Today marked the first real wave of Peregrine Falcons we've seen since beginning our count on September 1st. Until this point, the highest daily count we've had for Peregrines was 5, with most daily tallies being more like 0-2. Today, we totaled 32! While this is only the beginning, of course, we're now looking forward to seeing more Peregrines as they continue migrating south.
In other news from this week, Wednesday the 23rd marked our first notable morning flight of the season. We arrived at the platform just before sunrise to a number of birds moving through the air. Among others, we had 182 Northern Flickers, 120 Cedar Waxwings, 400+ warblers of various species, and a surprising 362 Baltimore Orioles! As long-time followers of this hawkwatch might know, this is far and away the highest single-day count for Orioles that has ever been recorded at Kiptopeke, with the previous daily high being 80 individuals recorded all the way back in 2005.
For Karl, a morning like this was not a new sight, but for me - being new to hawkwatching - seeing this many birds moving through the pre-dawn sky was something I had never seen before; I was totally taken with the experience. Hopefully, it will be only the first of many such mornings to come!
- Bridgett
