Date: 4/1/25 3:45 pm From: 'Steve Mirick' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] Nice Hawk flight today on coast
Jane and I got out late this morning to Hampton Beach State Park and got
to enjoy a nice flight of migrating American Kestrels, Merlins, and
Turkey Vultures. These are the expected migrants for the date and at
this location. The clearing and strong NW winds worked out for the
flight as Kestrels flew by at eye level over the parking area or over
the dunes, or along Rt. 1A.
Hampton Beach SP, Rockingham, New Hampshire, US
Apr 1, 2025 9:32 AM - 12:43 PM
Checklist Comments: Late morning into early afternoon migration
watch. Strong NW winds following a few rainy days and a cold front.
Excellent falcon and TUVU migration. Could have (should have?) stayed
longer, but we bailed out.
Common Merganser 7 Nice single high flying flock moving north.
Although otherwise uncommon on the coast, they can be seen clearly
migrating at this time of year.
Double-crested Cormorant 9 migating
Turkey Vulture 61 Migrating. About 1/2 of these were counted from
the State Park. Very distant birds flying north over bridge. At the end
of the watch, we noticed about 12 TUVU migrating in the extreme distance
so we drove over to the Hampton Marina and scanned the horizon and count
a total of about 30 TUVUs streaming north along the edge of the
forest/saltmarsh. Clearly a big TUVU day along the coastal corridor.
Northern Harrier 1
AMERICAN KESTREL 39 in 3 hours. Nice flight of Kestrels. Previous
high counts from us are 107 on 4/17/11, 102 on 4/13/08, and 72 on 4/15/22.
Merlin 7 Excellent flight of Merlins. Other high spring counts are
12 on 4/17/11, 9 on 4/30/10, and 8 on 4/15/22.
Tree Swallow 0 Surprised not to see ANY swallows moving. A bit
early, but not too early to get a small number. Particularly with the
conditions.
Brown-headed Cowbird 17 migrating
Common Grackle 2 migrating.
