Nov 4th - Another Beautiful Day!

Oh my, what a beautiful day to be at the park enjoying the weather, the company, and the birds!  Highlights of the day were the Goshawks, of course.  Always the crowd-pleasers!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Northern Goshawk - 3
Red-tailed Hawk - 3
Total - 13

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 2452
Osprey - 59
Bald Eagle - 102
Northern Harrier - 162
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1455
Cooper's Hawk - 62
Northern Goshawk - 16
Red-shouldered Hawk - 52
Broad-winged Hawk - 236
Red-tailed Hawk - 664
Rough-legged Hawk - 5
Golden Eagle - 5
American Kestrel - 275
Merlin - 84
Peregrine Falcon - 42
Total - 5671

our resident Merlin up on his favourite perch (Walter)

the Merlin (left) up annoying the local Cooper's Hawk (Walter)

Other Birds:
Black-capped Chickadee - many still moving through the park
Loon sp - 2 flying overhead

Unfortunately for the most part the songbird migration appears to be nearing it's end but you just never know what may show up at any given time.

Butterflies:
Cabbage White - 3

People:
Dave & Mary Beth, Hugh, Arvo, Bruce & Ann Falls, Ann, Dave, Pat & Nancy, Cori, Paul, Gary, plus a few others.  Thanks for all the help and the camaraderie today!

Weather Prediction:
A day of west wind tomorrow.

Walter

Nov 3rd - 38 Birds!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 21
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 5
Northern Goshawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
Rough-legged Hawk - 1
Total - 38

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 2448
Osprey - 59
Bald Eagle - 102
Northern Harrier - 162
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1452
Cooper's Hawk - 62
Northern Goshawk - 13
Red-shouldered Hawk - 52
Broad-winged Hawk - 236
Red-tailed Hawk - 661
Rough-legged Hawk - 5
Golden Eagle - 5
American Kestrel - 275
Merlin - 84
Peregrine Falcon - 42
Total - 5658

a juvenile Northern Harrier (Arvo)

a beautiful Rough-legged Hawk (Matt)

Turkey Vulture (Arvo)

Other Birds:
Eastern Bluebird - one small group flew over.
Bonaparte's Gull - a large group of approximately 50 birds first sighted flying like shorebirds near a feeding frenzy out on the lake.  For the remainder of the afternoon they were observed feeding with Red-breasted Mergansers, Long-tailed Ducks, Ring-billed Gulls, and Herring Gulls.  From my photos the Bonaparte's Gulls appeared to be (for the most part) juvenile 'first winter' and adult 'non-breeding' birds.  Bird species #194 at Rosetta for your scribe!  Hurray for me!

 Just one of many frenzies! (Walter)

an adult Bonaparte's Gull on the left (Walter)

 in this 'Where's Waldo' photo I've pointed out at

least one juvenile Bonaparte's Gull in the upper left (Walter)

(Just a reminder that all photos on this blog are 'clickable' to enlarge)

Bugs:
Cabbage White - 4

Green Darner - 2

People:
Sheldon, Matt, Arvo, Dave, Berle, Charlie, Carol, Paul, and a few others.  Thanks for an enjoyable afternoon at the park.

 Our friend Betty flew over the park on Tuesday in a similar

jet on her way to the far side of Africa.  We wish her all the

best for a safe journey and hope she sees much of the wildlife

that most of us will only ever see on TV.

Weather Prediction:
Looks like more NW wind for tomorrow...at least until 1:00pm anyway.

See you at the fence,
Walter

Nov 2nd - A Dozen Birds

Today:
Northern Harrier - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
Merlin - 1
Total - 12

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 2427
Osprey - 59
Bald Eagle - 102
Northern Harrier - 161
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1447
Cooper's Hawk - 62
Northern Goshawk - 12
Red-shouldered Hawk - 52
Broad-winged Hawk - 236
Red-tailed Hawk - 652
Rough-legged Hawk - 4
Golden Eagle - 5
American Kestrel - 275
Merlin - 84
Peregrine Falcon - 42
Total - 5620

Other Birds:
Black-capped Chickadee - still moving through the park in numbers
Common Raven - 2
Red-breasted Merganser - a couple of thousand out on the lake

Bugs:
Cabbage White - 6
Clouded Sulphur - 1
Fiery Skipper - 1
Monarch - 1
and
Green Darner - 1

People:
Sophie, Arvo, Ron, Dave, Berle, Bill, Terry, Carol, Manny, Ann, and a few others

Weather Prediction:
Rain to start the morning but after that it shouldn't be too bad.  N and NW wind!

Walter

Oct 31st - 35 Birds Up High

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 16
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 17
Total - 35

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 2427
Osprey - 59
Bald Eagle - 102
Northern Harrier - 160
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1447
Cooper's Hawk - 61
Northern Goshawk - 12
Red-shouldered Hawk - 52
Broad-winged Hawk - 236
Red-tailed Hawk - 643
Rough-legged Hawk - 4
Golden Eagle - 5
American Kestrel - 275
Merlin - 83
Peregrine Falcon - 42
Total - 5608

Butterflies:
Cabbage White - 2
Fiery Skipper - 1 (record late sighting for RMG and possibly the GTA as well)

People:
Sophie, Arvo, Ron, Carol, Ann, and Dave

Weather Prediction:
S wind for tomorrow.  Not the best!

Please remember that as we move towards the end of the migration season not only do the raptors get fewer in numbers, they also take longer to get going in the morning.  The bulk of today's movement was in the early afternoon.

Walter

Oct 30th - Another Goshawk Being Chased!

A slow afternoon after the morning rain.  The highlight was yet another Northern Goshawk being chased out of the area by the crows.  Not sure how many that makes now but there's been several this season.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 4
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Northern Goshawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 3
Total - 10

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 2411
Osprey - 59
Bald Eagle - 102
Northern Harrier - 160
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1446
Cooper's Hawk - 60
Northern Goshawk - 12
Red-shouldered Hawk - 52
Broad-winged Hawk - 236
Red-tailed Hawk - 626
Rough-legged Hawk - 4
Golden Eagle - 5
American Kestrel - 275
Merlin - 83
Peregrine Falcon - 42
Total - 5573

Other Birds:
Common Raven - 3
Loon sp - 1
Red-breasted Merganser - several hundred on the lake

People:
Paul, Matt, Steve & Iris, Phil & Josh, Charlie, Blane, and Ann

Weather Prediction:
Light N and NE winds in the morning switching to SE in the afternoon.

Walter