Hawkwatch - Thursday, October 12, 2017

Immense murmurations of Tree Swallows engulfed the sky as energetic falcons took flight throughout the day. It was a great day to watch the flight of falcons, even with near-overwhelming gusts of east winds taking hold of the air. Falcons came in high and they came in low. There was migrational chaos all day long as raptors held tight to the land before being launched forcefully over the bay. Nearly every raptor held itself in a sleek and slender formation; tail closed and wings folded tight. See you at the hawkwatch!

Juvenile Peregrine Falcon.
Look at those beautiful chocolately-brown vertical streaks and mottled underwings!

Falcons were diving through the air, high and low, sometimes seen through the edges of the vegetation.

Merlin flying by with a recently-consumed meal.

The seas were angry yesterday!

Murmurations of Tree Swallows

Today's totals. Click the image for a larger view