September 1st - Look everybody, it's a Sharpie!

Well, we had another hot and hazy day with a thunderstorm and a few light showers thrown in. On a happier note, we did reach double figures on the bird count for the day, 10 birds in all. A pair of Sharp-shinned Hawks appeared out of the haze right above us. I'd like to thank Terry who returned to the park after the storm only to see an Osprey fly by very close, how lucky!

Today:
Osprey - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 8
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Total - 10

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 6
Osprey - 10
Bald Eagle - 4
Northern Harrier - 14
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 51
Cooper's Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 11
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 13
Merlin - 4
Total - 117

Ann got this shot of a Sharpie flying overhead.


The only other thing of interest at the park today was a little Squirrel Smackdown. 2 of the little Reds were really having a go at one another over a peanut and a little territory. Quite funny to watch. Nancy was able to restore the peace when she threw a handful of nuts to them.

If the weather person is correct and things don't change too much, we may see some birds in between rain showers over the weekend. Monday is looking excellent with N 25kph winds! Hope to see you at the Watch.

Walter

August 31st - We've Done It, 100+ Birds!

As the hot, humid, no wind, no bird days came and went I was really starting to doubt that we would get to the '100 bird' plateau this month. Well, we did it on the very last day! Excellent work spotting birds everyone!

The highlights today came in the late afternoon when Lee and Gord saw an adult Bald Eagle fly by at 5:32 PM and then 20 minutes later a juvenile Bald Eagle flew by. Also during their time at the Watch Lee and Gord saw a Northern Harrier fly passed. Looks like we're going to have to stay much longer at the park from now on.

Today:
Osprey - 1
Bald Eagle - 2 (adult 5:32, juvenile 5:52)
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 12
American Kestrel - 1
Merlin - 1
Total - 18

Extras (not counted previously):
Turkey Vulture - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 2
Total - 6

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 6
Osprey - 9
Bald Eagle - 4
Northern Harrier - 14
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 43
Cooper's Hawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 11
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 13
Merlin - 4
Total - 107

Other birds of note today include: 3 Whimbrel flying together out over the lake heading eastward, a Killdeer which flew right over our heads and a couple of Common Loons heading due south. A Black Swallowtail butterfly, a Clouded Sulphur butterfly, and a 'fresh' female Fiery Skipper were also seen today.

Many thanks to Pat, Nancy, Betty, Peter, Lee, and Gord for all the help today. Also of note, our friend from last year's Watch, Norm, popped in to say "Hi" and see if we were conducting a count this year.

Walter

August 30th - 9 More Birdies

A big thankyou goes out to Terry 2 and Betty who watched and counted the birds today in my absence. Great to know that there are backup counters when needed! I did some much needed gardening and cut up a large branch that fell during the last crazy storm we had. I conducted a mini 'watch' from the yard this afternoon but saw absolutely nothing over a 1 hour period. Many Goldfinches and a Hummingbird in the yard though.

Today:
Northern Harrier - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 1
Merlin - 2
Total - 9

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Osprey - 8
Bald Eagle - 2
Northern Harrier - 13
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 31
Cooper's Hawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 9
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 12
Merlin - 3
Total - 83

I'll be at the park tomorrow (Wednesday) to see if we can squeeze a few more birds out for the month of August. As it appears right now, our next good day might be Sunday or Monday or both...but that could change.

Walter

August 29th - Another 7 Birds

We had another 7 birds fly by us today over Rosetta. Most of the birds seen today were likely 'up-flight birds' (birds that have landed and stayed the night somewhere before the watch site). As these birds continue their southbound journey the next morning, they fly passed the watch site at a fairly low level. Today the birds were seen just above the tree tops.

Today:
Northern Harrier - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
Total - 7

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Osprey - 8
Bald Eagle - 2
Northern Harrier - 11
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 29
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk -8
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 11
Merlin - 1
Total - 74

A Great Egret was seen flying eastward this morning, maybe just going as far as Bluffer's Park.

Carol, Berle, Peter, Pat, Nancy, Terry 2, Gunnar, and Betty all stopped by today.

Walter

August 28th - The Sharpies Are Coming!

With today's massive hurricane (Irene) driving it's way up the east coast, it brought favourable winds from the north to our area. As I arrived this morning at 7:30 AM and just finished setting up, I looked up to see an Osprey rising up above the bluffs out in front of me. Not a bad way to start off the day. With today's birds we've nearly doubled our numbers for the month making the count a little more respectable.

Today:
Osprey - 4
Northern Harrier - 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 19
American Kestrel - 6
Total - 32

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Osprey - 8
Bald Eagle - 2
Northern Harrier - 9
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 26
Broad-winged Hawk - 7
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 11
Merlin - 1
Total - 67

One of the 4 Osprey seen today.


