A nice "clean up" day after the wonderful flight we had yesterday. Clear Blue skies made for very difficult spotting conditions. Today featured our first GOLDEN EAGLE of the season !!! We picked up this bird far up ridge and stayed on it for approx. 5 minutes before it finally made it's way to the watch site. It was slightly above eye level and "wing-on" out over the river. As it passed us it turned slighlly to it's left showing off that beautiful golden hackle. Wooo Hooo !!!!! We had great looks today at the few close raptors we had. A point blank adult Red-shoulder that popped up right in front of us was sweet ! A beautiful Gray Ghost over the river. A Redtail dogfighting with a Raven was exciting to watch and a big immature Coop at the owl decoy ! Our Bird of the Day selection is a "no-brainer". The first Golden Eagle of the season will ALWAYS get that honor !
Bobcat- Seen by John Berry on the hike in. John was hiking up the AT and spotted the bobcat on the trail ahead of him heading in the same direction. John followed behind for about a minute before the cat noticed him and moved off the trail. This was John's "lifer" New Jersey bobcat ! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
Days like today make the long, sweaty hikes into Coon all worthwhile. A very solid flight today with many close and incredible looks at raptors. We had approx. 2 dozen raptors ( mostly Sharpies) at the owl decoy !! The partly cloudy skies made for great spotting and the moderate to strong NW winds ( perfect for our ridge) had the birds hurtling down ridge right on top of us at times !! Our falcon flight was one of the best I've had in a number of years with Kestrels leading the charge ! Mostly gorgeous male birds putting on an incredible show. Sharpies just all day long ! A great Bald Eagle flight with a few late afternoon adults at point blank range. Our first solid Coopers hawk flight of the season was a treat .All 6 Peregrines were nice looks. As a matter of fact.. the 2:08 Adult Peregrine is our selection for Bird of the Day. This bird passed close by on the river side and drew a collective "WOW" from the count crew!! Just gorgeous !! Thanks to all for the great spotting efforts on this very memorable day on the ridge !! IT WAS AWESOME !!!!
Non-raptor Observations: Ravens- many TV's- many BV's Monarch- 5 Buckmoths WB Nuthatch YB Sapsucker Red-bellied Woodpecker Porcupine- ( seen by Harry & Bruce on the hike out) ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Jim Thomson
Observers: Phil Rodriguez
Visitors: University Heights Seventh Day Adventist Church Group- Welcome!!!
Charlene- A.T.Ridge Runner- nice talking to you
Hikers- 54
Weather: Temps- 53-67 Deg.F. Wind- N/NE @ 3-8mph Clear blue skies for most of the day becoming partly cloudy in late afternoon
Raptor Observations: BE- I(1)
Today was one of those quality over quantity types of day. Some beautiful close looks at raptors flying tight to the ridge in the am. A few early Sharpies dogfighting close to the watch site. 5 Bald Eagles seen but not counted putting on a bit of a show. A gorgeous adult local Peregrine hunting along the ridge filling the bins at times. And of course our Bird of the Day selection.. a male Kestrel coming in from a long distance out to take a swipe at the owl decoy in great light !
Non-raptor Observations: Monarch- 1 Black Rat Snake Red-headed Woodpecker- immature Buckmoths- many TV's & BV's Ravens Canada geese Bluejays American Goldfinch Eastern Phoebe
======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Jim Thomson
Observers: Al Ambler, Tom Campbell
Visitors: Phil Rodriguez with "Meat" stopped by for a couple of hours.
Steve Byrne- Thanks for visiting today and thanks for the spotting help ! John Berry- Great seeing you again Jose' Gomez- Welcome to Coon !!! Glad you had some close birds today! Safe travels and if you are ever back in this part of the world please pay us another visit!
Hikers-8
Weather: Temps-56-67 Deg.F. Wind- NW@3-8mph Heavy cloud cover in am to partly cloudy at noon and back to heavy cloud cover by late afternoon.
A fun day on the ridge with just enough action to keep things interesting. Our 3 Peregrines were high overhead and moving quickly down ridge. We counted 7 Bald Eagles with numerous other Bald Eagles seen but not counted as migrating. A few close Merlins were great but our Bird of the Day selection goes to the Sharpie that came in to the owl decoy. This feisty little hawk circled the decoy closely 3 times and than started
heading down ridge before deciding it needed to take one more pass at the owl just to be sure the owl knew who was boss !!
