Peregrine Falcons were the raptor of the day yesterday with a count of 72 on an otherwise extremely slow day.
A rainy morning and slow SE wind day contributed to a low count of only 112 birds on Saturday, but the Peregrines kept us all on our toes nonetheless.
One of the wonderful things about participating in a hawk count on Virginia's Eastern Shore is all of the amazing species we are able to view in addition to our raptors.
Here are a couple of our visitors from this past week:
Brown Pelican
Pine Warbler
Photos courtesy of Steve Thornhill
Hopefully with weather conditions improving and wind picking up we will see larger numbers of the Sharp-shinned Hawk this week. This common accipiter will fly at low altitudes on a windy day, and higher on light wind days. With their snappy, rapid wingbeats, these hawks are one of the easier ones to identify as they tend to flap more frequently than other birds of prey.
"Sharpie"
"Of the three North American accipiters, Sharp-shinned is the earliest riser, sometimes beginning its day's passage before sunrise. Cooper's Hawks and Northern Goshawks start their journey somewhat later - possibly to hunt first or, more likely, to wait for thermals to perk. During migration, an early-moving accipiter is most likely a Sharp-shinned.
Juvenile birds precede adults. Fall migration for Sharp-shinneds begins during late August, peaks during the last week of September or the first days of October, and continues into early December.
Juvenile accipiters constitute most of the birds recorded at East and West Coast hawk-watching sites, while adult birds account for more than half of the accipiters passing interior hawk-watch sites." (Hawks in Flight, P.Dunne, D.Sibley, C. Sutton)
Also on the increase this weekend was the number of visitors to the Hawk Tower. Great to have so many knowledgeable enthusiasts with us!
Hope to see many more guests at Kiptopeke State Park this weekend for the Eastern Shore Birding and Wildlife Festival. Lots of fun activities are planned and the Birding should be fantastic. See you on the Tower!
-Caroline
