The annual lottery of which hawkwatch site gets to see the most Broad-winged Hawks, those unpredictable birds, is over for another fall. This year provided some interesting results, with a few sites not particularly well-known for their Broad-winged Hawk flights pulling down a few big days. And on the other end of the stick, sites with often large numbers of these hawks ended up with lesser or lackluster flights. But before I get too deep into the overall picture, let’s start with a roundup of the Great Lakes sites, whose routinely large flights can make the northeastern hawkwatchers green with envy.
Hawk Ridge’s (Minnesota) big day was September 15 with 12,790 Broad-winged Hawks. A second big day was September 19 with 6881. For September they tallied 32,675, which is on their low side of average, once you eliminate 2003, when they had a record-breaking 160,537 Broadwings, a total that’s far above the normal range for the site. Their big day total seems to fall into the mid-range category, too.
Next is Holiday Beach (Ontario), with a big day on September 16 with 23,480 Broadwings and a second big day on September 15 with 10,393. For the month they totaled 42,493 Broadwings, the best result there in 10 years.
Hawk Cliff (Ontario) had a big, big day on September 16 with 49,830 Broadwings. The next day was decent, too with 14,595. The September total was 72,221, their fourth highest total, though well behind the 135,329 of September 2000.
And then there’s Lake Erie Metropark (Michigan). Please sit down now if you’re not already sitting. They tallied 190,121 broadwings on September 17, a spectacular day, their biggest broadwing flight ever, more than doubling their previous (and not at all shabby) best flight of 91,471 set in September 2002. Oddly, they didn’t have a second big day this year. Their next highest broadwing total was 2199 on September 25.
Next blog entry I’ll talk about the eastern sites and how they did with Broadwings this year.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Fall Hawkwatching - September 2-8
Hurricanes Irene, Katia and Lee were the major players in this past week's fall hawk migration. Unless you were lucky enough to be at one of the midwestern sites, there wasn’t much to cheer about this week. The impact of these storms caused many watches to shut down for 2-3 days, and often the days surrounding the shutdowns weren’t very good either.
The midwestern sites did have some excellent days, particularly for American Kestrels and Sharp-shinned Hawks. Hawk Ridge, near Duluth, had several outstanding days, with the best on September 4. That day the watch counted 2165 birds, including 1859 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 107 American Kestrels. Hawk Ridge also had a super kestrel flight, that one on September 9 with 152. This site also had two great Bald Eagles flights, on September 7 and 8 with 62 and then 52 birds.
Hawk Cliff and Holiday Beach, both in Ontario, also had some outstanding flights. Holiday Beach counted 62 American Kestrels on two consecutive days September 5 and again on September 6. Hawk Cliff counted 103 kestrels on September 5 and 92 the following day.
One species not being counted very much at all so far is the Broad-winged Hawk By my quick and dirty tally, just 731 were counted for the entire month thus far at all the reporting sites. To compare, the month to date tally for Sharp-shinned Hawks is 5527, and even kestrels total 976. Presumably, the broadwing total should take a pretty dramatic upturn this next week, assuming there aren’t more hurricanes to contend with.
The midwestern sites did have some excellent days, particularly for American Kestrels and Sharp-shinned Hawks. Hawk Ridge, near Duluth, had several outstanding days, with the best on September 4. That day the watch counted 2165 birds, including 1859 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 107 American Kestrels. Hawk Ridge also had a super kestrel flight, that one on September 9 with 152. This site also had two great Bald Eagles flights, on September 7 and 8 with 62 and then 52 birds.
Hawk Cliff and Holiday Beach, both in Ontario, also had some outstanding flights. Holiday Beach counted 62 American Kestrels on two consecutive days September 5 and again on September 6. Hawk Cliff counted 103 kestrels on September 5 and 92 the following day.
One species not being counted very much at all so far is the Broad-winged Hawk By my quick and dirty tally, just 731 were counted for the entire month thus far at all the reporting sites. To compare, the month to date tally for Sharp-shinned Hawks is 5527, and even kestrels total 976. Presumably, the broadwing total should take a pretty dramatic upturn this next week, assuming there aren’t more hurricanes to contend with.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Fall Hawkwatching - August 26-September 1 and the August Roundup
Hurricane Irene put a damper on many of the eastern U.S hawkwatching sites for a while this past week. Still, the week had more than a few interesting sightings, both in numbers and species.
Hawk Mountain spied the season’s first Golden Eagle, an adult, on August 29, and the next day, Waggoner’s Gap, some 90 miles or so down ridge, also saw an adult Golden Eagle. Naturally, people are wondering if it is the same bird. And then two days later, back east towards Hawk Mountain, but this time at Second Mountain, four experienced hawkwatchers saw a “raggedy” adult Golden Eagle heading west. So did the first bird pull a “fooler” on everyone and head back east again or did we have two different adult Golden Eagles? That’s probably not one we’ll ever know the answer for.
