November 24th - Cold and Beautiful!

Today started off fairly early with our first bird being seen as I was tying my clipboard to the fence.  Mike 4 spotted it rising up over the bluffs just out in front of us, it was a young Bald Eagle, number 109 for the season.  With today's blue sky and decent northwest wind, almost all birds were seen low over the park or just out along the bluffs.  Of interest, the crows seemed to be in the mood to harass every Red-shouldered Hawk that came along.  I don't recall ever seeing them focus on just one species like that before.  Also of note today we had 3 adult male Harriers out of the 6 counted.  This year seems to be bringing more males over Rosetta then in previous years.

Today:
Bald Eagle - 1
Northern Harrier - 6
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Red-tailed Hawk - 9
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 22

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1665
Osprey - 117
Bald Eagle - 109
Northern Harrier - 140
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1607
Cooper's Hawk - 50
Northern Goshawk - 6
Red-shouldered Hawk - 26
Broad-winged Hawk - 139
Red-tailed Hawk - 644
Rough-legged Hawk - 15
Golden Eagle - 7
American Kestrel - 470
Merlin - 63
Peregrine Falcon - 55
Gyrfalcon - 1
Total - 5114

Eagle Time (EST):
09:38 AM - BE immature (non-adult)

Here are some great photos that Patty sent along...

This Red-tailed Hawk with it's dark markings was striking looking

against the bright blue sky.

A Red-shouldered Hawk and a not-so welcoming Crow.

Two not-so welcoming Crows!

 

The park was expectedly quiet today but we did have a nice visit from one of the foxes this afternoon.  Also today, we had two flocks of Sandhill Cranes fly over the north end of the park.  The two, consisting of 12 and then 11 individuals, were hours apart but almost flying the exact same flight line.  This was a big day for Sandhill Crane movement as many sightings were reported from several different places.

Braving the cold wind today were: Mike 4, Mark, Pat & Nancy (thanks for the hot chocolate!), Mike 3, Dave, John, Bruce, Patty, Betty (thanks for the peanut butter cookies!), and Phil (thanks for the lift home!)

Here kitty kitty, want a peanut butter cookie?

 

Walter

 

November 23rd - Cold, Snow Squalls, and a Huge Rarity!

Well, today my first attempt at walking to the park was cut short when I reached the end of the block as the first of several snow squalls move in quickly.  My second attempt went much better as the sun was out keeping things reasonable comfortable.  Anyway, over our four hour period at the Watch today we experienced one squall after another, quickly followed by sunny break after sunny break.

Our first bird, a Sharpie, arrived over the park just as the snow started coming down.  Not sure how far the little fella got before he found himself in a world of trouble with the white-out conditions.  Not too long after 1:00 PM, we had a Red-tail out over the lake spooking the Gulls, a Northern Harrier then flew overhead, and a Turkey Vulture was seen next flying low along the bluffs trying to stay out of the wind.  And then a bird came along near eye-level height just out beyond the bluffs.  It was quickly identified as a falcon.  As it approached, two of us, Bruce (Ferry) and myself called it out as a "Peregrine!"  As it flew by, Ron (Pittaway) excitedly said "Oh, I think it's a Gyrfalcon!"  During a lengthy discussion which followed our sighting Ron explained to Bruce and I everything that he had observed about the bird which lead him to his conclusion.  Ron has seen a number of Gyrfalcons during his many years of bird watching, Bruce and I on the other hand have had zero sightings.  I can't even really count the 'escapee' that was at the Golden Mile Plaza because there was suggestion that it may have been a hybridized bird!  Anyway, Ron suggested to Bruce and myself that when we got home to go through our bird books or whatever other means and email him what we felt we saw.  The findings were quite amazing as both Bruce and I sent Ron photos taken off of the internet of almost the exact same bird!  They were of a young Gyrfalcon with fairly heavy streaking on the breast and belly.  To find my 'bird of choice' I did a search using Google Images and typed in 'Peregrine Falcon Gyrfalcon'.  The results gave me a real mix of photos of both birds without any names or titles.  I searched over several pages and then searched them again until I found the photo which I thought best fit the bird I observed at the park.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the photo that Bruce sent along!  Crazy!  I then thought to myself, "Wow, I guess we really did see a Gyrfalcon today!"  Very cool!!!  Thankyou Ron for lending your experience and expertise once again!

