Migration continues to roll along at Kiptopeke Hawkwatch! Sunday, October 18th was an eventful day, with three species showing up in larger numbers than we've had thus far in the season, marking a turn in migration as we move further into fall.
Sunday was our first significant movement of migrating Red-tailed Hawks. Because there are a number of resident Red-tails in the area, we monitor their behavior to see whether or not it appears they are migrating versus simply hanging around and hunting. Until the 18th, we would often go days at a time without seeing a migrating Red-tailed. Prior to that date, the highest number of Red-tails seen migrating in one day was 4 - and that was all the way back in September! On the 18th, however, that count increased by quite a bit as we had 19 migrating Red-tails. Since then, we've had a steady stream that has increased our count of this species by more than 80 birds. While coastal areas like Kiptopeke don't get the large numbers of migrating Red-tails that mountain hawk watches do (these birds tend to prefer to travel via the updrafts provided along mountain ridges), we are still excited to see their migration picking up!
Increasing numbers of Red-tails - while a delightful event in its own right - is also the signal of something else: the fact that (as Bob Dylan might put it if he were a hawkwatcher instead of a folk singer) "the hawks they are a-changin'". While our high point of migration (the first few weeks of October) may be behind us, Red-tails appearing in larger numbers are a sign that we are moving into the later wave of migrants that make late October through November a good time to be peering up at the skies. While the overall numbers tend to be fewer in this part of the year, the shifting species composition is an exciting change.
Another change in the migratory makeup is the en masse arrival of Yellow-rumped Warblers! October 18th brought our first large wave of Yellow-rumps, with no less than 5,652 birds streaming through the skies past the platform. These birds have been present in the trees by the dozens all over the park and beyond. They consistently appear in large numbers as the other migrating warblers wain, signaling an end to that chapter of migration for the year.
October 18th was also the first day this season that we've counted more than 2 migrating Red-shouldered Hawks in a day. Red-shoulders are similar to Red-tails in that they tend to prefer migration routes further inland and tend to migrate later in the season. In addition, this has thus far been a low-count year for them, so seeing 6 in a day as we did on the 18th - while certainly not a huge number - felt like a treat.
Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk (Karl Bardon).
While the peak of falcon migration is also behind us, we are still getting small streams of Peregrines, American Kestrels, and Merlins moving through the skies. And while they are not appearing in the larger peak-season numbers, they are still providing excitement for those who get to see them. In fact, we recently had several visitors (volunteers at Hanging Rock Hawkwatch in West Virginia) who remarked that getting to see falcons - even in these late-season numbers - was a treat for them as they are coming from a mountain ridge hawkwatch where falcons are much less frequently seen.
Karl and I will be here through November, so remember that you are welcome to come out and watch the skies with us as the season continues to change!
Until next time,
Bridgett
