Yesterday was the first significant cold front of the season followed immediately by a fantastic push of raptors. Today's temperatures followed suit from yesterday's temperatures, bringing many raptors throughout the morning hours. The afternoon slowed down a little but brought us the first-of-the-season Golden Eagle!
This beautiful bird provided us with great looks that lasted for several minutes as it meandered below the high wispy clouds. Despite being a high-up speck, binocular views provided us with great views of the long tail, small head, and bulky wings with the tapered inner trailing edge. This Golden Eagle was a juvenile, hosting the gorgeous plumage of dark undersides throughout the belly and wing complimented with a core of white throughout the mid-wing. Juvenile Golden Eagles host a stunning tail as well consisting of a white base and black end. Keep your eyes out for these and other cold-weather birds as the season progresses. Right now migration is in full swing!
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| Red-bellied Woodpecker |
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| One of THREE Red-headed Woodpeckers seen this morning. |
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| Peregrine Falcon migrating past the lighthouse. |
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| Juvenile Golden Eagle |
Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 11, 2016
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 9 9
Turkey Vulture 58 187 321
Osprey 9 585 3632
Bald Eagle 12 65 191
Northern Harrier 11 131 265
Sharp-shinned Hawk 201 4571 6393
Cooper's Hawk 101 1160 1387
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 5 20 25
Broad-winged Hawk 2 205 328
Red-tailed Hawk 3 22 61
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 1 1 1
American Kestrel 4 713 2852
Merlin 13 632 1136
Peregrine Falcon 1 498 724
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: 421 8799 17325
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Observation start time: 05:45:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 10.25 hours
Official Counter: Erik Bruhnke
Observers:
Weather:
Sunny skies, upper 50's, northeast winds.
Raptor Observations:
First Golden Eagle of the fall!! Juvenile bird.
Non-raptor Observations:
1 Wood Duck, 629 Double-crested Cormorant, 3 Red-headed Woodpecker, 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker, 7 Northern Flicker, 28 Blue Jay, 3 Cedar Waxwing, 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 2 Brown Creeper, 1
Eastern Bluebird, 3 American Pipit, 4 Purple Finch, 69 House Finch, 9
American Goldfinch, 33 Yellow-rumped Warbler, 1 Song Sparrow, 3
White-throated Sparrow.
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