Another Sharpie was seen flying over the north end of the park a little after 2:00 PM.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Gyrfalcon - 1
Total - 6

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1665
Osprey - 117
Bald Eagle - 108
Northern Harrier - 134
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1606
Cooper's Hawk - 50
Northern Goshawk - 6
Red-shouldered Hawk - 22
Broad-winged Hawk - 139
Red-tailed Hawk - 635
Rough-legged Hawk - 15
Golden Eagle - 7
American Kestrel - 470
Merlin - 63
Peregrine Falcon - 54
Gyrfalcon - 1
Total - 5092

Our Turkey Vulture sighting today set a new 'latest date observed' record by 2 days.

Other sightings today included 4 more Loons heading south up high over the park and a new bird species for the Fall List was a Great Black-backed Gull.  Of course the Gyrfalcon is a new addition to all of my lists.

On-hand today for at least some of the cold wind, snow squalls, and other excitement were: Betty, Terry 1 and his granddaughter Ann-Marie, Ann and her grandson Reid, Ron, John, and Bruce.  My thanks to everyone for lasting as long as you could today.  Your friendship and laughs help to keep me going on days like this.

Sunday's predicted weather forecast from wunderground.com reads, "Partly cloudy in the morning, then overcast with a chance of snow. High of -5C with a windchill as low as -16C. Windy. Winds from the NW at 20 to 30 km/h. Chance of snow 40%."  Hope to see you out tomorrow!

Walter

November 22nd - The Weekend

At present the weekend weather is looking good for whatever raptors are still left.  Saturday I'll likely play it hour by hour as there may be rain or snow mid-day but Sunday I'll be at the Watch as long as I can stand the -18C wind!  That temperature is from wunderground.com.  Hope to see you at the park as there are not many days left.

My creative side!

 

Walter

 

November 19th - 50,000 Raptors Counted!!!

With good NW wind blowing all day today it was only a matter of time before our 50,000th raptor of all-time flew overhead.  At 1:40 PM this afternoon it happened as a beautiful adult Red-tailed Hawk appeared in the sky above us.  I found it to be really fitting as the Red-tailed Hawk is what the area is known to be the home of.  Local 'Tails' have always put on spectacular displays at the Watch over the years, as everyone knows.

My thanks to everyone involved over the years and especially to our friend Frank.  As I had mentioned about a month ago in the blog, Frank spoke with great passion and excitement knowing that this unimagined figure was in sight.  What a milestone for his little hawk watch in the park he affectionately called his backyard!

The 50,000th raptor counted at Rosetta!

(with Ann)

(with Phil)

 

How we got there:

Turkey Vulture - 11452

Osprey - 1059
Bald Eagle - 500
Northern Harrier - 2190
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 18746
Cooper's Hawk - 891
Northern Goshawk - 156
Red-shouldered Hawk - 237
Broad-winged Hawk - 2084
Red-tailed Hawk - 6526
Rough-legged Hawk - 91
Golden Eagle - 88
American Kestrel - 4772
Merlin - 610
Peregrine Falcon - 598
Total - 50000

At the end of the day as I was putting everything in to my backpack I looked up just in time to see a young Peregrine Falcon fly by just out over the bluffs!  Nice way to cap-off the day!

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 1
Bald Eagle - 1
Northern Harrier - 6
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 10
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Red-shouldered Hawk - 6
Red-tailed Hawk - 46
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 74

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1664
Osprey - 117
Bald Eagle - 108
Northern Harrier - 133
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1604
Cooper's Hawk - 50
Northern Goshawk - 6
Red-shouldered Hawk - 22
Broad-winged Hawk - 139
Red-tailed Hawk - 634
Rough-legged Hawk - 15
Golden Eagle - 7
American Kestrel - 470
Merlin - 63
Peregrine Falcon - 54
Total - 5086

Eagle Time (EST):
11:11 AM - BE immature (non-adult)

Here are some photos from the day courtesy of Ann...

