130 Raptors...More Was Expected

While todays total of 128 raptors was good,more had been expected. We just didnt get a big flight of Turkey Vultures at Rosetta,if they were flying,they were north of us.We were able to spot many low birds,including 3 more Peregrine Falcons(one pictured above and another shot below).

Below is an American Kestrel carrying its dragonfly meal. We were surprised to see so many Green Darners flying today. The hot weather must have brought them out. We also observed several species of common butterflies,including Monarch,Red Admiral,Cabbage White,Yellow Sulphur and a Mourning Cloak.

Those gathered also saw several Sharpshinned Hawks. Todays low birds offered a few new visitors beautiful views.

One of only 33 Turkey Vultures seen today. 17 kettled t0gether,giving us early hopes for more!

Few Redtailed Hawks were observed...only 2 infact.

The local Coopers Hawk sat in a nearby tree for photos.

One of the most interesting sightings of the day came after abit of a lull,when a Northern Goshawk and a Peregrine Falcon went through together. It seemed that the Peregrine took a run at the Goshawk. This pairing surprised us.

Thanks to Don P,Tim,Murray,Carol,Ann(on lunch),Pat,Nancy,Bruce,Mike 2,Uwe visiting from German,Lee and a few other visitors whose names I didnt get for their help spotting. Tomorrow we should see a few raptors,with good west winds most seen should be low. Saturday looks like the next chance for a big day.

Todays total of 130 raptors was

33-Turkey Vulture

3-Osprey

3-Bald Eagles(juveniles @ 138pm,158pm and 215pm)

8-Northern Harrier

49-Sharpshinned Hawk

2-Coopers Hawk

2-Northern Goshawk

2-Redtailed Hawk

20-American Kestrel(season total over 700 now)

5-Merlin

3-Peregrine Falcon

Year to Date Total 4885

Thursday Is The Day

Conditions tomorrow are still looking great for a big movement of birds of prey. With no movement today(Wed) there is unlikely to be much before 9am. It is Redtail and Turkey Vulture time,so they start alittle later. Lets hope the birds co-operate.

Watch the Weather Thurs and Fri!!

BIG MIGRATION DAY POSSIBLE!!!
Keep your eyes on Thursday as a possible very large raptor migration day. Friday also looks great right now! With todays rain,and rain off and on tomorrow,with 25kmh NW winds predicted for Thursday we may get a huge day. Lets hope there are birds in the pipeline and that they read the weather reports. If the strong predicted winds happen birds will be many and low. Dress very warm!!!
Today was pretty much a washout. I arrived with hopes of a decent day,when it began to rain. The only birds seen today were 2 Northern Harriers. One was an adult male,the first I have seen this migration season. They look very different from females and young. Males have a grey/blue back,with alot of light colour on the underwings. The wingtips look like they are dipped in ink. Watch for more now,they do fly at a different time of season and this is it.

Oct 4...Very Slow Day 14 Raptors

Walter and I had high hopes Monday,especially after we had 2 young Bald Eagles pass by low over the lake by 736am. Undoubtedly that was the birding highlight of the day. We saw only 12 more birds the remainder of the day.
Our final total of 14 was:
Bald Eagle......................3(all juveniles,733am,736am,1238pm)
Northern Harrier.........4
Sharpshinned Hawk....5
Coopers Hawk...............1
American Kestrel.........1
Walter and I hung out until 2pm,mostly to be part of one of the park employees retirement send off. It was Bill Young's final day with the city. Over the years of the Rosetta McClain Raptor Watch,Bill was always very helpful to myself and Walter. His friendly,quiet nature made him an easy guy to get along with. Both staff and park regulars will miss him. Good luck from everyone Bill! Thanks for all your help,end of day chats and for keeping Rosetta beautiful for so many years.
Tuesday looks like it could be a better day. Winds although predicted decent today,just never seemed to materialize over Rosetta McClain Gardens. Of note...Lake Erie Metropark Raptor Watch in Brownstown,Michighan,saw over 41000 Turkey Vultures today!Thursday also looks like its shaping up to be a great day. Hopes are high,lets hope the birds are low!