Other birds of note today were Common Loon, Great Blue Heron, Killdeer, Belted Kingfisher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Magnolia Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, and Black-and-White Warbler.

Great Crested Flycatcher


Black-throated Green Warbler


Black-and-White Warbler


Magnolia Warbler


I'd like to thank Ann for the wonderful images that she captured today.

Our group of watchers today consisted of: Lorne, Mike #2, Ann, Carol, Colin, Marguerite, Pat, Nancy, Lee, Mike #3, and Berle. Thanks all for your help.

Tomorrow's (Monday) predicted NW 15kph winds might bring a few more birds by our way. Hope to see you at the park.

Walter

August 25th - Another Slow Day

Well so far August has been a little slower than expected. I thought the winds today might have brought a few more birds our way but the predicted 25 kph NW winds didn't come until later in the afternoon. The afternoon showers were not in the Weather Network's forecast that I read before leaving the house. Should we expect a big count day real soon?...I certainly hope so! Our short flurry of raptors all came before 12:00 PM. Later in the day at 5:50 PM, Lee had an adult Bald Eagle circling down low above a street close to the park. As the eagle soared on a thermal, it stayed in view long enough for Lee to park her car and grab her binoculars to get a better view. Thanks for the update Lee.

Today:
Bald Eagle - 1 (adult 5:50 PM)
Northern Harrier - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 1
Merlin - 1
Total - 6

To Date:
Turkery Vulture - 2
Osprey - 4
Bald Eagle - 2
Northern Harrier - 6
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 7
Broad-winged Hawk - 7
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 5
Merlin - 1
Total - 35

Other bird sightings today included; 2 Trumpeter Swans that flew by fairly close, Double-crested Cormorants by the thousands feeding out on the lake, 300+ Chimney Swifts and many Barn Swallows flying westward overhead. The 2 local Red-tails and the Cooper's Hawk put on wonderful flying displays this afternoon as they hunted for lunch.

I'd like to thank Betty, Pat and Nancy, and Terry 2 for coming down today and hanging in there for so long waiting for the birds to show.

I won't be present at the park on Friday or Saturday so if you see anything, including Frank, please let me know as soon as you can.

Walter

August 22nd - A Better Day Today

Today was a better for hawk watching then what we've had lately with our first northwest winds and cooler temperatures. Most of the gang showed up early today in hopes of seeing lots of raptors but unfortunately that didn't quite materialize. Our first bird of the day, a Northern Harrier, flew by at 8:45 AM this morning. The rest of the birds came through slowly over the course of the morning up until roughly 12:30 PM when things came to an end. In all we had 13 raptors for the day, the best one being an adult Broad-winged Hawk which Colin informed us was surprisingly early. He seemed to think that it might even be the earliest one that he's ever seen. That would be great news for our Hawk Watch because Colin has been watching hawks at various sites since 1975!

Here are a few fantastic photos from today:

Broad-winged Hawk (juvenile)


Cooper's Hawk (local)


Red-tailed Hawk (local)


Betty gave us all a laugh with her wonderful 'birding' socks.


The Rosetta gang during a lull in the action.


Today:
Northern Harrier - 3
Osprey - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 3
American Kestrel - 2
Total - 13

To Date:
Turkery Vulture - 2
Osprey - 4
Bald Eagle - 1
Northern Harrier - 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 7
Broad-winged Hawk - 6
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 4
Total - 29

Today I didn't keep a count for the songbirds seen or heard at the park but of note were 3 Common Loons flying out over the lake and sereval Hummingbirds darting around. A Viceroy butterfly was seen by many as it hung around under the apple tree and on the butterfly bush. Dragonflies were out in great numbers again today mostly consisting of Black Saddlebags and Green Darners. A Great Black Wasp was seen again today just beyond the fence. This is another insect that has recently found it's way up in to Ontario from the US, hurray for global warming!!!

Today's hawk watching group was: Carol, Terry 2, Colin, Betty, Berle, Pat & Nancy, Meghan, Peter, Ann, Murray, Gunnar, and myself.

With tomorrow morning's (Tuesday) predicted west wind, we might see a few birds that moved south today.

Walter

August 21st - An Update

Just wanted to let you know that I've been busy these past 2 days dealing with a family matter and have not been to the park. If anyone was there and saw any 'migrants' please let me know as soon as you can, thanks. Tomorrow (Monday) is shaping up to be our first good day with winds from the north-west at 20-25 kph, if it holds. Let's hope the birds read the forecast! See you there.

