Saturday 9/7/19:
Saturday morning started off very well. We had a Yellow-throated Warbler visit us on the platform early in the morning. CVWO has started to have weekly bird walks on Saturday mornings at 9:00 am led by the educator (that's me), so the very first one was this past weekend. During the walk we went to the beach and watched as a very large number of pelicans and gulls followed a boat that was going to check the pound nets. We also ran into a Black Rat Snake perched in a tree! These snakes are very good climbers, and can be found in trees (like the one we found).
Brown Pelicans and gulls over fishing boat and concrete ships (Megan Murante)
Black Rat Snake (Megan Murante)
The majority of raptors seen on Saturday were Ospreys. There were 156 Ospreys and 177 total raptors on this day. Many of the Ospreys came in bursts and in large groups. The largest group was 14 Ospreys.
This day was very exciting in regards to songbirds. First thing in the morning a Yellow-throated Warbler landed on the platform right behind Anna. Then, we also saw a Great Crested Flycatcher, a Yellow-breasted Chat, and a Prairie Warbler. Bobolinks have been continuing to migrate through Kiptopeke, and Steve Thornhill was able to take a great photo of them in flight.
Bobolinks (Steve Thornhill)
Prairie Warbler (Megan Murante)
Sunday 9/8/19:
On Sunday, we had the highest total day count of 354 raptors. One of those was yet another Mississippi Kite! We also had 255 Ospreys, 41 American Kestrels, 22 Northern Harriers, 15 Merlins, and 4 Peregrine Falcons.
Peregrine Falcon (Steve Thornhill)
Adult male Northern Harrier (Megan Murante)
This weekend there was an increase in the number of American Kestrels and Merlins, likely since we are now closer to the peak of migration season. While American Kestrels and Merlins are quite similar in appearance in some ways, Merlins tend to be more aggressive and are much more likely to be harassing nearby raptors. They are very territorial and will fiercely guard their personal space, but will also chase after other birds during migration.
Merlin chasing another Merlin (Megan Murante)
In addition to raptors, we saw several notable songbirds on Sunday. There is a small group of chokecherry trees by the hawk watch platform that attracts many songbirds. We saw Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a Cape May Warbler, an Eastern Wood-Pewee, a Common Yellowthroat, a Blue Grosbeak, and a Red-eyed Vireo.
Common Yellowthroat (Megan Murante)
Red-eyed Vireo (Megan Murante)
Blue Grosbeak (Megan Murante)
We often have many non-hominid visitors to the platform, especially insects and arachnids. An interaction between the two groups ended poorly for this leaf-footed bug. A jumping spider caught this unfortunate insect and was hanging from a thread attached to the roof of the platform (and almost right over where Anna was watching for raptors).
Bold Jumping Spider with a Leaf-footed Bug (Megan Murante)
Monday 9/9/19:
The high numbers of Ospreys continued into Monday with 134 that migrated through on this day. It was also a good day for kestrels, with a total of 51. By the end of the day there were 223 raptors counted, which made it another very good day for this early in the season.
Osprey (Megan Murante)
Merlin (Megan Murante)
One interesting event that occurred was a group of 3 Bald Eagles flying together, but each one was a different age. In order to determine the age of Bald Eagles, it is important to look at their coloration and their flight feather molt. A typical first year has a dark brown belly and head, while there are white patches on the underside. Younger subadults tend to have more white on the belly and underside of the wings, and maintain mostly brown head feathers. Older subadults have a white head and tail with some brown markings. It takes about four years for Bald Eagles to fully mature and gain adult plumage. At that point they are very distinctive, with a perfectly white head and tail, and brown wings and belly.
Three Bald Eagles (Megan Murante)
American Redstart (Megan Murante)
Summer Tanager (Megan Murante)