102 Raptors Another Goshawk

Today started off with a great upflight of Turkey Vultures. Walter and I were surprised when 45 Turkey Vultures appeared low on the horizon. It appears they must have spent the night along the bluffs somewhere. They circled over the park very low. By 10am we had seen 66 of the 101 raptors. Mike was recording the birds again today,while myself,Les,Walter,Trudy,Cori,Gunner,Lans,Betty,Hugh,Norm and Connie did our best to spot some birds. We enjoyed good views of 2 Bald Eagles,both juvenile birds.
Todays total of 102 raptors consisted of:
48-Turkey Vultures
1-Osprey
2-Bald Eagles(both juveniles 1058am and 229pm)
6-Northern Harrier
26-Sharpshinned Hawk
2-Coopers Hawk
1-Northern Goshawk
1-Broadwinged Hawk
9-Redtailed Hawk
2-American Kestrel
1-Merlin
3-Peregrine Falcon
Tomorrow I suspect the birds will be high again. Northeast winds are predicted...the east part sends the birds higher. Conditions look good right through the week,the stronger the winds the better and Northwest is best.We saw many Common Loons and Gunner saw an Eastern Towhee.

125 Raptors...Year To Date....4637

Walter and I scan the sky for birds.
(courtesy Trudy Panchyson)
Birds were high most of the day,so scanning was necessary. High Sharpshinned Hawks made the morning challanging. Threat of and then rain made the sky empty. All but 5 of the birds seen were before 1pm.

The sunrise was beautiful and it was clear in the morning. Ann got this view of Niagara Falls. The cloud rising from the horizon is the mist of Niagara Falls.

It is prime time for Peregrine Falcons and today we had sightings of 7. This brings our season total to 52 and counting. Early in the morning Walter and I saw one that flew straight across Lake Ontario.

This is yesterdays Northern Goshawk,by Ann. It was very easily recognizable when it came from behind the ridge of trees along the bluffs. I immediately said "We have our first Goshawk of the season.
Ann got some nice shots of small birds today,while lighting for raptors and the height of them,for photos wasnt very good.
Here is a Northern Parula a first for Ann.

There were a large number of Golden-crowned Kinglets around too.

Ann sent this shot of The Lancaster Bomber. I heard the distinctive hum of the Lanc's 4 Merlin engines coming from behind us and immediately knew which plane it was.

Trudy sent this great shot of The Lancaster Bomber. You can see the guns on the front,middle and tail of the plane.Thanks to Trudy for her first contributions to the site. I hope the first of many!
Todays numbers were not bad at all.

Bald Eagle...................1(2nd year bird 1110am)

Northern Harrier........8

Sharpshinned Hawk..96

Coopers Hawk..............3

Broadwinged Hawk......1

Redtailed Hawk...........1

American Kestrel.........8

Peregrine Falcon.........7

Total Raptors...........125
Thanks to everyone who helped spot today,Ann,Lee,Ron,Trudy,Betty,Pat and Cori. Much thanks to Cori for the Tim's run again today. It keeps Walter and I going. Special thanks also to Lans for coffee today. After a long day yesterday,Walter and I really appreciated it(as we do always,the great treatment we get from the Rosetta staff). We do pass on comments to staff and management that "our watchers" make about the beauty and cleanliness of the park. The compliments are appreciated and accepted with pride. Without the friendship and co-operation of the staff,things wouldnt go as well as they do...or maybe not at all.

Oct 1...Best Day Ever! over 900raptors

With perfect conditions for a big day,Walter and I arrived shortly after sunrise. We were not disappointed. 27 raptors went by pre-9am,shades of things to come. It was our best day ever at Rosetta McClain Gardens Raptor Watch. The bird du jour was Turkey Vultures! They provided great views,both up close and kettling in groups. Ann Brokelman provided fantastic photos today. Above is a long view of part of a kettle of Turkey Vultures. Below is a closer view into the kettle. To explain the term kettle:this is when a large group of vultures circle together,rising on a thermal(warm air),gaining altitude. The circling together is the bubbling water in a kettle. When they reach the top of the thermal,the kettle comes to a boil. The birds break off and fly onward(actually drifting down as they float away,only to find another thermal,spiral up and continue onward again..this saves alot of energy as very little energy is put out during this process,the vultures barely flap) The individuals flying off the top of the kettle is the steam escaping. Thus the analogy to a kettle.