A young Bald Eagle high up

An adult Red-shouldered Hawk

A young Sharp-shinned Hawk

Another adult Red-shouldered Hawk

A dark Red-tailed Hawk

An adult Sharp-shinned Hawk

Other sightings today included; 4 Loons flying south, a few small flocks of Snow Buntings heading westward as well as a small flock of Eastern Bluebirds, an American Tree Sparrow and 3 Tundra Swans out over the lake.  My thanks to Terry for getting his scope on the swans for identification.

Eastern Bluebird

Pretty Kitty

 

Taking part in today's excitement were; Kris, Ron, Theresa, Ann, Peter, Hugh, Carol, Terry, Tim, Bruce, Berle, Jim & Petra, Phil, and Bill.  My apologies if I missed writing anyone's name down today as it was a strange day for me personally - was lacking lots of sleep!  I'm okay now though as you can probably guess by this late post!  Thankyou Marion for the coffee!  I'd like to thank everyone for another fun-filled day at the park.  And again, Happy Birthday Ann.  We couldn't have celebrated your birthday on a better day!  Birthday muffins were provided by Theresa.

Terry was in it for the long haul today!  Thank goodness number

50,000 came this afternoon or Terry might have stayed the night!

See you all on the next good wind day!

Walter

November 18th - Tomorrow's Weather

At present the weather forecast still looks great for tomorrow.  Let's hope and pray that the birds feel the same way.

From wunderground.com "Clear in the morning, then partly cloudy. High of 5C with a windchill as low as -5C. Windy. Winds from the NW at 25 to 30 km/h."

Walter

November 16th - Another Bird!

Several birders took advantage of the gorgeous weather and spent time at the Watch today even though the likelihood of any kind of migration was slim to none.  Beautiful days like today are not going to last much longer.  Between the hours of 10:00AM and 2:00PM our lone hawk was a Merlin.  We now need just 44 more birds to reach 50,000 raptors ever counted at Rosetta.

Here are a couple of photos that Ann and I took...

(Ann)

 

(Walter)

(Walter)

(Ann)

 

Walter

Of Interest - Latest Observation Dates

The following is a list showing the latest date ever of observation for each species at Rosetta.

Broad-winged Hawk - Oct 29th
Osprey - Nov 2nd
Turkey Vulture - Nov 21st
Bald Eagle - Nov 22nd
Merlin - Nov 23rd
Northern Goshawk - Nov 25th
Golden Eagle - Nov 25th
American Kestrel - Nov 25th
Peregrine Falcon - Nov 27th
Northern Harrier - Nov 28th
Rough-legged Hawk - Nov 28th
Sharp-shinned Hawk - Nov 30th
Cooper's Hawk - Nov 30th
Red-shouldered Hawk - Nov 30th
Red-tailed Hawk - Nov 30th

Walter

November 15th - 3 Sharpies and an Update

A few dedicated hawk-watchers including Theresa, Berle, and Hugh were at the park today and counted 3 migrating Sharp-shinned Hawks between the hours of 11:00AM and 1:00PM.

Also, got news from Theresa that the foundation for Frank's bench has finally been poured.  The worker mentioned to her that it could take up to 30 days for the concrete to set this time of year.  Of course, it could be sooner if we have a week of warmer weather he explained.

 

Here is a link to some fabulous eagle photos and videos that Lee has taken on her BC adventure.  She went to Brakendale on a whim.  I would say that it was a very good choice!

 

Don't think our count will be too high tomorrow (Sat) but I'll be at the park searching the sky for a few hours anyway.  See you there.

 

Walter

 

Special Post - Frank's Bench and Lee

Got word today from Ann that the city will be pouring the concrete foundation for Frank's bench tomorrow at Rosetta.  Stay tuned for further updates.

