Date: 4/18/24 5:18 pm From: Andrew Bechdel <andrewbechdel...> Subject: Tussey Mountain Hawkwatch - April 18th, 2024
Good Evening Birders,
*Today was our 4th highest Broad-winged Hawk daily total - 576 BWs!* The flight was concentrated in the AM, indicating today's birds were likely the vestiges of yesterday's big surge. During the *11-noon hour*, we recorded a staggering *326* BWs! During this power hour, the kettles were tightly packed, containing an average of 30-50 birds. While counting was challenging, spotting was not. *Most BWs were low and close to the ridgetop and were visible and countable with the naked eye. *The most challenging part of counting the BWs was combing the kettles for the Sharp-shinned Hawks that were mixed in. This yielded a total of 18 Sharpies, 5 Osprey, and a couple Northern Harriers. We aren't Veracruz or Derby Hill, but we are still proud of our numbers!
In other bird news, our FOY Black-and-white Warbler arrived in the forest and sang its squeaky wagon wheel song. The Brown Thrasher (or perhaps another Brown Thrasher) returned to the powercut and the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (again, perhaps another Sapsucker) also visited and gave us a *Qwah *to let us know. To top things off, the Serviceberry has begun to bloom and its white flowers stand out against the still grey forest interior.
A special thanks to my parents and Ken Bowman for helping count the hoards of BWs. It is always nice to have help when Nick is off.
Tomorrow has forecasted SE/SSE wind and could be great if the rain holds off. However, it could likely be a wash. As for Saturday and Sunday, I don't know what will happen. We will have to wait and see.
