Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: David Brown
Observers: Carter Chambers, Holly Merker, Joe Swertinski, Kim Steininger, Lana Glass, Mike Fowles
Visitors: 19
Weather: Mostly cloudy becoming mostly sunny in the final hours. A light to moderate northerly breeze. Warm and pleasant day.
Raptor Observations: An unexpectedly huge flight for being only five days into the season! The day started off strong with seven Ospreys in the first hour and a total of 47 for the day which doubled the already good season total. A few high streaming Turkey Vultures were counted as migrants. A very strong Bald Eagle flight for so early in the season with 26.
After getting the first harrier of the season late in the day yesterday we had a dozen more today. The first eight Sharp-shinned Hawks of the season migrated today, but only one Cooper's Hawk.
Going into today only eight Broad-winged Hawks had been seen, but we had 134 today which is hopefully a good sign for the next few weeks. We also had a push of nine Red-tailed Hawks, mostly or all juveniles.
We had the first decent push of falcons with 31 kestrels and 3 Merlins.
The early flight was mostly along the ridge to the north, but a steady overhead flight developed as the thermals got stronger. We had decent cloud cover for spotting the high migrants.
Hawk Watch: Common Nighthawk, 350 Chimney Swifts, 12 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, 11 Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Heron, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, 20 Red-winged Blackbirds, 36 monarchs. https://ebird.org/checklist/S390092256
New species for season: Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler, Double-crested Cormorant, Red-winged Blackbird.
Predictions: TOMORROW: Mostly sunny. High near 80F. Winds NNE at 5-10mph. Good conditions overall. A favorable wind direction. Spotting may be difficult when migrants get high if there aren't many clouds. Let's hope the strong flight from today continues!
MONDAY: Mainly sunny. High around 80F. Winds light and variable. Moderate conditions. Spotting may be difficult if there aren't many clouds.
TUESDAY: Mix of sun and clouds. High 82F. Winds WNW at 5-10mph. Moderate conditions. ======================================================================== Report submitted by David Brown (<davidebrownpa...>) Ashland Nature Center information may be found at: www.delnature.org