Also, got a text message from Lee, who's out in BC which said "Having the most awesome eagle day of my life.  10-20 here in Squamish, first eating, now circling."  Best of luck Lee, hope you see many many more!

Walter

November 12th - 4 Golden and 3 Bald Eagles!

We're starting to see the end of migration as perfect wind and cloud cover only produced 52 birds.  Don't get me wrong, birds that have an impact on a day's count are now finishing up but there are likely still some spectacular birds to come.  Eagles, Rough-legs, Red-shoulders, Red-tails, and small numbers of a few others are quite possibly.  

Today:
Bald Eagle - 3
Northern Harrier - 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 10
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 28
Golden Eagle - 4
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 52

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1663
Osprey - 117
Bald Eagle - 107
Northern Harrier - 127
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1591
Cooper's Hawk - 47
Northern Goshawk - 6
Red-shouldered Hawk - 16
Broad-winged Hawk - 139
Red-tailed Hawk - 588
Rough-legged Hawk - 15
Golden Eagle - 7
American Kestrel - 470
Merlin - 62
Peregrine Falcon - 53
Total - 5008

Eagle Time (EST):
12:05 PM - GE immature (non-adult)
12:05 PM - GE adult
12:09 PM - GE immature (non-adult)
12:12 PM - GE adult
12:35 PM - BE adult
12:59 PM - BE immature (non-adult)
02:33 PM - BE immature (non-adult)

A collection of photos from the day...

adult Golden Eagle (courtesy of Ann)

immature Bald Eagle (courtesy of Ann)

 

Red-tailed Hawk (courtesy of Paul)

 

same Red-tailed Hawk (courtesy of Ann)

immature Red-shouldered Hawk (courtesy of Paul)

 

Red-shouldered Hawk (courtesy of Ann)

Sharp-shinned Hawk (courtesy of Paul)

 

Six more Loons were counted today.  At 9:00 AM we watched as several crows put on a show attacking 2 Common Ravens as they passed along the bluffs.  Also today we had a few small flock of Snow Buntings fly overhead.

Things got alittle squirrely at times today...

(courtesy of Paul)

Ann putting peanuts on Paul's backside (courtesy of Helena)

This one thought he'd try Ron's lunch before Ron did (courtesy of Helena)

 

My thanks to all those who braved the cold weather today.  Your help, friendship, and kind offerings were much appreciated.

Yours truly (courtesy of Paul)

Walter

November 11th - They're Comin'

The weather for tomorrow as of 11 Nov 2013 at 9:30 PM...

From The Weather Network: Cloudy periods. High of 1C with a windchill as low as -10C. Windy. Winds from the NW at 30 km/h, gusting to 48 km/h.

From Weather Underground: Clear. High of 0C with a windchill as low as -8C. Windy. Winds from the NW at 25 to 30 km/h.

From Environment Canada: A mix of sun and cloud.  High of 3C with 30 percent chance of flurries in the morning.  Wind northwest 20 km/h.

Let's hope for the best as days are running out!

Walter

November 10th - Perhaps A Little Too Breezy!

Wind from the west all morning and gusting to 60+ km/h are likely the two main reasons that we didn't see any bird migration over Rosetta today.  The wind did switch to NW in the afternoon around 1:00 PM but was probably too late in the day for the birds.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Total - 4

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 1663
Osprey - 117
Bald Eagle - 104
Northern Harrier - 123
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1581
Cooper's Hawk - 47
Northern Goshawk - 6
Red-shouldered Hawk - 14
Broad-winged Hawk - 139
Red-tailed Hawk - 560
Rough-legged Hawk - 15
Golden Eagle - 3
American Kestrel - 470
Merlin - 62
Peregrine Falcon - 52
Total - 4956

All-time Count:
We now need just 100 more birds to reach 50,000!  Can we do it this year?

Here's 2 nice photos that Helena sent along...

 

On-hand today were: Mike 4, Phil, Elias, Mark, Helena, Betty, Carol, Pat & Nancy, Ron, and John.

 

Tuesday is looking like our next decent day, hope to see you at the park.  Bathrooms are now closed for the season.

 

Walter