First Good Vulture Movement:Day Count 471 YTD:NEW RECORD 3384

Todays weather was perfect..eventually for a great raptor flight. We were begging for some clouds at first,and Ive no doubt we missed some birds in the blue blue sky,though we did our best. Todays final tally was 471,which put me way past last falls final year total of 3042. My current total is 3384 for 2006! Much thanks to Rodger and Jane,Lyn,Tim and Carol,for their help today,spotting and almost keeping me sane. I surpassed 300 Northern Harriers for the season,and have seen more Sharpshinned Hawks then all of last fall(1667 vs 1618),with adults yet to come in the coming weeks of October. Todays final tally of 471 included:
Turkey Vulture.........................186
Osprey........................................2
Bald Eagle...................................5
Northern Harrier........................22
Sharpshinned Hawk.................155
Coopers Hawk............................9
Northern Goshawk......................2
Broadwinged Hawk....................45
Redtailed Hawk..........................25
American Kestrel........................15
Merlin..........................................4
Peregrine Falcon..........................1
Again we had a terrific look at a juvenile Northern Goshawk. Turkey Vultures were to the north so Ive no doubt we missed a few,but with everyone working hard,we had a terrific day. We had one 3rd year Bald Eagle,one adult and 3 juveniles. While many birds were very close we had many high ones today,and even Turkey Vutures out over the lake. (Pictured are Turkey Vulture and Redtailed Hawk)

Sept.28th Bad Weather Good Count 82...YTD 2913

Despite todays poor weather,we still had a good count. Colin,Rodger and Jane joined me. There were many close birds,and a few very high ones. The bird of the day,a quote from Colin:
"Today >>> at the Bluffs with Big Frank ... 80+ raptors ... highlight >>> "big" juvenile female Gos' flying with a Harrier ... separating from the Harrier's flight path, Gos' made a quick right hand turn to fly past Big Frank and I at eye level ...and just 20 to 30 feet away from us ... we could see her eye(s) !!! "
Todays final tally of 82 included:
Turkey Vulture.........................2
Osprey.....................................2
Northern Harrier.....................17
Sharpshinned Hawk................47
Coopers Hawk.........................3
Northern Goshawk...................1
Broadwinged Hawk..................2
Redtailed Hawk........................1
American Kestrel......................4
Merlin.......................................1
Peregrine Falcon.......................2

Sept27,All In The Upflight: 61 Raptors..YTD 2831

Todays count slowed down a great deal after 11am,so most of the birds counted were the"upflight" or birds that spent the night nearby and left early the next morning. Carol and Terry joined me today,and helped pass the slow periods between birds. Of interest today,a Kestrel that landed atop a Spruce tree(pictured) and interaction between 2 Peregrine Falcons. I spotted 2 Peregrines flying together,one harrassing/attacking the other. They went behind a tree,and only one emerged which I watched out of sight along the lakeshore to the west. The "attacker" I lost track of but assumed it had continued on,just evading my sight. Later I saw 2 Peregrines again,this time there was vocalization between the 2,something I always love to hear,as one attacked the other. This time I saw the atackee out of sight again,but saw that the "attacker" went back to a spot further on along the bluffs. Still later in the day I saw what I believe was a Peregrine,some distance out over the lake to the east,eventually making its way back to the distant shoreline. Conclusion:there is a female juvenile Peregrine who has decided to hang out along the top of the bluffs somewhere for awhile. In coming days I will watch closely for more such interactions.
Todays count included:
Osprey..............................2
Northern Harrier................6
Sharpshinned Hawk..........23
Coopers Hawk..................1
American Kestrel..............25
Merlin................................1
Peregrine Falcon................3
With a big day on Friday,when good raptor movement conditions are predicted I will surpass my 2005 Final Count,with 2 months remaining in the count. Lets hope the weatherman gets Friday right!