Not to be outdone with unusual August species, Hawk Ridge, Duluth, saw the first Northern Goshawk of the season, also on August 29. Cadillac Mountain in Maine also found a goshawk, this one on August 31.
In taking a quick look at August as a whole, the total number of raptors counted at many of the sites is on the low side, sometimes approaching average at best, though Bald Eagles are still setting records. Bake Oven Knob, Waggoner’s Gap and Allegheny Front, all Pennsylvania, and Franklin Mountain, New York, each appear to have set August records for the species. Franklin Mtn. counted 30, well over their previous August high of 19 in 2008. Waggoner’s Gap counted 101, smashing the 2009 August record of 87. Bake Oven just edged over its old August record of 67 (with 68 this year), and Allegheny Front counted 25 (former record was 23).
Broad-winged Hawks were counted in fairly low numbers at virtually all the sites in August. American Kestrels, always a species of concern, had its ups and downs at the sites during August—except at Hawk Ridge where they counted 194. That’s not an August record—that would be the 270 seen in August 2002—but it’s the third highest August record there. At Hawk Cliff, Ontario, an astounding 73 kestrels were counted just on August 28 alone. That’s certainly the single day August record for that site.
Corpus Christi, Texas, tallied a nice Mississippi Kite total, though not a record, with 16,467. The site had just 68 broadwings during August, when the totals have ranged anywhere between 1 and 623. I expect that number to be considerably higher by the end of the new month.
What will September bring? I hope the new month brings a lot more hawks. Certainly, it will bring the opening of a lot more hawkwatches. And as long as September doesn’t bring another hurricane, that would be much appreciated.
Late note: Two northern sites, Greenlaw Mtn. in New Brunswick and Maine's Cadillac Mtn. posted triple digits counts on September 1. The birds are on their way!
Hawk Mountain spied the season’s first Golden Eagle, an adult, on August 29, and the next day, Waggoner’s Gap, some 90 miles or so down ridge, also saw an adult Golden Eagle. Naturally, people are wondering if it is the same bird. And then two days later, back east towards Hawk Mountain, but this time at Second Mountain, four experienced hawkwatchers saw a “raggedy” adult Golden Eagle heading west. So did the first bird pull a “fooler” on everyone and head back east again or did we have two different adult Golden Eagles? That’s probably not one we’ll ever know the answer for.
Not to be outdone with unusual August species, Hawk Ridge, Duluth, saw the first Northern Goshawk of the season, also on August 29. Cadillac Mountain in Maine also found a goshawk, this one on August 31.
In taking a quick look at August as a whole, the total number of raptors counted at many of the sites is on the low side, sometimes approaching average at best, though Bald Eagles are still setting records. Bake Oven Knob, Waggoner’s Gap and Allegheny Front, all Pennsylvania, and Franklin Mountain, New York, each appear to have set August records for the species. Franklin Mtn. counted 30, well over their previous August high of 19 in 2008. Waggoner’s Gap counted 101, smashing the 2009 August record of 87. Bake Oven just edged over its old August record of 67 (with 68 this year), and Allegheny Front counted 25 (former record was 23).
Broad-winged Hawks were counted in fairly low numbers at virtually all the sites in August. American Kestrels, always a species of concern, had its ups and downs at the sites during August—except at Hawk Ridge where they counted 194. That’s not an August record—that would be the 270 seen in August 2002—but it’s the third highest August record there. At Hawk Cliff, Ontario, an astounding 73 kestrels were counted just on August 28 alone. That’s certainly the single day August record for that site.
Corpus Christi, Texas, tallied a nice Mississippi Kite total, though not a record, with 16,467. The site had just 68 broadwings during August, when the totals have ranged anywhere between 1 and 623. I expect that number to be considerably higher by the end of the new month.
What will September bring? I hope the new month brings a lot more hawks. Certainly, it will bring the opening of a lot more hawkwatches. And as long as September doesn’t bring another hurricane, that would be much appreciated.
Late note: Two northern sites, Greenlaw Mtn. in New Brunswick and Maine's Cadillac Mtn. posted triple digits counts on September 1. The birds are on their way!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Fall Hawkwatching - August 19-25
The fourth week of August produced a couple of days of nice hawkwatching. The northern sites had two good days—August 21 and 22. Corpus Christi’s best day was August 24, when they reported 1060 Mississippi kites.
At the northern sites, a total of 85 Bald Eagles were counted on the 22nd, with Bake Oven and nearby Hawk Mountain Pennsylvania leading the way each with 16. Waggoner’s Gap wasn’t far behind with 14 counted that day. The same day also saw Hawk Mountain count 26 American Kestrels, more than half of the total 48 counted through all the sites.