All day long,raptors kept flying and hourly counts increased every hour from 9am until 3pm,with the highest hourly count of all raptors being 159,or more then 2 per minute!

Here are several close-up captures,by Ann. Thanks so much for all your great photos. Chosing from todays selection was very tough. I chose to highlight the Turkey Vulture and add a few other species that flew in good numbers today.

I thought this beautiful shot of a Broadwinged Hawk showed not only the bird but the beautiful sky we had to see the birds in today!

We saw many Sharp-shinned Hawks today too. 205 in all.

Those gathered were also treated to many close-up views of Northern Harriers. Todays total of 36,brought the seasons total to 214,up impressively over recent years counts.

There is no way to describe the excitement a mega-day brings. We enjoyed incredible views of so many birds. They were above us,below us,near and not so near. Todays 4 Merlin set another season record,taking us to 62 Merlins sighted,our previous high was 60. When I was going through the possible records which could be broken this season,needing 73 American Kestrels in October,to achieve 680(one over our old high total)didnt seem possible. Kestrel numbers wain in October. With a large movement of Kestrels today,we indeed broke the record all in one day! We saw 73 Kestrels!! Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed today. While it got confusing at times,noone went home disappointed. Thanks Gunner,Ann,Carol,Berle,Bill,Hugh,Ron P,Betty,Lee,Pat and Nancy,Ron,Tim,Cori(for yet another coffee run and Timbits(should we buy shares??),Richard,Brad and a cast of thousands(well not quite,but I was so busy I didnt get everyones names) As always Walter was spotting,hosting and recording too. Without his help,things definetly wouldnt go near as well as they do! Thanks buddy. Did I mention,we had 4 Bald Eagles and our first Northern Goshawk of the year!!

Many small birds were also on the move early in the day. We observed a Rusty Blackbird,which landed in the park,thousands of Redwinged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds fly past,a Hairy Woodpecker,a Purple Finch and Ron Pittaway ID'd a Pine Siskin as it went by. Great job everyone!

The totals...oh ya:

562........Turkey Vulture

5............Osprey

4............Bald Eagles(2 juveniles 1130am and 1138am,2 adults 1130am and 1134am)

36..........Northern Harrier

205........Sharpshinned Hawk

6............Coopers Hawk

1............Northern Goshawk

20..........Broadwinged Hawk

28..........Redtailed Hawk

73..........American Kestrel(new season record 680)

4............Merlin(new season record 62)

2............Peregrine Falcon

946.......Total...A new one day sight record count!!

The next several days have potential to be very good. Remember on winds with an east element birds go higher! We may be looking at alot of distant birds today. Dress warm!

The next several days all have potential.

Sept.30th Out With A Bang

OSPREY #200 Of The Season

Walter,Peter,Lorne,Pat,Nancy,Ron,Brad,Cori and I closed out September with a few more Osprey. Unbelievably we saw 4 more Osprey today,to finish September with a year to date total of 202. One went by carrying a medium sized fish in its talons. Our previous high season was 100. I have let Friends Of The Osprey know and they are very happy to hear this.The final tally today was 26 and consisted of :

4-Osprey

5-Northern Harrier

7-Sharpshinned Hawk

1-Coopers Hawk

4-American Kestrel

1-Merlin

4-Peregrine Falcon

We finished September with a year to date total of 3566 raptors observed. This is our best ever to be sure at this point in the season. We are very hopeful of a fantastic October,which should begin very well,given current wind predictions for the next week. Not only did we surpass 25000 total raptors seen at Rosetta McClain Raptor Watch,but the great volume of raptors seen since has us headed to top 30000 in early October! 10 records fell this month,with more undoubtedly to follow this month. Several day,month and year to date total records have fallen. With a good flight of adult Sharpshinned Hawks,we should pass our season high this month,we will definetly see more Merlin then ever before as we are only 2 Merlin away from our best season total ever. We stand at 58,our record is 60.