Sept26 Another Fine Day 118raptors...YTD...2770

Another good day,with high winds being northwest till around noon. Thanks to Ron,Gunner,Richard and Kira for their coming out to enjoy the day and spot me some birds. A great view of a Peregrine Falcon was enjoyed again today,and several Northern Harriers passed by very closely. I had a nice kettle of 6 Northern Harriers today,and one with 15 Sharpshinned Hawks. An Osprey circled offering great views to Peter and I,as Peter took a break from his walk to check it out. Todays total of 118 raptors was the 11th day with greater than 100,and included:
Osprey.........................2
Northern Harrier.........31
Sharpshinned Hawk....63
Coopers Hawk.............2
Redtailed Hawk............1
American Kestrel........18
Peregrine Falcon...........1
With luck the predicted Friday northwest winds will bring a good movement of raptors. If the northwest winds predicted hang in until Friday,get to your favorite raptor viewing site.
Other birds seen today were Brown Creepers,many Golden Crowned Kinglets,a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and a Northern Mockingbird. Blue Jays continue to migrate in good numbers.

Sept25 Day Count 211...Year To Date 2652

Today was another fantastic day. The weatherman was happily wrong,we had high winds that were northwest much of the day. How does the old joke go? If U dont like the weather wait a minute and it will change? We had the bluest blue skies,perfect hawk skies (with nice puffy clouds in the blue sky) and completely cloudy skies,but still counted 211 raptors.I had plenty of help spotting and IDing.Thanks to Colin,Rodger and Jane,Mary,Gunner,Carol and Ron,for their contributions to the count and very enjoyable days. Peregrine Falcons are moving alot along the lakeshore,with fantastic views of several 19 in the last 4 days. Todays total included:
Turkey Vulture......................1
Osprey..................................3
Northern Harrier..................29
Sharpshinned Hawk...........120
Coopers Hawk......................3
Broadwinged Hawk.............13
Redtailed Hawk.....................2
American Kestrel.................34
Merlin....................................1
Peregrine Falcon....................5
The season total of 2652 wasnt achieved until Oct19th last season.

Sept24 More Then A Pair O Grins Day Count:75 YTD:2441

I had plenty of visitors/helpers today. Thanks to everyone who enjoyed great views and helped spot birds today. Guests included Ron and Jean,Eleanor,Gunner,Terry,Andrew,Carol,Colin and all the way from the UK Rodger and Jane. We had better than predicted weather,resulting in a decent flight of 75 raptors. We had terrific views of a few Harriers,a 2nd year Bald Eagle,a few Osprey and many Peregrine Falcons. We saw one juvenile Peregrine Falcon takea run at an Osprey as it went past. That needless to say caused some excitement among us. Several of the Peregrines came right along the bluffs affording us great viewing. Our 75 raptors included:
Osprey.......................4
Bald Eagle..................1
Northern Harrier.........8
Sharpshinned Hawk...43
Coopers Hawk...........2
Redtailed Hawk...........1
American Kestrel.........5
Merlin..........................1
Peregrine Falcon........10

Sept.22 Wind Shift Day Count:67 YTD 2355

Today the weather changed,which meant a slower day. It was still a wonderful morning,with quality sightings. An Osprey went by with a fish in its tallons,the first time I had ever seen that. Of the 5 Merlins,Ron and I watched at least 2 catch dragonflys on the fly,and gulp them down,followed by dropping the wings. 3 migrating Peregrines which passed us about eyelevel were great sightings. Todays 67 birds included:
Osprey.........................6
Northern Harrier..........5
Sharpshinned Hawk....31
Coopers Hawk............3
American Kestrel........14
Merlin...........................5
Peregrine Falcon............3

Thanks to Ron,JeanMichael and Ziggy for joining me today and for their contributions to the count and enjoyment of the day.
Also seen today were Ruby-crowned Kinglets,Black-throated Green,Black-throated Blue and Nashville Warblers,Ovenbird,Gay-cheecked Thrush,Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,Winter Wren and Brown Creeper(mostly seen by Jean searching,while things were slow).