Non-raptor Observations: Monarch- 4 TV's Ravens- many One flock of 22 Cormorants Red-bellied Woodpecker Northern Flickers Bluejays- many ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
First things first... a correction to my previous post concerning our Broadwing numbers this season. I discovered that I had a "senior moment" when tallying our birds. We DID NOT hit the 10k mark ! We are currently at 9970 Broadwings. I thought we were just over 10k.. turns out we are just under. Apologies for the error !! Still a great number for us and still our best count since 2011 and who knows ... maybe we'll pick up a few stragglers. Now for today's mess !! LOL ! I really don't like NE winds for our ridge as I've never had a good flight on those winds and the birds are scattered all over the place. Not a good thing when I'm the only set of eyes up there. Having said that I did have a few close birds. A Sharpie and a beautiful male Kestrel both paid the owl decoy a visit. Also a curious Raven flew 4 tight circles around the decoy before heading off to join it's buddies. My Bird of the Day selection goes to the immature Bald Eagle that popped up from the river valley right near the watch site. It kited in the strong wind looking like an oversized Redtail. Wonderful looks at this gorgeous youngster before it headed down ridge.
Non-raptor Observations: Large flock of Turkeys on the hike in Bluejays- 75+ Ravens and TV'S flying up and down the ridge all day long Cedar Waxwings ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
A real fall like feel on the ridge today which felt great ! The NE winds had our flight very high and scattered. A much quieter day of migration than our previous few days. However... our Broadwing count for today put us over 10,000 Broadwings for the season !!!!! Woo Hooo !!! A real milestone for our site ! The last time we surpassed the 10k mark was back in 2011 ( 14,106 BW's ) My thanks to everyone who spent time observing and spotting ! Our pick for Bird of the Day goes to Broadwing # 41 which put us at 10,000 !!!
Non-raptor Observations: Monarch- 8 Bluejays- ( numbers increasing ) TV's Ravens ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
Big thanks to Phil Rodriguez for hiking in and getting us some coverage for the afternoon. Rain subsided mid-morning and with the clearing skies we felt birds would be on the move. Phil had some migration in the first couple of hours but the activity shut down after 2pm. The Bird of the Day goes to the lone Osprey moving down ridge in clearing skies giving a nice look.
Non-raptor Observations:
======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
Observation start time: 08:45:00 Observation end time: 18:00:00 Total observation time: 9.25 hours
Official Counter: Jim Thomson
Observers: Matt Jardel, Phil Rodriguez, Ted Lurker
Visitors: Matt Jardel - So great having you up top today Matt !!!! Crazy cool that you got to witness today's flight !
Hikers- 7
Weather: Temps- 58-67 Deg.F Wind N/NE @ 5-10mph ( stronger gusts in AM ) Fogged in until 9:45am than partly cloudy to mostly cloudy in pm back to partly cloudy later in the afternoon.
Raptor Observations: BE-7 ( 6A, 1I) PG- 1:05Unaged Just an incredible late afternoon of Broadwing action on Coon !!! Our day started slow for migration and than got a bit frustrating as we had picked up 3 or 4 huge kettles of Broadwings swirling well to the south of the watch site. These birds were just beyond the capabilities of our optics and disappeared into the clouds without being counted. As we got into the afternoon hours the flight line started to shift in our favor and we were picking up small kettles of BW's on the reservoir side of the watch. By 4pm we had tallied 1212 Broadwings... and than all hell broke loose !!!! We were spotting big
kettles directly up ridge and on the river side. The kettles combined and we had a huge "wall" of broad wings streaming down upon us !! 3-4 fields of view high and thick with birds !! We had birds stretching back for as far as we could see. I was in the bins for over an hour straight just trying to count huge wave after wave of Broadwings !! Phil and Matt yelling instructions as the birds came on. "High stream 3 glasses up !! " Low stream just below horizon ! " We were giddy at times !!! It was the most intense and enjoyable 2 hours of Broadwing migration that we have ever experienced ! I'll never forget it !! 3845 BW's passed in one hour and 45 minutes. The last group passed over us low at treetop level at 5:45pm Huge thanks to Phil Rodriguez and Matt Jardel for their awesome spotting efforts today. Ted.. we really felt bad that you missed this late day action. Our Bird of the Day selection goes to Broadwing# 5057 for bringing it all home for us today ! I'm still pumped !!!!
