Observation start time: 11:15:00 Observation end time: 14:30:00 Total observation time: 3.25 hours
Official Counter: Devin Banning
Observers: Katelyn Davis
Visitors: None
Weather: Forecasted Southerly winds for the afternoon never materialized. Wind speed only got up to 6mph at highest. Started chilly but temps rose to 64 by the time we left. Cloud cover was moderate at some points and others completely cleared out making it difficult to spot very high moving birds. On a brief visit to site 4 we observed strong winds out of the south and a much warmer temp than at site 3.
Raptor Observations: Low numbers but with high diversity. Flight was extremely high. No clearly established flight line, but we could see birds moving below us from site 3, over our heads, and also a few birds moving above site 3 from site 4. Despite the low amount of individuals, it was nice to have four Ospreys and six American Kestrels. One Adult Female Harrier flew through at around eye level looking down the ridge.
Non-raptor Observations: Vultures mostly came through today as single birds streaming, with some flapping in the very low winds. The largest group that came through was 6 in a kettle. Lots of new passerines must have arrived overnight, we had out first Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow and Towhee of the year singing from site 3, and Brown Thrasher at site 2. We also had multiple Phoebes at site 3. Two Blue-winged Teal on the pond at site 2 as well. The Pileated Woodpecker at site 3 called numerous times. Also first Red Admirals of the year!
Predictions: Showers overnight with moderate westerly winds all day. Perhaps the Easter Bunny will bring us some more birds! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Devin Banning (<devincban...>) Ripley Hawk Watch information may be found at: www.facebook.com/groups/3193820734258889/
