Hawkwatch - Tuesday, October 3, 2017

We have officially counted over 17,000 raptors this fall and it's only October 3rd! This is shaping up to be one of the best falls for raptors in Cape May in quite a long time (which is great for us as nature lovers but is also a good sign for the raptors as well). Although the flight was low in number, it was high in...height? What I'm trying to say is...we didn't see a lot of raptors today and most of them were SUPER high in the sky. Not a hawk counter's dream, but it was still a fun and enjoyable day filled with songbirds, friends, and pizza (and a Wood Stork).

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 03, 2017
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0
Turkey Vulture               0             42            193
Osprey                      15             69           2144
Bald Eagle                   6             15            187
Northern Harrier             0             14            243
Sharp-shinned Hawk          38            295           5464
Cooper's Hawk               22            127            703
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              2
Broad-winged Hawk            0            388           1033
Red-tailed Hawk              0             16             73
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            22             62           5492
Merlin                      10             46           1091
Peregrine Falcon            42             62            399
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              1
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              4
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              0
Mississippi Kite             0              0              1

Total:                     155           1136          17030
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 05:00:00 
Observation end   time: 16:00:00 
Total observation time: 10.05 hours

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

A Great Blue Heron in the early morning glow.

We watched in awe as this Peregrine Falcon stooped from high overhead into the swarm
of Tree Swallows. Fortunately for the Tree Swallows, the falcon wasn't successful in grabbing a snack.

There's at least one Wood Stork still milling around New Jersey.

A Sharp-shinned Hawk coming in for a closer look...

TOO CLOSE! TOO CLOSE!