Monday, September 14, 2009

Hawks are on the move!

Now that the big nor’easter that blocked up most of the U.S. east coast has cleared, the migration portal is open again for Broad-winged Hawks and everything else too. As a result, Sunday was an excellent migration day almost everywhere.

Hawk Cliff, Corpus Christi, Booth Hill and Detroit River Hawkwatch (Lake Erie Metropark) all posted results over 1,000 migrants, with 3,772 at Hawk Cliff, 2,194 at the Texas site, 1,030 at Booth Hill, and 1,155 at Detroit River. Veracruz, of course, tops all the northern sites, with 7,251.

Many other sites posted results in the mid- to upper-hundreds, especially at the Vermont, New Hampshire and Ontario sites, so birds are on the way south. In a few of the many individual highlights, Caesars Head in South Carolina counted 782 Broadwings; Stone Mountain in Pennsylvania tallied 682; Militia Hill near Philadelphia 624; Shatterack Mountain in Massachusetts posted 609; Quaker Ridge, 586; Putney Mountain in Vermont found 528.

More than half of Corpus Christi’s total for the day was Mississippi Kites, with 1,185, which brings their season total so far to 19,637. On Saturday at Veracruz, Mexico, 6,166 Mississippi Kites were counted, bringing their season total so far to an astounding 159,933 out of a total of 163,041 migrants.

Cape Henlopen in Delaware counted 143 ospreys on Sunday, more than half of its total count for the day. And the 51 merlin counted there was a nice number, too.

Waggoner’s Gap in Pennsylvania counted 28 Bald Eagles, threatening their one-day record of 30. Eagles outnumbered the ospreys counted there for the day.

Hawk Cliff counted 289 American Kestrel among its excellent numbers for the day. Kestrel have thus far been in short supply again this year.

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