September 10th - 5 More Osprey!

Wow, another gorgeous day to be at the park. Most of today's action came this morning when the winds were from the northeast. During the afternoon very few birds were seen so most of us took advantage of the beautiful weather and just sat and chatted for a couple hours. The Sharpies (Sharp-shinned Hawks), always a crowd pleaser, continue to dominate the sky.

Today:
Osprey - 5
Bald Eagle - 1 (juvenile 10:03)
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 30
American Kestrel - 10
Merlin - 4
Total - 51

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 43
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 32
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 426
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
American Kestrel - 92
Merlin - 21
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 682

A distant juvenile Bald Eagle searching the lake for a fish.


A good non-raptor sighting this morning was that of a Cackling Goose which was mixed in with a small flock of 9 Canada Geese. They flew right over top of me not too high up heading westward. A Cackling Goose is a smaller version of a Canada Goose. Of the butterflies, a Black Swallowtail, Northern Crescent, and Fiery Skipper continue to be seen flying around the top edge of the bluffs and new today was an Eastern Tailed Blue.

Observers today included: Lorne, Paul, Norm, Jack, Lee, Theresa, Betty, Berle, Mike 2, Peter, Mike 3, Carol, Barb, Ken, and also today we welcomed Ama and her 2 children who were lucky enough to see one of the Osprey fly by fairly close.

Walter

September 9th - Streaming Sharpies

Most birds today were seen flying directly above us or just out over the lake at various heights. With little to no cloud cover today I was quite surprised at how many birds we picked out of the blue sky. Great spotting by everybody!

Today:
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 58
American Kestrel - 2
Merlin - 4
Total - 66

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 38
Bald Eagle - 19
Northern Harrier - 31
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 396
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
American Kestrel - 82
Merlin - 17
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 631

Today the park was extremely quiet for little birdies and butterflies.

On hand were: Pat, Norm, Betty, Peter, Pat 2, and Ron. Thanks everybody for the help in spotting and a special thanks to Ron for sharing some of his extensive knowledge and amazing birding stories.

We should see another good flight of birds tomorrow with morning winds predicted to be NE 20kph. Hope to see you at the park.

Walter

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

September 7th - 4 More Eagles

Today was a slow day as the winds were not as predicted from the northeast, they were mostly from the east and southeast all day. With the remnants of Hurricane Lee just across the lake the waves were constantly bashing the shoreline, making for a somewhat noisy day but nowhere near as bad as the guys using the sand-blasting equipment have been! Thank goodness they're done! Today's best bird was a juvenile Bald Eagle that flew by at eye level just out from the bluffs. Luckily Ann was at the Watch during her lunch break and was able to get some fantastic shots (once again!) An hour later Betty spotted another eagle flying up a little higher and as we watched it fly by, I noticed another one flying just behind it.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Bald Eagle - 4 (juvenile 11:36, 12:07, 1:10 x2)
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 14
Merlin - 1
Total - 20

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 36
Bald Eagle - 17
Northern Harrier - 29
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 303
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
American Kestrel - 77
Merlin - 9
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 519

Bald Eagle






Today's watchers were: Carol, Peter, Pat, Nancy, Lorne, Betty, Ann, Bill, and Mark.

Walter

September 6th - Another Good Day!

The follow-up day to yesterday's big day turned out to be not too shabby, 93 birds in all including an amazing 16 more Osprey. The RMG Raptor Watch's old 'single day' record of 15 Osprey, which held for a couple of years, seems to be easily surpassed lately. This is the 5th time in the past 2 years that we've had 15 or more in a day. Many birds today were seen flying very high up in the sky which made it fun for some watchers but almost impossible for others.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 8
Osprey - 16
Bald Eagle - 3 (juvenile 12:15, 1:00, adult 2:16)
Northern Harrier - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 37
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 21
Merlin - 1
Total - 93

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 35
Bald Eagle - 13
Northern Harrier - 29
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 289
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
American Kestrel - 77
Merlin - 8
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 499

A few Warblers came through the park today including a Chestnut-sided, a Wilson's, and an American Redstart. A Great Blue Heron flew through the centre of the park at tree-top level. Many more Monarch butterflies are being seen now flying up high in the air and also down low through the garden. The Stable Flies were bad this afternoon, long pants are a must!

