Well so far August has been a little slower than expected. I thought the winds today might have brought a few more birds our way but the predicted 25 kph NW winds didn't come until later in the afternoon. The afternoon showers were not in the Weather Network's forecast that I read before leaving the house. Should we expect a big count day real soon?...I certainly hope so! Our short flurry of raptors all came before 12:00 PM. Later in the day at 5:50 PM, Lee had an adult Bald Eagle circling down low above a street close to the park. As the eagle soared on a thermal, it stayed in view long enough for Lee to park her car and grab her binoculars to get a better view. Thanks for the update Lee.
Today:
Bald Eagle - 1 (adult 5:50 PM)
Northern Harrier - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 1
Merlin - 1
Total - 6
To Date:
Turkery Vulture - 2
Osprey - 4
Bald Eagle - 2
Northern Harrier - 6
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 7
Broad-winged Hawk - 7
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 5
Merlin - 1
Total - 35
Other bird sightings today included; 2 Trumpeter Swans that flew by fairly close, Double-crested Cormorants by the thousands feeding out on the lake, 300+ Chimney Swifts and many Barn Swallows flying westward overhead. The 2 local Red-tails and the Cooper's Hawk put on wonderful flying displays this afternoon as they hunted for lunch.
I'd like to thank Betty, Pat and Nancy, and Terry 2 for coming down today and hanging in there for so long waiting for the birds to show.
I won't be present at the park on Friday or Saturday so if you see anything, including Frank, please let me know as soon as you can.
Walter
August 22nd - A Better Day Today
Today was a better for hawk watching then what we've had lately with our first northwest winds and cooler temperatures. Most of the gang showed up early today in hopes of seeing lots of raptors but unfortunately that didn't quite materialize. Our first bird of the day, a Northern Harrier, flew by at 8:45 AM this morning. The rest of the birds came through slowly over the course of the morning up until roughly 12:30 PM when things came to an end. In all we had 13 raptors for the day, the best one being an adult Broad-winged Hawk which Colin informed us was surprisingly early. He seemed to think that it might even be the earliest one that he's ever seen. That would be great news for our Hawk Watch because Colin has been watching hawks at various sites since 1975!
Here are a few fantastic photos from today:
Broad-winged Hawk (juvenile)
Cooper's Hawk (local)
Red-tailed Hawk (local)
Betty gave us all a laugh with her wonderful 'birding' socks.
The Rosetta gang during a lull in the action.
Today:
Northern Harrier - 3
Osprey - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 3
American Kestrel - 2
Total - 13
To Date:
Turkery Vulture - 2
Osprey - 4
Bald Eagle - 1
Northern Harrier - 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 7
Broad-winged Hawk - 6
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 4
Total - 29
Today I didn't keep a count for the songbirds seen or heard at the park but of note were 3 Common Loons flying out over the lake and sereval Hummingbirds darting around. A Viceroy butterfly was seen by many as it hung around under the apple tree and on the butterfly bush. Dragonflies were out in great numbers again today mostly consisting of Black Saddlebags and Green Darners. A Great Black Wasp was seen again today just beyond the fence. This is another insect that has recently found it's way up in to Ontario from the US, hurray for global warming!!!
Today's hawk watching group was: Carol, Terry 2, Colin, Betty, Berle, Pat & Nancy, Meghan, Peter, Ann, Murray, Gunnar, and myself.
With tomorrow morning's (Tuesday) predicted west wind, we might see a few birds that moved south today.
Walter
Here are a few fantastic photos from today:
Broad-winged Hawk (juvenile)
Cooper's Hawk (local)
Red-tailed Hawk (local)
Betty gave us all a laugh with her wonderful 'birding' socks.
The Rosetta gang during a lull in the action.
Today:
Northern Harrier - 3
Osprey - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 3
American Kestrel - 2
Total - 13
To Date:
Turkery Vulture - 2
Osprey - 4
Bald Eagle - 1
Northern Harrier - 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 7
Broad-winged Hawk - 6
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 4
Total - 29
Today I didn't keep a count for the songbirds seen or heard at the park but of note were 3 Common Loons flying out over the lake and sereval Hummingbirds darting around. A Viceroy butterfly was seen by many as it hung around under the apple tree and on the butterfly bush. Dragonflies were out in great numbers again today mostly consisting of Black Saddlebags and Green Darners. A Great Black Wasp was seen again today just beyond the fence. This is another insect that has recently found it's way up in to Ontario from the US, hurray for global warming!!!
Today's hawk watching group was: Carol, Terry 2, Colin, Betty, Berle, Pat & Nancy, Meghan, Peter, Ann, Murray, Gunnar, and myself.
With tomorrow morning's (Tuesday) predicted west wind, we might see a few birds that moved south today.
Walter
August 21st - An Update
Just wanted to let you know that I've been busy these past 2 days dealing with a family matter and have not been to the park. If anyone was there and saw any 'migrants' please let me know as soon as you can, thanks. Tomorrow (Monday) is shaping up to be our first good day with winds from the north-west at 20-25 kph, if it holds. Let's hope the birds read the forecast! See you there.
Walter
Walter
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)