When it comes to eagles, Hawk Ridge in Duluth, Minnesota, now has the daily high count of the season so far, with 23 seen on August 24, a third of the 73 total birds counted that day. Their best day of the week overall was August 22 with 170 total raptors.
Osprey counts are also trending upwards, the best day saw a total of 51 counted across 19 sites on August 22. A total of 162 Broad-winged Hawks were counted on August 21, but no one site had the bulk of that number.
More watches opened up this week, though some are not yet counting daily. Washington Monument, Maryland; Tussey Mountain, Pennsylvania; Chestnut Ridge and Franklin Mtn., both New York, and Quaker Ridge, Connecticut, are the ones that seem to be reporting daily to HawkCount this week.
Hurricane Irene will likely shut down most of the eastern sites this weekend, so any birds that fly will either move ahead of that storm or slip to the west. Perhaps the Great Lakes sites or even Allegheny Front will see some action.
At the northern sites, a total of 85 Bald Eagles were counted on the 22nd, with Bake Oven and nearby Hawk Mountain Pennsylvania leading the way each with 16. Waggoner’s Gap wasn’t far behind with 14 counted that day. The same day also saw Hawk Mountain count 26 American Kestrels, more than half of the total 48 counted through all the sites.
When it comes to eagles, Hawk Ridge in Duluth, Minnesota, now has the daily high count of the season so far, with 23 seen on August 24, a third of the 73 total birds counted that day. Their best day of the week overall was August 22 with 170 total raptors.
Osprey counts are also trending upwards, the best day saw a total of 51 counted across 19 sites on August 22. A total of 162 Broad-winged Hawks were counted on August 21, but no one site had the bulk of that number.
More watches opened up this week, though some are not yet counting daily. Washington Monument, Maryland; Tussey Mountain, Pennsylvania; Chestnut Ridge and Franklin Mtn., both New York, and Quaker Ridge, Connecticut, are the ones that seem to be reporting daily to HawkCount this week.
Hurricane Irene will likely shut down most of the eastern sites this weekend, so any birds that fly will either move ahead of that storm or slip to the west. Perhaps the Great Lakes sites or even Allegheny Front will see some action.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Fall hawkwatching - Week of August 11-18
The fall hawkwatching season is already gathering speed, picking up more sites, more raptors and more species along the way. Since last week, another four sites have started reporting data, and the first Red-shouldered Hawks, Mississippi and Swallow-tailed Kites, Merlin and Peregrine Falcons were tallied, along with both vultures.
Bald Eagles are again being counted in strong numbers, strong enough that if the trend continues, 2011 may well be another banner or record-breaking year for them. Broad-winged Hawks are also starting to be seen in double-digits this week.
Corpus Christi, Texas; Hawk Ridge, Minnesota; Bake Oven Knob, Pennsylvania, and Cadillac Mountain, Maine, are now open. The best day of the past week was Tuesday, August 16, when much of the eastern U.S. was under a nice, little high pressure system. The total number of raptors seen at the ten reporting sites that day was 207, including a total of 18 Bald Eagles and 94 Broad-winged Hawks, 50 of which were seen at Pennsylvania’s Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, currently the season’s leader in total raptors with 230.
Waggoner’s Gap, near Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has the highest eagle count with 29 seen so far this season, though Bake Oven Knob had the highest single day count with 9 on August 16.
At Corpus Christi, the kites, mostly Mississippi and Swallow-tailed, are accounting for the majority of their sightings so far. Their best day this week was their first reporting day of August 15 with 107 total raptors, of which 96 were kites.
The hawkwatching floodgates will really open on September 1, which is the starting day for the majority of hawkwatches. The weekend forecast doesn’t strike me as ideal for hawkwatching, but whenever the next cold front moves down, a nice number of raptors should come with it.
Bald Eagles are again being counted in strong numbers, strong enough that if the trend continues, 2011 may well be another banner or record-breaking year for them. Broad-winged Hawks are also starting to be seen in double-digits this week.
Corpus Christi, Texas; Hawk Ridge, Minnesota; Bake Oven Knob, Pennsylvania, and Cadillac Mountain, Maine, are now open. The best day of the past week was Tuesday, August 16, when much of the eastern U.S. was under a nice, little high pressure system. The total number of raptors seen at the ten reporting sites that day was 207, including a total of 18 Bald Eagles and 94 Broad-winged Hawks, 50 of which were seen at Pennsylvania’s Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, currently the season’s leader in total raptors with 230.
Waggoner’s Gap, near Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has the highest eagle count with 29 seen so far this season, though Bake Oven Knob had the highest single day count with 9 on August 16.
