Aug 1st - 'Tis That Time Once Again!

OMG, where is the time going this year?  The time has come to start brushing up on your hawk watching and identifying skills once again.  Although we are still a few weeks away from any kind of real migration, I'll be at Rosetta almost daily from here forward waiting for the first couple of birds to fly by.  Over the next 2-3 weeks there will likely not be very many raptors migrating passed the Watch site so please do not feel the need to rush down.  Of the over 50,000 raptors that we've counted at Rosetta over the years, only 234 have gone by in the first two weeks.  Not trying to scare anyone away, just making you aware of the situation.  Basically what I'm trying to say is 'I'll be at the concert before it starts instead of arriving during the middle of the first song'.  Having said that, please come and enjoy the park, the flowers, the people and the weather, it's such a beautiful place to be this time of the year!

Betty, Terry, Theresa, Carol, Phil, Pat and Nancy, and myself gathered this morning to officially open the 2014 edition of the Watch!  We even had a ribbon cutting ceremony!  Our roving field reporter Lee checked-in via text message to let us know that she was ready and in position with eyes-to-the-skies.  Several other kind folks stopped by to say hello and wish us well.

Although we didn't see any 'countable' birds today, we did have spectacular views of two local Red-tailed Hawks as well as a flyby from the local Cooper's Hawk.  Overall we counted 31 bird species, 10 butterfly species and 3 mammals for our Fall Season Species Survey.  Of interest today, a total of 8 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were counted.  Some were seen in the main gardens around the Black & Blue Salvia and others were flying along the bluffs heading west.

Here are a few photos from the day (sorry, no birds)

It's official!

Black Swallowtail

Wild Indigo Duskywing

Monarch

Red Admiral

Silver-spotted Skipper

Painted Lady

Northern Broken-Dash

See you soon,

Walter