Sep 10th - A Couple More In-between the Rain

Thanks to Lee we have a report for today...

Today:
American Kestrel - 2
Merlin - 1
Total - 3

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 23
Osprey - 18
Bald Eagle - 49
Northern Harrier - 18
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 99
Cooper's Hawk - 5
Broad-winged Hawk - 135
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
American Kestrel - 44
Merlin - 16
Peregrine Falcon - 4

Total - 420

American Kestrel (Lee)

Merlin (Lee)

Other Birds:
Turkey Vulture (local)
Red-tailed Hawk (local)

Red-tailed Hawk (Lee)

Turkey Vulture (Lee)

Butterflies:
Monarch - 10 (1 tagged)

 A mating pair of Monarchs (Lee)

People:
Lee and Allison

Weather Prediction:
Tomorrow's strong NW winds should create ideal conditions for a fabulous movement of raptors over the park!!!  The flight will likely be down low just over the tree tops and should create excellent views of the birds as they pass.  I'll be at the park very early waiting in anticipation!

See you there, don't be late!
Walter

Sep 9th - 29 Small-sized Raptors!

We started the day with light NW wind which brought most of the birds along but once the wind swung around to the south the migration dried up!  Watch the weather for Sunday!!!

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 23
Cooper's Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 3
Merlin - 2
Total - 29

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 23
Osprey - 18
Bald Eagle - 49
Northern Harrier - 18
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 99
Cooper's Hawk - 5
Broad-winged Hawk - 135
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
American Kestrel - 42
Merlin - 15
Peregrine Falcon - 4
Total - 417

Other Birds:
Blue-headed Vireo - 1
Loon sp - 4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 1
Warbler sp - several

Butterflies:
Black Swallowtail - 2
Monarch - 88 (20 tagged)
Mourning Cloak - 1
Northern Crescent - 1 (species #26 since Aug 1st)
Wild Indigo Duskywing - 2

Northern Crescent (Walter)

Mammals:
Mostly just squirrels!

People:
Sheldon, Noam, Paul, Allison, Ron, Norm, Kevin, Berle, Arvo, Hugh, Betty, Eleanor, and a few others.  Thankyou everyone!

Weather Prediction:
Looks like rain off and on for tomorrow but Sunday is looking fantastic at the time of writing.  The Weather Network (Scarborough)

Walter

Sep 5th - Blue Sky, No Wind, Few Raptors!

Unfortunately it was one of those days again!

I'd like to thank Murray for organizing and bringing his Nature Lovers 'Meet-up' group to the park today.  Always a fun time whether we have birds or not!  Many folks hung around long enough to see a few migrating Sharp-shinned Hawks while others learned all about tagging migrating Monarch butterflies.  We look forward to the return of any of the folks from the group that would like to see the raptors flying over on a much better day, especially one with northwest wind.  Always remember this 'Northwest is best!'

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 7
Total - 7

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 23
Osprey - 18
Bald Eagle - 49
Northern Harrier - 18
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 76
Cooper's Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 135
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
American Kestrel - 39
Merlin - 13
Peregrine Falcon - 4
Total - 388

Other Birds:
Much quieter today with only a few warblers being seen.

Black-throated Blue Warbler (Paul)

Ovenbird (a species of Warbler) (Paul)

Butterflies:
Monarch - 17 (13 tagged)
Wild Indigo Duskywing - 1
unidentified sp - 1 flying! (very likely Spicebush or Pipevine Swallowtail)

Mammals:
Just the usual suspects; squirrels!

People:
Thankyou to everyone who came out today from the Meet-up group and thankyou to everyone from our group for making them feel so welcome!

Weather Prediction:
Yet another 'Heat Warning' is in effect for tomorrow!  There will be few to no birds flying so try to stay cool elsewhere if you can.

Walter

Sep 4th - 4 Birds!

Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Merlin - 3
Total - 4

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 23
Osprey - 18
Bald Eagle - 49
Northern Harrier - 18
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 69
Cooper's Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 135
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
American Kestrel - 39
Merlin - 13
Peregrine Falcon - 4
Total - 381

A speedy Merlin zipping overhead (Lee)

Other Birds:
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Warbler sp - several

Magnolia Warbler (Paul)

Ovenbird (Paul)

Butterflies:
Monarch - 8

Weather Prediction:
Monday will be sunny with light wind from the E switching to SE  The Weather Network

Walter