Observation start time: 09:15:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 6.75 hours
Official Counter: Diane Stewart
Observers: Craig Kochel, Mark Shope, Phil Park
Visitors: Barb Yoder (Belleville) and Pam Castro (Reedsville) made their first journey to Jacks today. Both are friends of Diane's and golfers who have never done any type of migration watch. As luck would have it (and with a borrowed pair of binoculars) Barb pointed out a bird the others of us had missed. It was an adult Golden! Who does that on their very first watch! Anyway, I'm pretty sure both realize there are other types of birdies out there other than on the golf course! Both did a fantastic job for their first time.
Weather: Overcast with slight breaks of blue sky throughout the day. Moderate winds out of the WSW moving to W as the day moved on. Cool temps.
Raptor Observations: Not much happening before 10AM. Then steady but slow flight until 1:00. The excitement came around 3:00 when an unknown migrator flew by on the opposite side of the site from most other birds today. With the totally light belly and the long thin tail and thin body build, it was not easily identified. Luckily, Craig was able to get a picture. After a considerable amount of discussion between Craig and me, we decided to wait to see if he could lighten the picture before making a final call on what it was. He got a very good picture of a female harrier. Well done, Craig.
Non-raptor Observations: Local ravens, crows, TV, BV all not counted. Three loons. No other water fowl seen today. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Darrell Smith (<oleagleye...>)
