With light winds coming from all the wrong directions today, very few birds were seen in the sky over Rosetta McClain Gardens. Cloud cover was very good so I doubt that we missed any birds that were flying high up.
Today:
Northern Harrier - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 10
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 2
Total - 15
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 27
Osprey - 58
Bald Eagle - 25
Northern Harrier - 61
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 758
Cooper's Hawk - 14
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 742
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
American Kestrel - 213
Merlin - 37
Peregrine Falcon - 4
Total - 1950
Monarch flight was a little higher up in the air today and many of the butterflies were misidentified by all as birds at first sight.
Today's crowd included: Lorne, Mike 2, Lee, Betty, Theresa, Norm, Ivor, Allison, and Carol. Thankyou all for hanging in as long as you did today!
September 16th - Broad-wings and More Broad-wings!
Wow, what a day! Between 12:00 PM and 4:15 PM we saw several large kettles of Broad-winged Hawks circling in the air over the north end of the park. Many of the birds were distant and not seen by all watchers unfortunately. One kettle had 150 birds in it, what a beautiful sight! Our previous record was 225 Broad-winged Hawks for the entire season, today we saw a total of 605. Our season total now stands at 741 BWs and counting!
Today:
Turkey Vulture - 11
Osprey - 4
Bald Eagle - 3 (adult 3:30, juvenile 3:40 x2)
Northern Harrier - 7
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 43
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 605
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
American Kestrel - 13
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 691
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 27
Osprey - 58
Bald Eagle - 25
Northern Harrier - 59
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 748
Cooper's Hawk - 14
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 741
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
American Kestrel - 211
Merlin - 37
Peregrine Falcon - 4
Total - 1935
Mike Dizonno (Mike 3) was kind enough to share the following raptor photos with us:
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Northern Harrier
Turkery Vulture
Northern Goshawk
Red-tailed Hawk
The park was fairly quiet today for non-raptor species. A few more Blue Jays were observed flying over the park this morning and Monarch butterflies continue their migration south.
Our peanut-eatin' pal.
An excellent shot of our Watch site.
Watchers today included: Terry 2, Norm, Pat, Richard, Mike 3, BIGFRANK, Betty, Bruce, Cori, Hugh, and we welcomed newbies Allison, and Sherry. Thanks again everyone for your help.
Walter
Today:
Turkey Vulture - 11
Osprey - 4
Bald Eagle - 3 (adult 3:30, juvenile 3:40 x2)
Northern Harrier - 7
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 43
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 605
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
American Kestrel - 13
Merlin - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 691
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 27
Osprey - 58
Bald Eagle - 25
Northern Harrier - 59
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 748
Cooper's Hawk - 14
Northern Goshawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 741
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
American Kestrel - 211
Merlin - 37
Peregrine Falcon - 4
Total - 1935
Mike Dizonno (Mike 3) was kind enough to share the following raptor photos with us:
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Northern Harrier
Turkery Vulture
Northern Goshawk
Red-tailed Hawk
The park was fairly quiet today for non-raptor species. A few more Blue Jays were observed flying over the park this morning and Monarch butterflies continue their migration south.
Our peanut-eatin' pal.
An excellent shot of our Watch site.
Watchers today included: Terry 2, Norm, Pat, Richard, Mike 3, BIGFRANK, Betty, Bruce, Cori, Hugh, and we welcomed newbies Allison, and Sherry. Thanks again everyone for your help.
Walter
September 15th - The Broad-winged Hawks Have Arrived!
What an amazing day at the park, I'm going to let the numbers speak for themselves.
Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Osprey - 7
Bald Eagle - 2 (juvenile 12:35, 1:45)
Northern Harrier - 11
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 155
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 116
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 80
Merlin - 6
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 383
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 16
Osprey - 54
Bald Eagle - 22
Northern Harrier - 52
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 705
Cooper's Hawk - 14
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 136
Red-tailed Hawk - 7
American Kestrel - 198
Merlin - 36
Peregrine Falcon - 3
Total - 1244
Bald Eagle
Sharp-shinned Hawks
Broad-winged Hawk
We also saw a Brown Thrasher, Swainson's Thrush, and Common Nighthawk. Blue Jay migration appears to be underway with a number of small flocks seen moving over the north end of the park.
A very beautiful Blue Jay
A very comfortable Carol
People on hand today included: Peter, Terry 2, Dave, Betty, Carol, Berle, BIGFRANK, Pat, Nancy, Lee, Theresa, Bill, Norm, Murray, Hugh, and Bruce.
Walter
Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Osprey - 7
Bald Eagle - 2 (juvenile 12:35, 1:45)
Northern Harrier - 11
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 155
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 116
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 80
Merlin - 6
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 383
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 16
Osprey - 54
Bald Eagle - 22
Northern Harrier - 52
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 705
Cooper's Hawk - 14
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 136
Red-tailed Hawk - 7
American Kestrel - 198
Merlin - 36
Peregrine Falcon - 3
Total - 1244
Bald Eagle
Sharp-shinned Hawks
Broad-winged Hawk
We also saw a Brown Thrasher, Swainson's Thrush, and Common Nighthawk. Blue Jay migration appears to be underway with a number of small flocks seen moving over the north end of the park.
