Observation start time: 06:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 11 hours
Official Counter: David Brown
Observers: Bridget Watts, Jeremy Pete, Joann Tetlow, Kim Steininger, Mike Tetlow, Neil Reilly, Pat Martin, Vid Killius
Visitors: 100+, Bird of Prey Days
Weather: Mostly sunny skies to start the day. Darker clouds moving in mid-morning with some periods of rain. Moderate southwest winds. Warm.
Raptor Observations: A huge flight overall. An excellent Sharp-shinned Hawk flight beginning in the early morning along the lake shore. A big Broad-winged Hawk flight launched early with some big kettles in the morning before we lost the sun. A steady flight of sharpies and broad-wings continued to push through the rest of the day, except during the periods of heaviest rain.
A moderate Turkey Vulture flight with 144. A decent Bald Eagle day with 39. A strong harrier flight as well with 43. For Accipiters we had 670 sharpies but only 2 Coops.
We had the Buteo sweep today with 1 juvenile red-shouldered, 3,608 broad-wings, 24 red-tails, 3 light-morph rough-legs, and a light-morph Swainson's to end the day! Joann Tetlow spotted the Swainson's Hawk over the marsh near the parkway bridge. Mike Tetlow and I got on the bird with scopes and got a nice view of the underside confirming the ID. It ended up perching in the conifers along the parkway near Burger Park and several birders were able to come out and see it. Eventually it moved and was later relocated at Burger Park.
We had three immature Golden Eagles with two of them giving us close looks. We had the falcon trifecta with 13 kestrels, a merlin, and a peregrine.
Overall it was an excellent day, especially with the large number of visitors for Bird of Prey Days. This was the third highest total so far this season.
New species for season: Eastern Whip-poor-will, House Wren, Wood Thrush, Eastern Kingbird, Common Yellowthroat, Solitary Sandpiper, Great Crested Flycatcher, Ring-necked Pheasant
Predictions: TOMORROW: Cloudy. High around 50F. Winds ENE at 10-20mph. Expect light migration.
TUESDAY: Cloudy with occasional showers. High 58F. Winds N at 5-10mph. Expect light migration.
WEDNESDAY: Intervals of clouds and sun. High 59F. Winds NNW at 5-10mph. Expect light to moderate migration. ======================================================================== Report submitted by David Brown (<davidebrownpa...>) Braddock Bay information may be found at: http://www.bbrr.org/
