. Butterflies were spectacular today, not in numbers but in species. A few Northern Crescents, A Common Buckeye, A Fiery Skipper, and a pair of Black Swallowtails were observed as well as the regulars and migrating Monarchs.

Common Buckeye


Cedar Waxwing enjoying a berry from a Mountain Ash tree.


Female Cardinal picking a peanut off the top of the fence.


This little guy is all attitude!


My thanks to Peter, Pat, Nancy, Terry, Berle, Carol, and Ann for all their help. Today we also welcomed Phil, a photographer for one of the local community newwpapers.

Walter