Northern Harrier Identification Tips

Inspired by an emailed photo from a friend Chris,inquiring as to its identification,Ive decided that over the next serveral cold winter weeks to highlight at least one species per week,using photos,slihouettes and information to help with identifications in the future. Chris' photo was of an adult male Northern Harrier,so I will start with the Northern Harrier.
Sizes for Northern Harriers varies greatly. Wingspan is as much as 105cm(42inches) Length is 42-60cm (17-24inches),with females being 1/3 larger then males,as is the case with most birds of prey. Females and juveniles look similar,with alot of rusty streaking on the chest. Juveniles have more. Their backs are brown. Males look completely different,appearing blue/grey on top. From below,they are very pale,appearing to be very white,with black wing tips. Many bird guides describe the wingtips as looking as though they've been dipped in ink. This is very diagnostic. All Northern Harriers have a prominent white bum patch. This is not soley a means of identification,but confirming evidence when other field marks are observed. In flight,all Harriers appear to have a long slim tail with long wings. To me on a down flap the wings look triangular and its very diagnostic. They appear to have a facial disk,owl like. When flying U will notice a strong dyhedral or v-shape.
At migration time Harriers often fly in heavy winds. Seeing males is a treat,as often migration sites see them at a rate of 8 females/juveniles to 1 adult male. Juveniles are often difficult to sex. The Perched birds are an adult female and a juvenile.

Best Of The Season

Thanks to Lee for organizing our end of season Raptor Watch dinner. A great time was enjoyed by all. We'll do something each month over the winter in addition to some birding outtings.

To all of you Merry Christmas or best of the season if U celebrate something different. Its been a great year and I hope everyone has a happy,healthy and bird filled new year.

End of season extravaganza!

Hey everyone, this is Lee. Frank's computer is acting crazy so I'm posting on his behalf.

We're having an end of season get together on December 14th at 6 pm at Fanny's Sports Lounge. It's located near Rosetta, if you're coming from the west, go past Rosetta and at the end of the second block, turn right into the plaza. If you've gone past Shoppers Drug Mart, you've gone too far!

The address is 2277 Kingston Road and it's next door to the Bo Peep Restaurant, across the street from Tim Horton's. Both Fanny's and Bo Peep are owned by the same people so we can order bar food or from the restaurant's menu.

If you've already confirmed, you don't have to send an email, but if you haven't, please email Frank at raptor.watch@hotmail.com and he'll hopefully get it :)

We currently have 10 people attending and have a reservation, so if you are coming we need to know. They've given us the section at the back of the bar and I'll have to contact them a few days before to let them know if there will be more than 10 people coming. Hope to see everyone again!

COMMENTS AND CUDOS

Thanks to my friends and fellow raptor enthusists for their kind words and comments. Keep them coming,I will contiune to add your memories.

From Ann:
Every day that I got to spend at Rosetta McClain Gardens at the raptor watch was special. Watching hawks, falcons, and eagles fly over me, beside me and even high above us is a thrill. I have so many special memories from this year that I hardly know where to begin. First of all thanks to all the friends I have made over the past few years, especially Frank,Walter,Carol,Lee,Chris,Peter,Beryl,Mary,Mike and Les. My favourite memory this year has to be when Frank, Walter and I were there early one morning and were greeted by 2 sets of peregrine falcons. At 9am 2 young peregrines flew on by right over us and then came the highlight of 3 more peregrines (1 adult and 2 youngsters) who were playing, calling, talon touching/clasping, and bumping each other and just having a great old time. They flew over us and then turned around and came back. Two disappeared and came up behind Frank no more than 5 feet from him. Man was that fun to watch. I also got some great photos. What a great morning. My second memory was the wonderful trip I took to Hawk Cliff with Carol for one week. Close to 15,000 hawks, falcons and eagles we saw. Wonderful time - great food, new friends and well a fantastic trip with Carol.
I will miss not seeing the hawks every day but I have some wonderful memories and look forward to next year. Thanks everyone. Ann

From Les and Mike:
The numbers may have been down, but the birds seen generated a lot of excitement. Also, you encouraged new birders and made the local community aware of the watch. Congrats and thanks for all you do. I know each year I'm getting better at this. My favourite pic of the year is all of us looking at the sky, while Mike reads the newspaper.