At Corpus Christi, the kites, mostly Mississippi and Swallow-tailed, are accounting for the majority of their sightings so far. Their best day this week was their first reporting day of August 15 with 107 total raptors, of which 96 were kites.
The hawkwatching floodgates will really open on September 1, which is the starting day for the majority of hawkwatches. The weekend forecast doesn’t strike me as ideal for hawkwatching, but whenever the next cold front moves down, a nice number of raptors should come with it.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Raptor Migration Fall Season 2011 - Week 2
Is the improving weather along the east coast responsible for hawkwatch leaders wanting to get out and see what’s flying? Or is it just that they can’t wait to see a few hawks?
Whatever the motivation, six hawkwatches have already started counting for the fall season—four in Pennsylvania and one each in Maryland and Virginia. Typically, sites are not yet counting for full days and are often reporting for just 2-4 hours of the day.
So what are these “early bird” sites seeing? Waggoner’s Gap near Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has already reported on 8 count days, the most so far, with the number of hours ranging between 3-7 hours in a day. They’ve counted 11 bald eagles, exactly 25% of the total 44 birds seen. Broad-winged Hawks are also reported at 11 birds, so those two species account for half of their total. American Kestrels and Red-tailed Hawks make up most of the rest of the sightings.
Second Mountain, not far west of Hawk Mountain, has counted on 3 days of the new season so far, finding 7 birds, 3 of them Red-tailed Hawks. The other sites have all reported counts on just one day so far. Four sites reported for August 10, making it the best day of the season, both for the number of sites covered and the number of raptors seen. A total of 26 raptors were counted, of which 9 were kestrels, 6 broadwings and 4 bald eagles (all at Waggoner’s Gap).
And what will next week bring? As we start to move deeper into the season and more hawkwatches open, you can certainly bet on more hawks!
Do you have any fall migration photos you'd like to share? If so, please send them to me at falcon07 at ptd dot net. I'll post 1-2 a week.
Whatever the motivation, six hawkwatches have already started counting for the fall season—four in Pennsylvania and one each in Maryland and Virginia. Typically, sites are not yet counting for full days and are often reporting for just 2-4 hours of the day.
So what are these “early bird” sites seeing? Waggoner’s Gap near Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has already reported on 8 count days, the most so far, with the number of hours ranging between 3-7 hours in a day. They’ve counted 11 bald eagles, exactly 25% of the total 44 birds seen. Broad-winged Hawks are also reported at 11 birds, so those two species account for half of their total. American Kestrels and Red-tailed Hawks make up most of the rest of the sightings.
Second Mountain, not far west of Hawk Mountain, has counted on 3 days of the new season so far, finding 7 birds, 3 of them Red-tailed Hawks. The other sites have all reported counts on just one day so far. Four sites reported for August 10, making it the best day of the season, both for the number of sites covered and the number of raptors seen. A total of 26 raptors were counted, of which 9 were kestrels, 6 broadwings and 4 bald eagles (all at Waggoner’s Gap).
And what will next week bring? As we start to move deeper into the season and more hawkwatches open, you can certainly bet on more hawks!
Do you have any fall migration photos you'd like to share? If so, please send them to me at falcon07 at ptd dot net. I'll post 1-2 a week.
Friday, August 5, 2011
First hawkwatches open!
The first fall hawkwatches of the season have opened!
Two Pennsylvania sites, Second Mountain and Waggoner’s Gap, have already posted sightings to HawkCount. Waggoner’s counted 2 Broad-winged Hawks and 3 Red-tailed Hawks on August 1. Second Mountain opened, fittingly, on August 2 and saw 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 1 redtail.
Be sure to bookmark this blog so you can keep up with all of the action from fall 2011. Once the new migration season gets rolling, Hawk Migration News will post a wrap-up and highlights of the current week’s best and most exciting hawkwatching news!
If you get any unusual or interesting photos while on a hawkwatch, be sure to send them to falcon07 at ptd dot net, and maybe you'll see them posted here.
Two Pennsylvania sites, Second Mountain and Waggoner’s Gap, have already posted sightings to HawkCount. Waggoner’s counted 2 Broad-winged Hawks and 3 Red-tailed Hawks on August 1. Second Mountain opened, fittingly, on August 2 and saw 2 Sharp-shinned Hawks and 1 redtail.
Be sure to bookmark this blog so you can keep up with all of the action from fall 2011. Once the new migration season gets rolling, Hawk Migration News will post a wrap-up and highlights of the current week’s best and most exciting hawkwatching news!
If you get any unusual or interesting photos while on a hawkwatch, be sure to send them to falcon07 at ptd dot net, and maybe you'll see them posted here.
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