A very beautiful Blue Jay
A very comfortable Carol
People on hand today included: Peter, Terry 2, Dave, Betty, Carol, Berle, BIGFRANK, Pat, Nancy, Lee, Theresa, Bill, Norm, Murray, Hugh, and Bruce.
Walter
September 14th - A Good Day Today, 90 Birds
Another magnificent day for raptor watching today. A few clouds would have helped us even more though. At one point, Frank looked up at a Cormorant with his binoculars and then noticed an Osprey flying along just above the Cormorant - no one else saw his Osprey as it blended in to the blue sky. I wonder if we missed anything else up high today.
Today:
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 65
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 11
Merlin - 5
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 90
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 15
Osprey - 47
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 41
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 550
Cooper's Hawk - 11
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 20
Red-tailed Hawk - 6
American Kestrel - 118
Merlin - 30
Peregrine Falcon - 2
Total - 861
Today's best non-raptor sighting happened just along the fence in front of us when a brave young guy got down on one knee and proposed to his girl, lucky for him she said "yes!"
Lots of wonderful people on hand today including: BIGFRANK, Berle, Pat, Nancy, Rob, Diane (Frank's mom), Carol, Murray, Rodger & Jane from the UK, Cori, plus Ama & the gang. It was great that the kids (about 20 of them) were able to see many of the birds down low while at the park today. Hopefully you'll all be back again sometime soon.
THURSDAY IS THE DAY!!! Cancel all your plans and come down and see the birds. There should be lots of them!!!
Walter
Today:
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 65
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 11
Merlin - 5
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 90
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 15
Osprey - 47
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 41
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 550
Cooper's Hawk - 11
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 20
Red-tailed Hawk - 6
American Kestrel - 118
Merlin - 30
Peregrine Falcon - 2
Total - 861
Today's best non-raptor sighting happened just along the fence in front of us when a brave young guy got down on one knee and proposed to his girl, lucky for him she said "yes!"
Lots of wonderful people on hand today including: BIGFRANK, Berle, Pat, Nancy, Rob, Diane (Frank's mom), Carol, Murray, Rodger & Jane from the UK, Cori, plus Ama & the gang. It was great that the kids (about 20 of them) were able to see many of the birds down low while at the park today. Hopefully you'll all be back again sometime soon.
THURSDAY IS THE DAY!!! Cancel all your plans and come down and see the birds. There should be lots of them!!!
Walter
September 13th - "There Are Slow Days...
...And then there's today!" (Terry 2)
I arrived at the park at 7:30 AM this morning not knowing exactly what to expect. There was good wind blowing, just not in quite the right direction. At 9:15 AM I had a flurry of 3 birds fly over the park. It was a looong time after that before the next bird came along!
Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 2
Total - 4
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 15
Osprey - 46
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 36
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 485
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 6
American Kestrel - 107
Merlin - 25
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 771
The park was very quiet again today as far as songbirds go. We also didn't see much in the way of Monarch migration either. With winds from the west most of the day the Monarchs might have actually been blown backwards a bit!
Today's watchers included: Carol, Terry 2, Betty, and Peter.
Better days ahead!
Walter
I arrived at the park at 7:30 AM this morning not knowing exactly what to expect. There was good wind blowing, just not in quite the right direction. At 9:15 AM I had a flurry of 3 birds fly over the park. It was a looong time after that before the next bird came along!
Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 2
Total - 4
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 15
Osprey - 46
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 36
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 485
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 6
American Kestrel - 107
Merlin - 25
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 771
The park was very quiet again today as far as songbirds go. We also didn't see much in the way of Monarch migration either. With winds from the west most of the day the Monarchs might have actually been blown backwards a bit!
Today's watchers included: Carol, Terry 2, Betty, and Peter.
Better days ahead!
Walter
September 12th - The Return Of BIGFRANK!
Today we welcomed the return of our friend BIGFRANK to the Raptor Watch and before long he was back at it calling out the birds "There's a bird in the gap and another coming over the centre" - ah, music to my ears! Unfortunately today was not a great day for bird movement, it was hot, hazy with very little cloud cover. We did manage to find a total of 37 birds flying through including 2 more Osprey.
Today:
Osprey - 2
Northern Harrier - 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 24
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 7
Total - 37
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 46
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 36
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 484
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 6
American Kestrel - 105
Merlin - 25
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 767
Frank and I doing a load test to one of the park benches.
Red-tailed Hawk (local)
Cooper's Hawk (local)
Turkey Vulture (local)
On hand today were: Berle, Bob, Charles, Terry 2, Pat, Barb, Betty, Joe, and of course, BIGFRANK. Also, for those who know him, retired park worker Billy stopped by this afternoon to say hello to everybody.
Here's a photo of some of the group from today's Watch.
