Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 17:45:00 Total observation time: 8.75 hours
Official Counter: Jim Thomson
Observers: Al Ambler, Brian Butler, Harry Quinn, Phil Rodriguez
Visitors: Additional observers that did an amazing spotting job today include : Marc Chelemer, Patrick Keelen, Craig Stockert, John Berry, Ted Lurker, Jeff Climpson
Visitor- Daniel Mulleavy- Thanks for the treat
Hikers- 32
Weather: Temps- 41-48 Deg.F Wind- NW@ 7-14mph w/higher gusts Mostly cloudy to start to partly cloudy in early pm to clear blue skies by late afternoon.
A first ever species recorded on Coon today !!! We picked up a bird in front of the hawk watch that had a long neck and was showing a wide triangular shaped fanned out tail. The bird appeared to have wider/broader wings and was soaring almost directly above us for 30-45 seconds. We were all stunned
when we realized that we were looking at an ANHINGA !!!! The bird slowly circled almost directly above us before drifting off to the south. Amazing !!! We also had a very solid raptor flight today. The birds seemed to be taking a much higher line of flight than we would have hoped for but we still managed to get some great looks as the birds moved down ridge. Bald Eagles were all over the sky today and at one point we had 8 Balds in one field of view. ( None of those birds were counted as migrating today ) We also had our first nice push of Redtails and Red shoulders. Also it's always nice to get the falcon trifecta and the Merlins in particular were putting on a nice show. Our Bird of the Day selection goes to the adult Bald Eagle that passed by close to the ridge on the reservoir side below eye level. Watching this majestic eagle soar overtop the stunning fall foliage was just magical ! above us before drifting off to the south after le
Non-raptor Observations: ANHINGA !!!! Red headed Woodpecker- immature Common Loon- 3 Canada geese- many skeins TV's - many Tree swallows Bluejays ======================================================================== Report submitted by Jim Thomson (<hawkinflight...>)