Non-raptor Observations: Monarch- 7 Red headed woodpecker- adult Bluejays TV's & BV's ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
Observation start time: 08:30:00 Observation end time: 18:00:00 Total observation time: 9.5 hours
Official Counter: Jim Thomson
Observers: Brian Hardiman, Craig Stockert, Phil Rodriguez
Visitors: Tammy Windfelder and the crew from Drew University. Great seeing you all and so happy that you finally caught a great Broadwing flight !!! The Drew "jinx" is officially over !!! David and Rachel w/ children Ned, Lucy, and Rose and doggy Maggie. ( So great to see you guys again !!!! Come back soon !! ) Gretchen Buxton and Bill Kunkel- Welcome back !! Great day !! Dave Roszel Isaiah Lock Mimi Iijima & Steven Minicola Barry Kwasny
Weather: Temps- 60-68 Deg.F. Wind E/SE @ 0-10mph Overcast early to mostly cloudy
Heck yeah we got some Broadwings today !! Many thanks to Brian Hardiman for covering the AM shift for me and to Phil Rodriguez and Craig Stockert for their spotting efforts! We finally had some nice kettles of Broadwings and solid action throughout the entire day. Lot's of visitors on hand today to witness the Broadwing spectacle ! Always awe inspiring watching big numbers of hawks streaming thru the sky and today's flight did not disappoint. Decent numbers of other raptors moving thru in migration but at this time in the season it's all about the Broadwings. Our Bird of the Day selection goes to the adult Peregrine that came pumping down ridge on the reservoir side giving us a sweet look as it
moved quickly out of sight.
Non-raptor Observations: RT Hummers- 2 Monarch- 12 Ravens TV's Cedar Waxwings Barred Owl (heard from watch site) ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
Weather: Temps- 64-77 Deg.F. Wind-AM- NW@4-8mph w/gusts to 15 PM N/NW@2-8mph Partly cloudy in am to clear blue skies by early afternoon with more clouds building in by late afternoon.
Raptor Observations: BE-7 ( 3-I, 4A ) PG- 9:59A, 9:59I, 4:10A Big Welcome back to Scott Wood !!! Great having you up top today ! A great day of hawking on Coon ! Broadwings trickling thru all day with a great late day push of 336 BW's between 5pm-6pm ! High,low,left and right the birds were spread out across the sky in lovely late afternoon light. Another highlight was having 2 Peregrines come in together with one of the birds vocalizing. Our first nice day of Coopers hawk movement and 2 immature Red-Shoulders dogfighting out over the river. ( Neither was counted today ) With all of the great action it was a tough choice for Bird of the Day, but the close immature harrier that came straight down the ridge and filled our bins in beautiful light gets the nod !
Non-raptor Observations: Black bear- Seen by BH & JT on the hike in Monarch- 57 Common Nighthawks- 2 RT Hummer- 2 American Goldfinch, Cedar waxwings Ravens TV's & BV's ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
Raptor Observations: Many thanks to Brian Hardiman for conducting today's count !!!! Brian would like to thank Phil for his company and extraordinary spotting efforts today ! Thank you Phil !!! A more hazy and humid day greeted the guys today but at least they had some cloud cover to help spot birds. Broadwings trickled past the watch site throughout the day. A couple of Bald Eagles seen but not counted today as well as a Redtail that was up ridge that appeared to possibly be carrying a prey item. Their Bird of the Day selection goes to the Merlin that came in from behind the watch site at approximately 1 foot off the ground and snagged a Black Swallowtail butterfly !!! It than immediately started feeding on the wing as it headed down ridge !! Wow !!!!
Non-raptor Observations: Monarch- 16 TV's & BV Cedar Waxwings Ravens Tree Swallows- many Chimney Swifts Northern Flickers moving early ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
Today was painful for hawk watching !! Deep blue cloudless skies means constant scanning into the deep blue looking for dark specks moving down ridge.We had one good kettle of 111 Broadwings late in the afternoon. Other than that we were picking up singles and doubles and small groups as they passed by overhead. Many were NOT naked eye birds. We did have a few close Broadwings,falcons, and accipiters but most birds were high and difficult to spot. Our true highlight and Bird of the Day goes to the immature Peregrine that popped up close to us on the reservoir side of the ridge. It circled slowly and moved in the direction of the owl decoy but never did attack it. This bird filled the bins as it moved off slowly down ridge.
Non-raptor Observations: Monarch- 23 Red-headed Woodpecker ( adult) RT Hummer- 3 TV's & BV's Cedar Waxwings Ravens Bluejays Black Swallowtail and Eastern Tailed Blue BH's morning songbirds:- Black throated green, Northern Parula, Black/White warbler, Philadelphia Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Eastern Phoebe ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
Observation start time: 08:45:00 Observation end time: 16:15:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Jim Thomson
Observers: Brian Butler, Brian Hardiman, Phil Rodriguez, Tom Campbell
Visitors: Additional observer - Craig Stockert- Thanks for the great spotting !!!
John Berry- Good to see you again John. Glad you made it up !