Lee submits:
Memories of this year's raptor watch:
My favourite part of the raptor watch is knowing that someone will be there when I drop by almost every time, and as you all know, dropping by and leaving shortly after is my specialty! It's great to see the birds, especially eagles and kettling turkey vultures, but there is so much downtime so the best part for me is all the laughs we have.
My favourite bird moment was when nobody else was there and I saw a juvenile bald eagle go along the bluffs below me. I couldn't believe my eyes and even though I knew crows didn't grow that big, I still didn't feel confident enough in my abilities to say I saw an eagle. I was looking around, hoping Frank or Walter would materialise out of thin air to say "oh, it was definitely an eagle" but Frank didn't show up at all and Walter came by 5 minutes later. Fortunately, there was a woman doing Tai Chi a little way over and she looked at me and said "was that an eagle or a hawk" and I knew it was an eagle because no hawk is that big or dark. Now just don't ask me if it was a bald or golden because I have no clue!(maybe next year)

Mary writes:
Dear Frank,
I just want to thank you for all you do in promoting raptor watching in(east) Toronto. People like you not only make raptor watching interesting, but fun as well. I have learned a lot from you and am able to apply this knowledge when I am out in the field.
I look forward to seeing you again when the warblers start to fly. Best regards,
Mary

Peter writes:
GREAT Raptor watch, Frank. The past few months have been like an advanced course on birding.From the top of the bluffs, it was amazing to get those close upviews and to see the birds, many I didnt know even existed, from all angles, not just from underneath. And the information passed along, to newbies like myself, was friendly and informative. Definitely the hilight was the day Walter and I saw the golden eagle circling, soaring, and crossing back and forth for ten minutes outover the lake. I never would have thought those types of birds flew through this area. Of course, it was not just about the birds, the many humorous conversationsand puns (a 'pair-a-grins'?!) and Ann's side splitting impersonations made the hours fly by. Thanks again, everyone!

Walter writes:

Well my comments about the Raptor Watch start way back in the spring when I first met Frank. I said "Frank, I'm getting ticked off, I keep seeing big birds along the Bluffs and I can't identify them at all (looking back now, it was probably the same local Red-tailed Hawk over and over out hunting each day). Frank's reply to me was "Oh don't worry about them now, wait until the Fall and I'll teach you everything you need to know about birds of prey, they come by very close here and once I point out some of the shortcuts in identifying them, it will become very easy for you". That sounded fair enough. As Spring went on, Frank had told me so many stories about the Raptor Watch that it was really sounding like it was going to be a lot of fun and sure enough, it was. Here are some of my favourite moments: Sitting in the shade of trees during August to see the first few birds of the Fall migration was great, but very hot! Seeing the 3 Peregrine Falcons flying and playing with each other along the way was really neat to see and hear. Seeing a little Hummingbird chasing after a Red-tailed Hawk was an unbelievable sight that I'm sure I'll never see again. Sitting at home the night of the 845 birds and feeling the pain running through my arms and making my hands numb (caused from holding my binoculars up almost the entire afternoon!) was pretty special to say the least. Seeing large numbers of Vultures flying through the centre of the park and just above the trees was beautiful to witness. Seeing the Bald and Golden Eagles flying below us along the Bluffs (us looking down at them for a change) was amazing. Seeing 6 Golden Eagles in one day was very high up on the list as my favourite moment...unfortunate that several of the regulars including Frank, were not present to share in the excitement. Seeing the juvenile Northern Goshawk flying back and forth all day, the one day, was really cool, many times it flew by very close to us. Watching a Red-tailed Hawk come screaming out of the sky talons first at a nice fluffy Black Squirrel (BTW - he missed!!!) and then to have him turn and fly right passed me 10 feet away was incredible to watch. Wow, I could just go on and on with special moments there were so many. But most of all, going from a complete "novice" at Birds Of Prey to a "semi-pro" (lol!) and being able to turn around and teach others what I had just learned in such a short time was very satisfying and rewarding for me and was by far the best "moment". I cannot thank you, Frank, enough for all that you have taught me over these last couple of months, it really has been an incredible time and, yes, we will get the number to match somehow. And to all of the others, way too many to mention here, I would like to thank all of you as well for teaching me what you know, sharing endless laughter and enjoyment (especially the comedy duo of Lee & Ann), freezies, coffees, hot chocolates, donuts, pizza, car rides, and whatever else you had to offer, it's all been very much enjoyed and appreciated. I look forward to doing it all again next year. Walter

Tu writes:Dear Frank
Thanks for creating the blog on the internet,which lead me to my first time ever at Rosetta McClain Gardens. I was able to see some action from the Crows chase of the Goshawk up close and personal. For next season you bet I will be there. Nice to meet you all, Ann, Lee, Walter and Frank.
Tu Dong

Keep them coming gang.