Month End Totals/Year To Date

Species................August..............September...Year to Date

Turkey Vulture.......21..........................58...............79

Osprey....................26........................176..............202

Bald Eagle...............9...........................43................52

Northern Harrier....8..........................170.............178

Sharpshinned Hawk...39......................2067.......2106

Coopers Hawk..............2...........................33...........35

Broadwinged Hawk....28.......................139...........167

Redtailed Hawk..........10.........................29.............39

American Kestrel........26.......................581...........607

Merlin............................6.........................52............58

Peregrine Falcon.........6..........................37.............43

Total Raptors...........181......................3385.........3566

Also seen today was a Mink which came right up to Walters feet,just the other side of the fence. This was a first for the park! Great sighting! There was one more Great Blue Heron and 3 Loons spotted today as well.

Another Great Osprey Count 20...Day Count 82

Today we certainly didnt expect such a good day. Winds were to be fairly light and from the southeast last I saw on the weather forecast. By days end,Walter,Cori,Shirley,Kaylee,Hugh,Lorne,Bill,Peter from the UK,Murray,Betty,Carol,Pat and Nancy had all seen some part of 20 Osprey. This brought the total Osprey this season to 198. Most were very close. A good number of Northern Harriers were also observed,again at close range.

Peregrine Falcons continue to move,as we are in prime time for their migration. As I left at 4pm,3 Peregrine Falcons had been seen. Walter and I first heard them screaming at one another,then saw them chase each other. Another surprise was that we saw one local Coopers Hawk land in the "dead tree". When I approached to take photos,I saw 2 in the tree(we have noticed to chasing each other a few times recently),when a 3rd Coopers Hawk approached in flight and scared the other 2. A 4th flew right past Walter and Lorne.

Our final total today was:

Osprey..........................20

Northern Harrier.........18

Sharpshinned Hawk....33

Coopers Hawk...............2

American Kestrel..........2

Merlin............................1

Peregrine Falcon...........6

This brings the YTD total to 3540. Keep an eye on Friday through Monday for good days. Also observed today were many Blue Jays,2 Common Loons,2 Great Blackbacked Gulls and 3 Trumpeter Swans.

Slow Morning...13 Raptors

I left by noon,it was very slow. Ann,Pat,Nancy,Lorne and Betty all joined me briefly. I was bored enough that between 8am and 9am I counted 700 Blue Jays go past and 4 Common Loons. No local birds were seen this morning until I was on my way out of the park,when a Turkey Vulture came low over the park. There was a flurry of Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets,mixed with some warblers in nearby trees. A confused Double Crested Cormorant was flying in formation with Canada Geese looking just like it belonged. 2 Peregrine Falcons interacting were the best birds a slow morning.

Sightings today included:
4-Northern Harrier
3-Sharpshinned Hawk
2-American Kestrel
2-Merlin
2-Peregrine Falcon
13-Total Raptors

It is time Peregrine Falcons migrated. If you are down at the park,look low and close to the bluff for them to go by. Friday-Sunday still look promising.

Close Encounters...44 Raptors and Cudos

Today we had a count of 44 raptors. We had a decent mix of species. Many were very low and very nearby again. Several caused great excitement,whether we could count them or not. Thanks to Mike for taking over recording duties again this Saturday. It allows me to socialize and offer tips to watchers,as well as relax more. Welcome to first time visitor Delphine,glad you got to see a few nice raptors and enjoyed the gardens and some small birds too!
Osprey Over Rosetta

The "local" juvenile Redtailed Hawk was very photogenic today. It made several passes while hunting. Those gathered also got to watch as the gang of local American Crows harrassed the young Redtail. We had a banded Redtail go past too. We noticed this after the fact in one of Ann's great photos.