Hikers- 7
Weather: Temps- 61-68 Deg.F. Wind- N/NW@ 4-12mph w/higher gusts Light cloud cover to start to deep blue cloudless skies in pm
Raptor Observations: BE- 10 ( 6A, 4I )
Big welcome back to Brian Hardiman !!! Great having you back on Coon ! Morning started out well with some nice action and good diversity but our flight simply shut down in the afternoon. Most of our birds were specks up in the blue and we worked for every bird we got today ! Also had an immie Bald Eagle eating on the wing this morning which is not something we recall seeing in the past. We were struggling with our choice for Bird of the Day but that changed as we were getting ready to head out. 2 redtails were really getting after each other when one of them spotted the owl decoy. This bird came in and hovered over the decoy only to have the second bird come in and attack it again. Both birds disappeared briefly down into the river valley only to pop back up and repeat the process all over again ! This happened 3 times before they decided to take their battle elssewhere ! At times they were approx 50 feet over our heads !!! Crazy, cool action !
Non-raptor Observations: Monarch- 47 RT Hummers- 4 Black Swallowtail Ravens- Many flying back and forth along the ridge TV's & BV'S Cedar Waxwings Chimney Swifts ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
Date: 9/14/26 5:54 am From: Evan Cutler <evancutler...> Subject: [JERSEYBI] Montclair Bird Club annual Chimney Swift Watch this Monday 9/14
The Montclair Bird Club's annual Chimney Swift Watch will take place on Monday, September 14th at 6:30 pm. Over the years, we've seen upwards of 500 chimney swifts enter the chimney at Buzz Aldrin School at dusk. If you've never seen this before, it is quite a spectacle. Meet at the parking lot behind the Upper Montclair branch of the Montclair Public Library on Norwood Avenue. For more info about this and other Montclair Bird Club events, visit our website at www.montclairbirdclub.org.
Observation start time: 09:15:00 Observation end time: 16:30:00 Total observation time: 7.25 hours
Official Counter: Jim Thomson
Observers:
Visitors: SOBO- "Chia" Best of luck the rest of the way. Section Hiker - "Yoga Momma" Hope you make it to Vermont!
Hikers- 34
Weather: Temps- 67-77 Deg.F, Wind- SE@ 4-10mph. Partly cloudy in AM with high ceiling becoming mostly cloudy in PM
Raptor Observations: BE-1(I) Another good day on Coon with Broadwings (of course) leading the charge. The flight started early with small numbers gliding past the watch site at close range. As the day progressed the birds got higher and I was picking them out as they streamed in single file just off the ridge on the reservoir side. I had almost no kettles today as the bulk of the birds were all spotted as
they streamed past.I was thankful for the cloud cover that made the spotting job so much easier that the blue skies that we had yesterday. Some nice Sharpie action at the owl pole today as well. My Bird of the Day selection goes to the adult Broadwing that was cruising past on the reservoir side... spied the owl decoy.. and than came in with the afterburners on trying to decapitate the owl ! Just awesome !!
Non-raptor Observations: Monarch- 19 Tiger Swallowtails and Black Swallowtails RT Hummer- 2 Red-Breasted Nuthatch Cedar Waxwings Chimney Swifts TV's & BV's Ravens- 5 ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 17:45:00 Total observation time: 8.75 hours
Official Counter: Jim Thomson
Observers: Brian Butler, Craig Stockert, Ted Lurker, Tom Campbell
Visitors: Phil Rodriguez joined us for a few hours in the pm. Thanks Phil !!! Neil Robinson- Great to have you back on Coon
Hikers- 9
Weather: Temps- 62-74 Deg.F. Winds- NW@ 3-7mph in AM to variable in PM Cloudy skies at the start of the count quickly cleared into deep blue cloudless skies.
Raptor Observations: BE- 19 ( 11I, 8A ) PG- 4:55(I) Just an incredible September day of hawking on Coon ! Great Bald Eagle action, the falcon trifecta, over 300 Broadwings, and an incredible and unexpected Sharpshin flight ! Great job by the crew in pulling birds out of the blue skies ! We had Sharpies moving by all day long! Immature birds and many passing by with full crops! Also many Sharpies and a few Merlins at the owl decoy. That decoy earned it's pay today ! A very nice late afternoon flight kept us busy until 5:45pm when the flight petered out. Our Bird(s) of the Day selection goes to ALL of the Sharpies that graced us with their presence today !
Non-raptor Observations: Monarch- 56 Red-headed Woodpecker-adult One Big Beautiful Hognose snake !!! RT Hummer- 11 Ravens-8 TV's Cedar Waxwings- many ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
