Aug 6th - Gusting NW Winds Bring Our First Two!

Finally!  Today with winds blowing down from the north-west we saw our first raptors over Rosetta.  Between about 10:00am-12:30pm we were entertained by the flyover of 5 different species.  Although we are still not really in to fall migration by any means I'm going to count 2 of the birds that we saw.  Heck, at this early stage of the game I really don't even know which birds are locals as yet.  Anyway, we can always make changes later on if need be.

It was a much more comfortable day at the park with the wind and cooler temp.  Lots of people though!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 8 (flying as a group - all locals for now)
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1 (local)
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 2 (1 adult, 1 juvenile - both local for now)
American Kestrel - 1
Total - 3

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 0
Osprey - 0
Bald Eagle - 0
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 0
Cooper's Hawk - 0
Northern Goshawk - 0
Red-shouldered Hawk - 0
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 0
Rough-legged Hawk - 0
Golden Eagle - 0
American Kestrel - 1
Merlin - 0
Peregrine Falcon - 0
Total - 3

Our first Broad-winged Hawk (Walter)

Click on the above photo to enlarge it and look at the variation
in the outer tail feathers - they resemble those of a juvenile.  This
is an adult bird.  My thanks to Kris for sharing an article from
raptor expert Jerry Liguori on this subject.

Other Birds:

Great Blue Heron - 1

Chimney Swift - 2

Butterflies:

Monarch - 1 (possibly 2)

Great Spangled Fritillary - 1 (our 13th different species in six days!)

Fiery Skipper - 2 (both female)

Peck's Skipper - 1 (female)

A worn Great Spangled Fritillary (Walter)

A very fresh looking female Fiery Skipper (Walter)

Another female Fiery Skipper (Walter)

A fresh looking female Peck's Skipper (Walter)

Mammals:

Eastern Cottontail - 1

Hawkwatchers:

Kris, Carol, Gunnar, Allison, and a view others who stopped by.

Weather Prediction:

Aug 7th - Sunny, NW 15km/h gusting to 29km/h (The Weather Network)

Conditions look good!  Let's see what happens!

Walter