There weren't too many raptors to count today, but Osprey dominated the limited pool and gave some close-up views in the process. The platform also received great views from a low cruising Northern Harrier and a speedy Merlin that flew right overhead.
Other highlights included 4 Whimbrel, 1 Brown Pelican, 1 Common Nighthawk, and an Osprey landing on the shore of Bunker Pond to eat a freshly caught fish. The number of Tree Swallows has certainly increased since there was an absolutely impressive flock that hung around the state park for the majority of the day. Several hundred swallows (mostly Tree) swarmed above the close cedars to form and reform a "bait ball" this morning which was a fun treat to witness.
Other highlights included 4 Whimbrel, 1 Brown Pelican, 1 Common Nighthawk, and an Osprey landing on the shore of Bunker Pond to eat a freshly caught fish. The number of Tree Swallows has certainly increased since there was an absolutely impressive flock that hung around the state park for the majority of the day. Several hundred swallows (mostly Tree) swarmed above the close cedars to form and reform a "bait ball" this morning which was a fun treat to witness.
Identifying perched raptors can be tricky but not impossible. This immature Cooper's Hawk can easily be separated from Sharp-shinned Hawk because of the very neat, crisp streaking down the breast. A Sharp-shinned's streaking would be thick and splotchy. Although the past couple of days have been pretty slow, tomorrow looks much more promising with a cold front coming through and bringing NW winds with it. The raptors (and songbirds for that matter) should be moving tomorrow (knock on wood!).
Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 08, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 22 22
Osprey 52 326 326
Bald Eagle 0 24 24
Northern Harrier 1 24 24
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 31 31
Cooper's Hawk 2 29 29
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 3 3
Red-tailed Hawk 1 10 10
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 9 196 196
Merlin 1 8 8
Peregrine Falcon 0 2 2
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 66 675 675
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 05:30:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 10.5 hours
Official Counter: Melissa Roach
Observers:
Weather:
SW winds most of the day turning to W in the afternoon. Partly cloudy in
the morning then gradually ending with almost no cloud cover.
Raptor Observations:
Dominated by Osprey
Non-raptor Observations:
4 Whimbrel, 1 Brown Pelican, 1 Common Nighthawk, several hundred Tree
Swallows
Predictions:
WNW winds throughout the day should result in a good early season flight.
No comments:
Post a Comment