Today's crew consisted of: Betty, Peter, Berle, Norm, Carol, Pat, Peter 2, Cori, Shirley, Bruce, and first time watchers Doug and Marg. Ann and Lee both helped out by alerting us of birds that they were seeing a little further east in the Kingston Road and Markham Road area. Eventually all birds appeared in the sky over Rosetta. Thanks everyone.

Walter

September 5th - What A Difference A Day Makes!

Wow, what a difference a day makes! More seasonal temperatures and good north element winds brought us an amazing number of birds today. I got to the park at 7:00 AM this morning and within minutes our first raptors started passing by. Highlights today included 6 Bald Eagles and 8 Osprey, and overall a total of 240 birds were counted. A great find was a high flying Bald Eagle that was carrying a fish. It was noticed after the fact while Ann was reviewing her photographs of the bird.

Today:
Osprey - 8
Bald Eagle - 6 (juvenile 11:35, 12:15, 12:37, 1:45 x2, 2:28)
Northern Harrier - 11
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 161
Cooper's Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 7
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 41
Merlin - 1
Total - 240

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 6
Osprey - 19
Bald Eagle - 10
Northern Harrier - 27
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 252
Cooper's Hawk - 7
Broad-winged Hawk - 18
Red-tailed Hawk - 3
American Kestrel - 56
Merlin - 7
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 406

Here are just some of the photos that Ann took today.

Merlin


2 Sharp-shinned Hawks playing.


Bald Eagle


Bald Eagle carrying a fish.


Sharp-shinned Hawk


Osprey


Northern Harrier


Today's added bonuses included: 3 Common Nighthawks and 2 Scarlet Tanagers. Also seen was the US Navy's V-22 Osprey 'tilt-rotor' plane from the CNE Airshow.

Scarlet Tanager


Common Nighthawk


Just some of the group from today.


Lots of people came to the Watch today knowing the winds and weather were finally right, they included: Bruce, Peter, Gunnar, Ann, Carol, Pat, Nancy, Mike 2, Anthony, Bob, Colin, Marguerite, Betty, Berle, Murray, Bruce 2, Sue, Gord, Norm, and Charles, plus we welcomed first timers: Barb, Rob, Angie, Denny, Kate, Paul, and Jack. Thank you for all the help in spotting and IDing the birds today everybody! What a great day!

Walter

September 4th - More Balloons Than Birds!

Early this morning Pat, Nancy, and myself watched as 39 balloons in 2 big bunches floated above us up high heading out over the lake. I wondered then if we'd see that many birds. Unfortunately it didn't happen, the winds just weren't right for a good flight of raptors today.

Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 14
Merlin - 2
Total - 17

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 6
Osprey - 11
Bald Eagle - 4
Northern Harrier - 16
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 91
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 11
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
American Kestrel - 15
Merlin - 6
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 166

Again today there were very few creatures and critters moving about the park. The best non-raptor sighting was a Common Buckeye butterfly - a very beautifully marked butterfly for those lucky enough to ever see one.

Pat, Nancy, and Peter were on hand for some of the fun today.

Walter

September 3rd - Hot & Humid!!!

The birds that we saw fly by today were just above the trees making IDing them very easy. The humidity today was absolutely insane, I thought that I was having water poured on me all day long! Speaking of water, just before the rain came in the afternoon, our first Peregrine Falcon flew through the centre of the park. As the storm clouds moved east towards Pickering it brought an end to the bird watching for the day.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 26
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 2
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 32

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 6
Osprey - 11
Bald Eagle - 4
Northern Harrier - 15
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 77
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 11
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
American Kestrel - 15
Merlin - 4
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 149

Osprey


Our watchers today were: Ann, Betty, Berle, Peter, Mike 2, and Cori.

Walter