Rosetta Wrap(tor) Up 2008

So ends another season of raptor watching at Rosetta McClain Gardens. As was the case several times this season,weather played a role in an unspectacular end to the watch. More later on the role weather played.
To begin,let me thank Walter for covering days I was unable to attend,his help was very greatly appreciated. Thanks to Walter and Ann for use of their photos on the blog. Special thanks to Lee for revamping the look of the blog and adding a few things to it as well,we've had many positive comments on the new look.Thanks to all who reported on the blog,for keeping those following it up to date. Thanks to all the regulars who came faithfully to the watch this season,your friendship and commraderie was both enjoyed and appreciated. Thanks to the many new folks who joined us this season. I hope U all learned something,enjoyed some great birds and will join us again next fall.
Special thanks also to the great staff at Rosetta McClain Gardens(Richard,Ron,Don,Georgia,Billy and Sharlene),for their consideration,interest,passing out flyers,informing park goers of our activities and giving us a few special considerations.(among them Freezies in the heat and coffee in the cold!) These things dont go unnoticed and are greatly appreciated.
Thanks to Peter Wood for his article in The Bluffs Monitor,it increased awareness and brought several new watchers out for their first visits to Rosetta.
Our totals this season were somewhat lower then the last few years,in a few species in particular. Weather played the biggest role. I suspect a poor breeding season for Northern Harriers was part of the cause of such a low total,record rains this year likely greatly affected the success of these ground nesting raptors. Other species just went around us this season. When large numbers of some species were expected,the winds were all wrong for them to come down to the Lake Ontario shores.
That said,we enjoyed another wonderful season of raptor viewing. Hundreds of low and close birds of all species thrilled those who gathered. We had our busiest day ever at Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch on October 17th when 845 raptors were counted,due to a record one day count of 683 Turkey Vultures. November saw our highest one day count in November of 176 raptors,consisting mainly of Redtailed Hawks. An outstanding 6 Golden Eagles on October 28th will stick in Walter and Peters memories forever. Though most species final tallies were lower then the last few seasons,we set record highs this year for Turkey Vultures at 1369 and Osprey at 100.

Our Final Totals(adjustments over Duckworths pending Walter)
Turkey Vultures.............1369(new record,new one day record 683)
Osprey...........................100(new record)
Bald Eagles......................32
Northern Harriers.............84
Sharpshinned Hawks.....1208
Coopers Hawks................74
Northern Goshawks..........13
Red-shouldered Hawks.......9
Broadwinged Hawks.......156
Redtailed Hawks.............621
Roughlegged Hawks............9
Golden Eagles....................11
American Kestrels............406
Merlins..............................43
Peregrine Falcons..............37
Total...............................4172

I invite everyone,to email me their favorite memories of this season,which in whole or in part I will add to the blog.Again thanks to all who attended and helped in anyway for another great season! Lets all enjoy some winter birding!

Weather Change

The weather forecast for the week up to Sunday has changed a great deal,currently no north winds of any kind are predicted. To end the year I may pop down on one of the strong West wind days. Mother nature may have decided the watch is over. Stay tuned for a seasons end summary at the end of the month.

