Today was another great day at Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch. The day started with many low birds, saw birds go into the ozone in the afternoon and then back down low after the rain. A large gathering of raptor watchers contributed greatly to the fun and enjoyment of the day and of course to increasing the number of birds seen. Mike recorded birds the latter half of the day, freeing up Walter and I to view more birds and decided what was new and what was previously seen/counted. Todays excitement was a fight between a Coopers Hawk and a Sharpshinned Hawk, the local Coopers Hawk grabbing a Jay but losing its grip, the young Redtailed Hawk which flew along within a few feet of us,cleared the bluffside fence and made an attempt at a squirrel. That sighting really thrilled Berle and Walter! Another highlight was a local Merlin chasing a small duck(possibly a Green-winged Teal). They carried the full speed chase out so far over the lake we lost visual on them. Our watchers today were Norm, Allison, Mark, Carol, Richard, Anne, Ann, Lee, Tim, Mary, Allen, Barb, Les, Mike, Mikes 2,3 and 4, Ron, Jean, Betty, Cori, and Phil. Without all of you the watch wouldnt have been as much fun or as successful. We all wish Theresa a speedy recovery!
(these next 3 shots belong to Ann Brokelman..thanks Ann.
Our day was filled with many Sharpshinned Hawks and American Kestrels.
Striatus Coming At Us
9 more Osprey were added to our seasons total bringing us to 95. Thanks again to Mike 4.
A young Redtailed Hawk landed briefly in a tree.
We also saw some nice low Turkey Vultures. Last season on Oct 1 we had over 700 TVs.
Todays Totals were:
16-Turkey Vultures
9-Osprey
12-Northern Harriers
279-Sharpshinned Hawks
5-Coopers Hawks
9-Broadwinged Hawks
9-Redtailed Hawks
61-American Kestrels
5-Merlins
1-Peregrine Falcon
406-Total Birds
People have asked about how this years numbers compare to other years? Well...this season we are short a few hundred Broadwinged Hawks, but up in several other species. Last season on the same day we saw 2235 total raptors. This season the tally is 2238. So while the mix is slightly different,clearly everything is moving around at its usual pace.
3 comments:
Awesome blog BF, thanks for the counts. Great pics by Ann too.
Fabulous day and how nice of the birds to come in droves on a Sunday since that's when we get our biggest crowds!
Wow! That was a great show on Sunday. I loved it. Mike3
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