Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8.5 hours
Official Counter: Maili Waters
Observers: Greg Sanda, Luke Seitz, Mark Kimble , Mitch Barry,
Shannon Sanda
Visitors:
6
Weather:
Today was a great example of peak-season raptors that need to migrate under
conditions that don�t seem quite ideal! The day started out quite calm,
with ESE winds at 5mph and temps around 44F. There was a bit of fog on the
bay in the early morning, but this burned off pretty quickly and the rest
of the day was mostly sunny with scattered clouds. As birds started to get
up, we quickly realized that they were all far inland, so we followed. The
wind shifted around a bit to N and then back to ENE, but only maxing out at
around 10-15mph. Temps reached a high of 55F.
Raptor Observations:
Despite the wind direction not being quite ideal, it was calm enough that
plenty of birds were on the move! We saw just over 5,000 birds today, the
majority of which were Broad-winged Hawks (4,649). Some of the first
kettles were low and right overhead, but they quickly moved even further
inland and into the heat shimmer. For most of the afternoon, we were glued
to the scopes, looking at very distant kettles! In addition to the
Broad-winged Hawks, there were quite a few Bald Eagles (33), Sharp-shinned
Hawks (100), and Red-tailed Hawks (58) on the move, along with all three
falcon species and 7 Golden Eagles!
Non-raptor Observations:
Our first Blue-headed Vireo of the season was singing.
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Report submitted by Maili Waters (<mailirwaters...>)
Braddock Bay information may be found at:
http://www.bbrr.org/