Nov.22 Slow But Interesting 11Raptors

Today we didnt expect much,so werent disappointed. Add to that,that 3 of our regulars(who are highly irregular)saw a nest year Bald Eagle before they even came to the park. Ann spotted something dark and large in a tree in the distance. Walter confirmed it was a Bald Eagle..or at least an Eagle of some sort at that point. Surprisingly this was at Kingston Rd and Main area,in a residential backyard. As Ann and Walter explained what it was,soon many of the neighbors were out with kids in tow,some still in pajamas(adults too if U can imagine) in the morning cold! It was attacked by an alarm calling Redtail before it left the area over an hour after Ann and Walter arrived. Bald Eagle nut errrr enthusiast,Lee was called via cell and she arrived to see the bird too. (see post below for video and pics).Back at the park we have now what appears to be 2 fairly local(seen dependably each day) juvenile Northern Goshawks. One did a quick hunt run through. We also had an adult Northern Goshawk land in a tree at the east end of the park. Before either Tu,Walter or I could get there for a photo,the 4 local American Crows started to harass it into flight. It flew right past Walter and I. While taking evasive actions,it came very low,barely clearing a short hedge just infront of where Walter and I stood. What a sight!! A Redtailed Hawk and a Sharpshinned Hawk circled together,with the Sharpie taking a run at the Redtail. A migrating Coopers Hawk took a rest in a tree near the bottom of the bluffs. It sat for a goodly amount of time,leaving as soon as noone was looking his way. Never a dull moment...well a few but the good times and company make up for them.

1-Sharpshinned Hawk
1-Coopers Hawk
1-Northern Goshawk(2 "locals")
8-Redtailed Hawks

Sunday through Tuesday(rain and snow that day) dont look very good,though if Tuesday forecast changes it could be. Wednesday-Saturday looks promising. Check previous report for reminders!

Eagle at Kingston Road/Main Street

Hi everyone, this is Lee. Frank wanted me to post the link to some pictures and video clips I took of a juvenile bald eagle that Ann found this morning. She and Walter were making a dash to the Spit before going to Rosetta and somehow she spotted the eagle in a tree in someone's back yard just south of Kingston/Main!

I've posted my side of the story on our discussion board. You have to be a member so here is the URL to the site: http://z10.invisionfree.com/RosettaMcClain/index.php?

Once you're in, the thread is here: http://z10.invisionfree.com/RosettaMcClain/index.php?showtopic=15

And if you don't want to join but just want to see the pictures, here you go:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sammikens/sets/72157609711620772/

I don't have a good camera but you can see how big he is. In one of the video clips you can hear the red-tailed hawk screeching and see him dive past. It was such an incredible experience for the three of us, it's one thing to see them fly by but to see them just sitting in a tree, fluffing their feathers, scratching their heads or stretching their wings is just amazing. And then to see the red-tailed hawk show up, both of them "talking" to each other was just surreal.

The neighbours were all coming out, some still in pyjamas, wondering what we were looking at! One guy called The Toronto Star and they were going to send out a photographer but the eagle had already taken off. We gave Ann's phone number to the person who called so we're hoping they'll contact her and she can send one of her photos in.

Edited to add Ann's photos (click on them to make them big):

Still Some Birds Out There...15 Raptors

I heard the temperature from The Weather Network,and questioned whether I really wanted to suffer the cold. Fortunately,the weatherman was wrong,and it wasnt near as cold as he made out. Colin joined Walter and I until 1pm,Peter arrived around 2pm,Lee did a watch and run visit. We had great views of many of the Redtails today as they came in low just over the lake,before really working hard to gain altitude before carrying onward. A very large female juvenile Goshawk flew past giving us a great view. A Turkey Vulture flew through the middle of the park. The local Goshawk and 2 different local Sharpshinned Hawks passed by too,one landed briefly in the park. Each year,something odd or rare is usually observed at The Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch. Until today we hadnt had anything strange. Today at 1:17pm,2 Sandhill Cranes came through the park.just above tree level,over the fountain/rock. They were Walter's first ever and first time he'd seen them from Rosetta. I had seen them once before in the spring,but this was the first sighting for the raptor watch. After a few hot chocolates,Ive thawed out and am ready to go tomorrow. Currently tomorrows winds dont look great,but I will give it a go for a few hours. Next week from Tuesday forward looks like the remaining raptors will have several optimal days to decide if they will leave intime for our count or spend the winter in Ontario.
If U join us,a few reminders...BATHROOMS ARE CLOSED! .....DRESS WARM..hands and feet especially...WATCH YOUR STEP(its slippery in places)....DONT COME TILL AT LEAST 10AM.