Sept 21 Another Great Day 252 Raptors..YTD 2278

Today the winds were somewhat unexpectedly from the Northwest again,so myself,Al,Carol,Terry and another Al got to see some great birds. The early morning saw a decent upflight,with 77 birds by 10am and a flurry quickly put me over 100. Harriers were giving fantastic views,and at one point I had 8 in a kettle(yes I made doubley sure they werent Broadwings). Later 7 Broadwings passed through the park low,before kettlling near us. Terry's timing was good,as he arrived as the kettle formed. Final totals included:
Osprey.......................2
Bald Eagle..................2
Northern Harrier........45
Sharpshinned Hawk..127
Coopers Hawk...........7
Nothern Goshawk.......1
Broadwinged Hawk....21
Redtailed Hawk...........7
American Kestrel........40

Sept 20 Record Day Count.. 559 Raptors YTD..2026

An awesome day of raptor watching today,with Northwest winds all day,and a brief rain. Many thanks to Brian,who helped spot and ID for the last 2- 3hours,the extra set of eyes certainly helped. A decent upflight of 46 was seen between 7am and 9am. Things just got better from there. After 10 hours of counting,I averaged almost 56 raptors an hour,or nearly one per minute!
The final tally of 559 Raptors included:
Turkey Vulture...................4
Osprey..............................4
Bald Eagle.........................1(juvenile)
Northern Harrier................48
Sharpshinned Hawk..........282
Coopers Hawk....................7
Broadwinged Hawk............64
Redtailed Hawk...................4
American Kestrel..............142
Merlin.................................2
Peregrine Falcon..................1
This brings my season total to 2026,a total I didnt attain last fall until October 9th.

Sept19 Golden Day... Day Count 239 ...YTD..1467

Today was another fantastic day of raptor watching at Rosetta McClain Gardens. At 11:45am,Carol and I saw a juvenile Golden Eagle. It was very low and very close to us. It barely cleared a ridge of trees along the side of the bluffs,and just above eyelevel no more then 50ft away we spotted it. I hollered EAGLE! and immediately as it flared up,GOLDEN EAGLE. We clearly saw the tail and "armpit" markings. It circled infront of us,and we had spectacular views of it. Eventually it came back gaining a great deal of height. Ron Pittaway was first to spot a juvenile Northern Goshawk,which came low and was definetly on a hunting run into the park. Our final total of 239raptors included:
Opsrey.....................5
Bald Eagle................1
Northern Harrier.....26
Sharpshinned Hawk..126
Coopers Hawk............2
Northern Goshawk......1
Broadwinged Hawk.....1
Redtailed Hawk..........1
Golden Eagle..............1
American Kestrel........69
Merlin.........................5
Peregrine Falcon.........1
This brings my season total to 1467.(112 of which were in August) Tomorrow is shaping up to be another excellent day. Also of interest we saw a waterspout out over Lake Ontario.

Sept 16-18 Count 51 Year To Date 1228

The last few days migration conditions have been poor,and the birds knew it. I was happy to meet Leslie and Mike Kinrys,see old friends Terry and Elizabeth Sheils,meet Art Slack and Len and Mary(?). With varying degrees of success all saw at least a few raptors. Today I managed decent shots of a local(uncounted) American Kestrel and an Osprey which I did my best to follow in focus as it co-operatively circled above the park. The periods sightings included:
Osprey.........................2
Northern Harrier...........2
Sharpshinned Hawk....32
Coopers Hawk.............2
American Kestrel.........13

Hopefully after the rains clear out more great count days will come. The 2 Osprey I saw today put me over 50 for the seasons count.

Sept.15 2006 And So It Continues Day Count 121 YTD 1177

After a few days of very poor conditions and equally poor migration. Thanks to friends Lyn(who spotted one of the eagles),Leon,Carol and Wyatt age 4 (for spotting me a Sharpshinned Hawk) for their help.
Todays sightings included:
Bald Eagle...................2(one 3 year old)
Osprey.......................2
Northern Harrier..........4
Sharpshinned Hawk...94
Coopers Hawk............2
Redtailed Hawk...........3
American Kestrel.......12
Merlin........................2
Todays count of 121,brings my season total to 1177 and for the month of September only,the total is 1065 raptors.