Walter
Today:
Osprey - 2
Northern Harrier - 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 24
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 7
Total - 37
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 46
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 36
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 484
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 6
American Kestrel - 105
Merlin - 25
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 767
Frank and I doing a load test to one of the park benches.
Red-tailed Hawk (local)
Cooper's Hawk (local)
Turkey Vulture (local)
On hand today were: Berle, Bob, Charles, Terry 2, Pat, Barb, Betty, Joe, and of course, BIGFRANK. Also, for those who know him, retired park worker Billy stopped by this afternoon to say hello to everybody.
Here's a photo of some of the group from today's Watch.
Walter
September 11th - Our First Goshawk!
Again today we had to do some deep sky searching to find many of the Sharpies but when an unexpected Northern Goshawk came flying along the edge of the bluffs our troubles were forgotten. What a surprise, the second earliest 'Gos' since the Watch was started back in 2004! Unfortunately things came to an end early in the afternoon when the winds shifted more to the south.
Today:
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 34
Northern Goshawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 6
Merlin - 4
Total - 48
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 44
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 33
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 460
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 5
American Kestrel - 98
Merlin - 25
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 730
Both Ann and Effi got amazing shots of the Goshawk today.
Northern Goshawk
Merlin
Also early this morning, an empty boat was found floating near Ashbridge's Bay and a woman was reported missing so a large scale search was already underway when I arrived at the park. A C-130 Hercules plane from Trenton Air Base was part of the search effort. At one point it made a very low pass over the Gardens.
C-130 Hercules
Other birds seen today included: a Black-throated Green Warbler, a Common Tern, and a Pileated Woodpecker. Pat Anderson sent along some photos and this great story about his attempt at photographing the majestic Pileated.
"...this bird really rocked me today as I followed him from tree to tree through the whole park, darting here and there, playing hide and seek behind limbs while eyeing me constantly. The bone-chilling calls he made only a few feet away, the quiet rustling of his wings as he passed only a couple of feet from me so close that I could not focus for a shot. I actually shivered when he whizzed past and landed on a tree trunk 6 feet away then made eye contact with me in a way I will never forget...too stunning to believe." Pat
Today's group consisted of: Lorne, Ann, Pat & Nancy, Norm & Jack and their wives (sorry I forgot their names...way too much coffee today!), Leslie & Mike, Gary & Diane, Lee, Carol, Peter, Kate & Denny, Cori, and today we welcomed Effi to the Watch. Thankyou everyone for another tough day of spotting the birds. Thank goodness we had some decent cloud cover to help us.
Here's a great shot of some who were at the Watch today.
Weather-wise, we may see some rain over the course of the next 2 days but Wednesday is looking very promising at the moment. I'll be at the park tomorrow as the rain is not supposed to arrive until 5 O'Clock. Southwest winds are predicted for tomorrow afternoon so we may see a few Osprey or Peregrines fly by.
Walter
Today:
Osprey - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 34
Northern Goshawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 6
Merlin - 4
Total - 48
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 14
Osprey - 44
Bald Eagle - 20
Northern Harrier - 33
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 460
Cooper's Hawk - 10
Northern Goshawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 19
Red-tailed Hawk - 5
American Kestrel - 98
Merlin - 25
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 730
Both Ann and Effi got amazing shots of the Goshawk today.
Northern Goshawk
Merlin
Also early this morning, an empty boat was found floating near Ashbridge's Bay and a woman was reported missing so a large scale search was already underway when I arrived at the park. A C-130 Hercules plane from Trenton Air Base was part of the search effort. At one point it made a very low pass over the Gardens.
C-130 Hercules
Other birds seen today included: a Black-throated Green Warbler, a Common Tern, and a Pileated Woodpecker. Pat Anderson sent along some photos and this great story about his attempt at photographing the majestic Pileated.
"...this bird really rocked me today as I followed him from tree to tree through the whole park, darting here and there, playing hide and seek behind limbs while eyeing me constantly. The bone-chilling calls he made only a few feet away, the quiet rustling of his wings as he passed only a couple of feet from me so close that I could not focus for a shot. I actually shivered when he whizzed past and landed on a tree trunk 6 feet away then made eye contact with me in a way I will never forget...too stunning to believe." Pat
Today's group consisted of: Lorne, Ann, Pat & Nancy, Norm & Jack and their wives (sorry I forgot their names...way too much coffee today!), Leslie & Mike, Gary & Diane, Lee, Carol, Peter, Kate & Denny, Cori, and today we welcomed Effi to the Watch. Thankyou everyone for another tough day of spotting the birds. Thank goodness we had some decent cloud cover to help us.
Here's a great shot of some who were at the Watch today.
Weather-wise, we may see some rain over the course of the next 2 days but Wednesday is looking very promising at the moment. I'll be at the park tomorrow as the rain is not supposed to arrive until 5 O'Clock. Southwest winds are predicted for tomorrow afternoon so we may see a few Osprey or Peregrines fly by.
Walter
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