Todays 15
Vulture-1
Goshawk-1
Redshoulder-1
Redtail-12

Nov 20 Beautiful Day...41 Raptors

Walter and I arrived at the same time around 10:15am. At 10:45am we saw one interesting bird in the distance. I told Walter to stay on it. It was a dark morph Roughlegged Hawk. It passed reasonably close and as we watched it suddenly 3 more birds appeared circling together,it was 2 light morph Roughleggeds and another dark morph Roughie. What a start! Worth braving the snow. Redtails passed near and far,and at 12:38pm,2 Turkey Vultures were seen..abit odd this late. Another dark morph Roughleg went by with a Northern Harrier sort of buzzing it. At 1:50pm Walter and I saw an adult Bald Eagle..we give credit to Lee finding this one,as she called by cell to tell us a big dark bird was on its way towards us...from Markham Rd. We saw it awhile after she called. Our final total was 41 consisting of:
30-Redtailed Hawks
5-Roughlegged Hawks
1-Bald Eagle(adult,1:50pm)
2-Turkey Vultures
2-Northern Harriers
1-Sharpshinned Hawk

Friday we are going to give it a try,with early winds NW and later in the day West. Saturday looks good right now too,but weather is always subject to change. If U join us,dress very warm. Things have been starting up after 10am,Id almost say to wait till after 11am. Please step carefully,the path is slippery in many areas.

Nov 18th Likely Last Push..176 Raptors

Today started off very well,for a late fall migration day. By 10:30am Walter and I had already counted over 40 raptors..almost entirely Redtailed Hawks. On Nov 16th of last year I counted 168 raptors. With today being the 3rd day in a row with great wind conditions,we had what is likely our last big day for 2008. There are several coming days with good north element winds,so we may yet be surprised/rewarded with a few more great birds,but today was exceptional for this time of year,and infact we finished with the 2nd highest number of Redtailed Hawks seen in one day at Rosetta. Last season on Oct 28th we had 185 Redtails,today we saw 171 Redtails. Todays total of 176 birds was the best we have ever done in November.The local Goshawk gave myself,Walter and Peter a thrill by coming very close to the bluff and below us..we had a terrific view. At 2:31pm a 3rd year Bald Eagle passed by during a flurry of 40 Redtails,which came together from 2 different streams to kettle together. Carol just missed this arriving within moments of the birds breaking up and disappearing. Lee was disppointed about missing the Bald Eagle. It had circled for several minutes before moving on. While the Bald Eagle kettled with the Redtailed Hawks,Walter and Peter were amazed at the obvious size difference. Walter enjoyed seeing Purple Finch and also today we had 2 Northern Shrikes fly by,perching briefly before moving on. The birds seen pre11am were much lower and I believe most were what is called upflight birds or birds that stopped overnight,nearby and have left early that morning. Birds after 11am until about 2pm were very high. As the day got later they became lower again,indicating they were looking for food or a place to set down for this evening. Walter and I also enjoyed seeing our first Purple Finch of the season in the park and 2 Northern Shrike,one which landed in the big Poplar Tree.
Going forward the north winds will be the determining factor as to whether I am present at the park. Wednesday,doesnt look very good. Thursday,Friday and Saturday have a chance to be good.Thanks to all who warmed our day,especially Peter for our hot chocolates and donuts! Thanks to Walter for keeping tally and everyones help spotting.
Todays sighting were:
1-Northern Harrier
1-Bald Eagle(2:31pm,3rd Year Bird)
2-Sharpshinned Hawks
171-Redtailed Hawks
1-Rough-legged Hawk(dark morph)

Nov 16 and 17 CCCCold Winds...11 and 34 Raptors

Walter and I have been braving the cold. We start off fine but once the sun gets behind us and starts to get lower in the sky around 2pm ..we start to freeze.Each day we saw the "local" Goshawk and Coopers Hawk. The 16th,the Goshawk came low and close being chased by 4 Crows. Today there were tons of ducks moving around the lake,a huge number being Red-breasted Mergansers and Long-tailed Ducks. There were a few Bufflehead and a number of Common Goldeneye. Many American Goldfinch passed by,a few Eastern Bluebirds and House Finch as well. Nov18..Tuesday looks promising,so Walter and I will be out again,tempting the frostbite gods.
Specie........Nov16.........Nov17
Sharpshin...........................2.....
Harrier..........1..........................
Redtails.........10................32...
Total..............11...............34....