Raptor season is very much upon us and this crazy little peninsula is once again engulfed by the watched and the watchers. If you can tear yourself away from lovely, late season passerine flights (over 100 Blackpoll Warblers today at Higbee Beach), you might notice some funky things going on...
Adult accipiters are starting to put in a stronger showing in Cape May; while most of the accipiters here in fall migration are juveniles, some blue-backed, peach-barred, red-eyed adults do pass through, like the above Sharp-shinned Hawk.
Many migratory bird species balance their annual cycles in a manner that precludes overlap between the most energetically demanding aspects of life: breeding, migration, and molting (though I suspect that breeding and migration are generally separated by other, simpler mechanisms in birds...). In Cape May this fall, we've been noticing lots of small falcons that are finishing wing and tail molt, like the Merlin shown here. Further investigation is necessary...
On a daily basis in Cape May of late, Bald Eagles are seen chasing and stealing fish from Osprey. The fascinating behavior is usually first detected when someone spots an eagle in particularly strong, determined, deep-winged flight. Eventually the eagle comes up on a frantic (and often chirping) Osprey, swipes at it a few times in mid-air, and the beleaguered Osprey usually drops the fish in short order, though occasionally a heroic fish-hawk will evade the bullying eagle with grace. Today in Cape May Point State Park, hawkwatchers were treated to this phenomenon with a bit of a twist. After making a few passes by the hawkwatch platform, a huge (female) juvenile Peregrine Falcon ended up playing the eagle's role, dogging and hitting a rather nervous Osprey carrying a bloody bunker (Atlantic Menhaden). I suspect that the falcon wasn't really going after the fish as a food source, but rather was just searching for something to beat up on to break up a long flight south.
Adult accipiters are starting to put in a stronger showing in Cape May; while most of the accipiters here in fall migration are juveniles, some blue-backed, peach-barred, red-eyed adults do pass through, like the above Sharp-shinned Hawk.
Many migratory bird species balance their annual cycles in a manner that precludes overlap between the most energetically demanding aspects of life: breeding, migration, and molting (though I suspect that breeding and migration are generally separated by other, simpler mechanisms in birds...). In Cape May this fall, we've been noticing lots of small falcons that are finishing wing and tail molt, like the Merlin shown here. Further investigation is necessary...
On a daily basis in Cape May of late, Bald Eagles are seen chasing and stealing fish from Osprey. The fascinating behavior is usually first detected when someone spots an eagle in particularly strong, determined, deep-winged flight. Eventually the eagle comes up on a frantic (and often chirping) Osprey, swipes at it a few times in mid-air, and the beleaguered Osprey usually drops the fish in short order, though occasionally a heroic fish-hawk will evade the bullying eagle with grace. Today in Cape May Point State Park, hawkwatchers were treated to this phenomenon with a bit of a twist. After making a few passes by the hawkwatch platform, a huge (female) juvenile Peregrine Falcon ended up playing the eagle's role, dogging and hitting a rather nervous Osprey carrying a bloody bunker (Atlantic Menhaden). I suspect that the falcon wasn't really going after the fish as a food source, but rather was just searching for something to beat up on to break up a long flight south.
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