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

Aug 1st - Day One!

Day one of the 'build-up' to the Hawk Watch is now in the books.  If you missed it, you missed nothing!  As predicted, there was too much heat and humidity to really enjoy the day.  On the happier side I did see and talk with a few our hawk watching friends who were out for some fresh air.  Being that today was a holiday, there were a lot of people out so I stayed away from the main garden area.  I did do a bit of searching around the park but just sitting and relaxing on a bench in the shade and chatting was far more enjoyable!

The highlight of the day was seeing 2 Common Ravens which circled over the north side of the park just above the trees.  Earlier I watched a Turkey Vulture circling in the same area.  My thought was that there was likely a dead animal up on Kingston Rd or possibly a little further north on Danforth Ave.  The local crows were quite aware of what was happening up there!

Something to watch for:  I was informed that there's a Red-eyed Vireo feeding a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird over in the north-west section of the park.  Might make a cute picture!

The following is what I saw today to get our Fall Species Survey underway...

Birds:
Double-crested Cormorant, Turkey Vulture (local), Sharp-shinned Hawk (local), Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Caspian Tern, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Great Crested Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Common Raven, Bank Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, American Robin, Gray Catbird, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Common Grackle, Baltimore Oriole, American Goldfinch, and House Sparrow

Mammals:
Eastern Gray Squirrel

Butterflies:
Black Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Cabbage White, Monarch, Red Admiral, and Silver-spotted Skipper

As I mentioned in my last post, my time at the park will be 'hit and miss' right now due to the heat.  Again, no need for you to rush to the park.  Stay cool!

Walter