Today was yet another one of those 'all-blue sky' kind of days.....and low SW wind to boot! Things went pretty much as expected, a few Sharpies here and there. Of course, that was until Phil showed up for his lunch break! He was able to spot a Short-eared Owl flying along and heading toward us. Not too high up but impossible to see in the blue sky, it took me what seemed like an hour before I finally got on it. The 'wow' factor in seeing one of these beautiful birds flying over your local park is something else. This is actually the 3rd time in the last four years that we've seen one. Thankyou Phil!
Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 16
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Total - 18
To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 52
Osprey - 91
Bald Eagle - 81
Northern Harrier - 48
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 888
Cooper's Hawk - 11
Northern Goshawk - 0
Red-shouldered Hawk - 0
Broad-winged Hawk - 68
Red-tailed Hawk - 51
Rough-legged Hawk - 0
Golden Eagle - 0
American Kestrel - 279
Merlin - 28
Peregrine Falcon - 9
Total - 1606
Unfortunately I couldn't seem to find the lightly coloured owl in my view finder so sadly no photos!
Blue Jay migration appears to have started with about a half dozen flocks flying over this morning totalling roughly 60 birds. Monarch butterflies were down today but still we must've seen 40+.
Norm, Peter, Phil, Ron, Alex, Hugh, Carol, and new watcher Doug were on-hand for at least some of the birds today. Thanks everyone!
Saturday and Sunday are likely our next days with a 'north' element in the wind direction. Stay tuned!
Walter
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