Walter

August 19th - Dog Days!

Well, the last couple of days have been amazingly quiet in the park. There have been no raptors moving and in the early morning there have been very few songbirds flying. The high heat, high humidity, and low to no winds have really put the kibosh on things lately. If the weather forecast stays the same, Sunday might bring us our first decent day. Let's keep our finger's crossed!

Speaking of quiet, our 2 minutes of exposure on TV has produced no new hawk watchers. Maybe over the weekend someone might stop by, time will tell. This is probably a good thing as, as many of you will agree, our little piece of land that they've so kindly allowed us to use at the park really can't hold more than the 20 or so regulars that we have now anyway. It was very nice of CTV News to do a story on us all the same.

Here's a few photos from Pat's camera for your viewing enjoyment.

Sadly, Carol in all her beauty was a day late for CTV News.


Our local Cooper's Hawk on the hunt for a meal.


Walter

August 17th - Our Raptor Watch Made The 6 O'Clock News!

No bird movement to report today but we did however make the news. I was interviewed by Andrew Lawson of CTV News for a story about the Watch that was aired on the 6:00 and 11:30 news. They did an excellent job of piecing everything together and thankfully our local Red-tailed Hawk put on a show for Andrew to film. Betty made a cameo appearance. Hope you all saw it. Due to the heat and humidity today, I was snoozing late the afternoon and almost missed the clip. I guess all we can do now is sit back and wait for the crowds to show up!

Today only 23 species of birds were observed and 6 species of butterflies. Of note, the Monarchs appear to be slowly building up in numbers along the bluffs and getting ready to make the big trip south to Mexico.

I would like to thank Andrew for coming down today and doing the story on our Raptor Watch, Betty for hanging around and helping me out while I was being interviewed, and Berle for the nice long chat we had while nothing was happening.

The weather forecast for the next couple of days does not look too promising for raptor movement, if the forecast holds, next Tuesday might be a good day. I'll be at the park again early tomorrow and over the next few days just in case the birds try to prove me wrong.

Walter

August 16th - Only 2 Migrants Today

Unfortunately I had to cut today's Watch at the park off early due to prior commitments. So if anyone was there and saw any raptor movement, please let me know, thanks.

The only birds seen today at the park were the local Cooper's Hawk, Turkey Vultures, and a Northern Harrier that flew from the west.

I did however manage to see 2 birds this afternoon flying overhead from the backyard and heading straight towards Rosetta - In the past on the few occassions that I've had to do it, Frank and I had proven that the birds I saw from the yard pass by Rosetta's north end over Kingston Road within 1 to 2 minutes. I live just east of the park along Kingston Road. The highlight was an adult Bald Eagle which flew over quite high up but naked eye I could easily tell what it was, in the binoculars it really looked good! It was a new 'yard' bird for me as well.

Today:
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Bald Eagle - 1 (adult, 2:51 PM)
Total: 2

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Osprey - 2
Bald Eagle - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 4
Broad-winged Hawk - 3
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 2
Total - 16

31 species of birds were counted early morning at Rosetta today including an American Pipit, a 'lifer' for me. It popped up in a shrub close to the top of the bluffs right in front of me about 15 feet away. It sat for minute pumping it's tail up and down before moving on. Only 4 species of common butterflies were noted.

I thank Terry Whittam for keeping an eye on the sky during his visit to the park today.

Tomorrow's predicted southwest winds are not conducive to good bird movement, especially this early in the migration. I'll be at the park early again tomorrow. See you then!

Walter

August 15th - Finally, A Few More Birds!

As expected, the morning started off slow today but picked up after the first bird, an American Kestrel, was spotted at around 10:14 AM. That was quickly followed by a pair of streaming Turkey Vultures that were way up high. A little while later a juvenile Northern Harrier flew through over the centre of the park. Also, a few Sharpies (Sharp-shinned Hawks) circled their way along giving great views. As the heat of the day was starting to peak, the thunder clouds rolled in and brought an end to the Watch. Also observed today were the local Cooper's Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk.

Today:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 1
Total - 8

To Date:
Turkey Vulture - 2
Osprey - 2
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 3
Broad-winged Hawk - 3
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
American Kestrel - 2
Total - 14

Overall bird species counted today was 35 including a beautiful Canada Warbler and a Greater Yellowlegs that flew in from the north. Thankfully it did a flight call and I was able to ID it, otherwise it would've been just another unidentified shorebird.

On hand today were Daniel, Berle, Terry 2, and Ann.

Tomorrow (Tuesday's) weather forecast is looking similar to today's so I'll be at the park early again. Hope to see at the Watch.

Walter