Banded Redtailed Hawk

Blue Jay vs Merlin
Blue Jays often squawk(alarm call) at birds of prey or owls,this is one way people looking for hawks or owls know to check the trees or the air well.

The "local" Merlin put on a show today. It perched several times. Chased assorted birds,including Blue Jays(we saw thousands of them today) and it made several passes of the park.

Here Ann has caught the Merlin perched and shortly after take-off.

"Local" Merlin in Flight

Cudos to Ann! Ann's photo was voted as the winner of Friends of The Osprey photo contest. This is her winning submission. Ann generously donated the prize back to the organization and the photo will be sold or auctioned to raise money for them. Ive asked Ann to do a little write-up about Friends of The Osprey,which I will post here at a date in the future.

Todays total was 44 and made up of

Osprey.........................3

Bald Eagle...................2(both immature 1029am and 355pm)

Northern Harrier.......2

Sharpshinned Hawk.24

Coopers Hawk............2

Redtailed Hawk..........4

American Kestrel.......4

Merlin..........................1

Peregrine Falcon........2

(no locals were counted of course)

The next few days are unlikely to have large movements of raptors,Friday-Monday look like there could be some decent counts. Last season around the same time with good conditions we got an early movement of Turkey Vultures. Stay tuned.

Day Count 73,Plenty of Visitors

Today,more was expected,with a strong west or northwest wind predicted. Those gathered were fortunate to get nice close views of most of todays 73 passing raptors. With appologies to anyone whose names I missed,along with our regulars Carol,Ann,Betty,Berle,Pat,Nancy(thanks for the group photo) and Lee,a few members of The Peel Birding Class visited today and we had a visitor from Queensland, Austrailia. A special treat for me was that several colleagues from The Canadian Peregrine Foundation joined us today. First time fellow fledge watchers Zoe and Paul,along with returning members Bruce,Atilla,Elizabeth and Terry all came out today.Walter and I arrived pre-sunrise and hung in for a few more Osprey and a few late Peregrine Falcons.

We observed a decent number of Northern Harriers today. Ann made it tough on me today,by snapping so many great photos of them. I chose to include these 2.

Northern Harrier In Flight

We continue to see Osprey. Over the course of the season they have provided brilliant up close views and photographic opportunities. Thanks to Ann Brokelman for all of todays brilliant photos of the birds.

Today we finally saw an adult Sharpshinned Hawk migrate,to this point none of the 2000+ Sharpies seen were obviously adults. We anticipate a flight of adults next month. Like many raptor species,adults fly after and independant of the juveniles.

Sharpshinned Hawk With Full Crop

Our "local" Merlin provided many great views today. It made many passes of the park. I do believe we had 2 migrating Merlin,in addition to this bird. It perched briefly for Ann to get a few nice photos and later caught a Goldfinch.

Merlin In Tree

One Less Goldfinch

Ann Got A Nice Piece Of Tail

The local Coopers Hawk also made several passes of the park today. As we enjoy teaching people about the raptors and not just counting,the local birds provide a great chance for folks to view and study various species. Each day lately a Coopers Hawk,Merlin,Redtailed Hawk and Sharpshinned Hawk provide such opportunities.

Local Coopers Hawk

Our final tally of 73 raptors consisted of

Turkey Vulture............11

Osprey...........................6

Northern Harrier.......15

Sharpshinned Hawk..17

Broadwinged Hawk.....1

Redtailed Hawk...........1

American Kestrel.......14

Merlin..........................2

Peregrine Falcon.........6

Special Happy Birthday wishes to Lee. May you have many more. Your friendship and enthusiasm is greatly enjoyed by your raptor watching friends!

The next several days will be hit and miss. Wednesday and to a greater degree,Friday look like they could be decent. The end of September can sometimes be slow,despite good conditions. Redtailed Hawk migration and Turkey Vulture migration begin in ernst in October,with Turkey Vulture migration peaking around Thanksgiving.