Hawkwatch - Tuesday, October 31, 2017

The month of October ended with a bang at the Hawkwatch this past Tuesday. The winds were favorable and the sky a clear, blue canvas just ready to be painted with raptors. I'll admit, I was surprised the count was only 267 birds, but it was all about the QUALITY of raptors! While the count was dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks, we saw good numbers of buteos including a few late Broad-winged Hawks and the start of Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks. While I only officially counted 2 individuals, the platform was treated to multiple Golden Eagle sightings throughout the day which is always a treat.

This immature Golden Eagle shows its classic (and very distinctive) white wing patches and white tail base.

And last, but CERTAINLY not least, a light morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK made its way across the treeline in the late afternoon. It's hard to believe that we've already counted 4 Rough-legged Hawks this fall but this actually correlates nicely with the increased number other hawk watches are seeing west of us as well.

Holy moly, I love Rough-legged Hawks so much. I literally couldn't utter real words when I first spotted this bird (pretty embarrassing, Melissa).

I would also like to officially state that, upon further review and consultation, my Northern Goshawk ID was incorrect. It's obviously a bummer and I feel a little sheepish, but it's better to swallow my pride and correct my mistake than let it hang in the data for years to come. I apologize to everyone who was excited about the first Goshawk of the season. But hey, I bet we'll get a real one soon!

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 31, 2017
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Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              4              4
Turkey Vulture              52            243            394
Osprey                      13            599           2674
Bald Eagle                  16            155            327
Northern Harrier            12            261            490
Sharp-shinned Hawk          92           3717           8886
Cooper's Hawk               27            859           1435
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          6             86             88
Broad-winged Hawk            5            475           1120
Red-tailed Hawk             29            163            220
Rough-legged Hawk            1              4              4
Golden Eagle                 2              3              3
American Kestrel             5           1402           6832
Merlin                       6            914           1959
Peregrine Falcon             0            751           1088
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:                     266           9634          25528
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Observation start time: 06:00:00 
Observation end   time: 16:00:00 
Total observation time: 9.57 hours

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

These Wood Ducks weren't so secretive in the early morning on Bunker Pond.

An Osprey hoping to snag a fish.

A late season Prairie Warbler was also a nice surprise.

Cheers!
Melissa