This is our first "View from the Platform" blog and what exciting news we have to report for today! The day started off with blue skies, high clouds and north winds, pushing through a good amount of the usual suspects: Accipiters, Black and Turkey Vultures, Bald Eagles, and Peregrines. However, these fair winds blew in quite an unusual suspect as well; this morning we saw the first Rough-Legged Hawk of the season! It flew in relatively low and circled the hawk watch platform, giving everyone on the deck - around 25 people - a great look at this Arctic hawk.
The day finished out strong with the count at 565 hawks plus 35 non-raptor bird species including an American Coot and over 75 Double-Crested Cormorants! The only drawback to this great day was that Melissa, while performing her duties as hawk ID instructor, was in the classroom when the big news hit. Ironically, she was dutifully explaining how rare a Rough-Legged Hawk is to Cape May as it was flying overhead. However, we have high hopes that our already successful season will continue with many other exciting birds (and another Rough-Legged for Melissa)...so until then, keep a watchful eye to the sky!
Ashley Green
Location: Cape May Bird Observatory Hawk Watch Site
Number of species: 35
Canada Goose X
Mute Swan 4
Gadwall 2
American Wigeon 7
Mallard X
Blue-winged Teal 3
Northern Shoveler 7
Northern Pintail 5
Green-winged Teal X
Double-crested Cormorant 78
Great Blue Heron 1
Great Egret 2
Snowy Egret 1
American Coot 1
Greater Yellowlegs 1
White-rumped Sandpiper 1
Laughing Gull 1
Ring-billed Gull 1
Great Black-backed Gull X
Belted Kingfisher 1
Northern Flicker 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 45
Tree Swallow 200
Barn Swallow 1
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Palm Warbler 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Bobolink 1
Red-winged Blackbird 22
Eastern Meadowlark 2
House Sparrow X
No comments:
Post a Comment