Sep 12th - 17 Bald Eagles!

Oh my, what a day!  Things took a little while to get going this morning but once they did, it was a nice steady stream.  With today's northeast wind, the birds were fairly high up but against the clouds they were quite easy to see.  Everyone gathered had a grand time finding birds and calling them out as they were in all areas of the sky.  Some folks were watching Eagles while others were counting Sharpies and every now and then, an Osprey.  In the two hours between 11:30AM and 1:30PM, we tallied 16 of our 17 Eagles for the day.  As the afternoon went on and the raptors started to dwindle, the Monarchs took over.  At one point, they were going by in small groups!  We counted 8 flying together along the top edge of the bluffs.  Also during this time, the 2 local Red-tailed Hawks decided it was time for another airshow!  Again diving down in to the park in every direction chasing the squirrels and terrifying the Hell out of unsuspecting park goers.  Somehow somewhere during their aerial acrobatic display the two birds amazingly morphed into three.  Don't know how it happened but it sure was incredible.  There was no sign of aggression towards this 'new' bird whatsoever.  Well, if the day wasn't exciting enough, we (the few that still remained) were told by a couple of cyclist that in the small park behind the Arts Council there were hundreds of Monarchs gathering in the trees.  This was something yours truly had never witnessed before.  So off we all went down the street.  Oh my, what a sight!  A mini version of Mexico!  My thanks to everyone today who made this one of the most memorable days in recent years.

Today:
Osprey - 13
Bald Eagle - 17
Northern Harrier - 7
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 123
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 54
Red-tailed Hawk - 5
American Kestrel - 18
Merlin - 5
Total - 243

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 0
Osprey - 79
Bald Eagle - 35
Northern Harrier - 28
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 715
Cooper's Hawk - 12
Northern Goshawk - 0
Red-shouldered Hawk - 0
Broad-winged Hawk - 146
Red-tailed Hawk - 20
Rough-legged Hawk - 0
Golden Eagle - 0
American Kestrel - 134
Merlin - 38
Peregrine Falcon - 3
Total - 1210

Eagle Time (EDT):
11:38 AM - BE (adult)
11:40 AM - BE (imm)
12:17 PM - BE (imm)
12:24 PM - BE x2 (imm)
12:28 PM - BE x2 (imm)
12:37 PM - BE (imm)
12:40 PM - BE (imm)
12:41 PM - BE (imm)
12:45 PM - BE (adult)
01:00 PM - BE x4 (2 adult, 2 imm)
01:30 PM - BE (imm)
02:34 PM - BE (imm)

Local Raptors:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 2

Here are a few great shots that Ann got today...

a migrating Merlin

And one that I took...

Noted non-raptor sightings today included 10 Loons and several flocks of Canada Geese on the move.

As mentioned above, Monarch migration was off the chart today.  A conservative guess would be 1000+ but after seeing how many were in the park sitting on flowers, shrubs, trees and even grasses, I would have to say that 1000+ is 'very' conservative.  Not to mention all that we saw near the end of the day in the trees behind the Arts Council.

 

The day would not have been possible without the help of so many wonderful friends including - Terry, Lee, Norm, Ron & Jean, Byron, Don, John, Eleanor, Arvo, Tom, MC, Brian, Berle, Carol, Manny, Pat & Nancy, Leon, Lynn, Hugh, Ann, and new friend Sarah.  Sorry if I missed anyone's name today.

If it doesn't rain for too long tomorrow, it's likely we'll see a bit more action as NW winds are predicted for the afternoon.

Hope to see you out!

Walter