Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:30:00 Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Kim Steininger
Observers: Andy Ednie, David Brown, Joe Swertinski, Sally O'Byrne, Samir Saadeh
Visitors: 20
Weather: Sunny with a layer of cirrus clouds to start the day that were great for spotting. Winds began light and northeasterly. The cloud cover went away in the afternoon and the winds became northwesterly. A little chilly in the morning but it became quite pleasant.
Raptor Observations: Conditions were looking good so we started the day with a lot of anticipation and it didn't take long to prove that correct. Ten minutes into the count a dark-morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK popped up in front of us low and close. It soared multiple times in the perfect morning light before migrating on just over the treetops. Photos confirmed it as an adult female. This was the first Rough-legged Hawk for the hawk watch since 2017 and only the fifth in the history of the site (started in 2007).
A steady flight picked up with a moderate movement of Accips and Buteos, plus groups of Turkey Vultures.
The next highlight came at 11:45pm EST (12:45pm clock time) when Kim Steininger spotted the first GOLDEN EAGLE of the season streaming high overhead from the north. The large white wing patches of this immature bird would have been greatly appreciated by friend of the hawk watch Dirk Robinson who passed away earlier this year.
Blue skies in the afternoon made spotting difficult but it also seemed that the flight slowed down considerably.
Overall the totals were the highest in over a week. The Turkey Vulture total was the second-highest of the season with 126. There was a lot of Bald Eagle activity with groups of up to six seen soaring together and 13 counted as migrants. Moderate numbers of harriers and Accips. The best day yet for red-shoulders with 33 and a moderate day for red-tails with 16. The only falcons were two Merlins.
Non-raptor Observations: CACKLING GOOSE, 150 Canada Geese, 3 American Herring Gulls, Common Loon, Double-crested Cormorants, 2 Fish Crows, 2 Common Ravens, 25 Purple Finches, Pine Siskin, Rusty Blackbird, 2 monarchs. https://ebird.org/checklist/S200534992
New species for the season: Cackling Goose, Golden Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk, Pine Siskin.
Predictions: Tomorrow: Sunny. High 63F. Winds light and variable. Expect light to moderate migration.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High 67F. Winds SE at 5-10mph. Expect light to moderate migration.
Wednesday: Mainly sunny with a few afternoon clouds. High near 75F. Winds SW at 5-10mph. Expect light to moderate migration. ======================================================================== Report submitted by David Brown (<davidebrownpa...>) Ashland Nature Center information may be found at: www.delnature.org
