Kiptopeke Hawkwatch

 Hey birders,

I've been lucky to work at the two largest hawk migration sites in the world: Veracruz in Mexico, and Eilat in Israel. While the numbers at Kiptopeke can't compete we had an absolutely amazing day of hawk watching, counting close to 1200 birds and the excitement rivaled any day I've experienced.  I thought it would be fun to share a snippet of a big day from these three sites.

Close your eyes and imagine a coastal plain with snow capped volcanoes rising high to your left.  We're looking north and there is a continuous stream of raptors all the way from the horizon, disappearing into the distance behind. Birds are 50 wide by 30 tall as far as the eye can see,  mostly Swainson's Hawks but with smaller broad wings and TVs mixed in. The Rio de Rapaces, or River of Raptors is flowing like a conveyor belt from one vortex to another: birds arriving at the bottom and rising up in clouds of swarming crowds of 10,000 strong before streaming off at the top …heading south, always south. That's Veracruz for you. Where else can you see a couple of hundred thousand raptors in a day?

How about the southern tip of Israel. Up in the desert mountains above Eilat we look down on the Red Sea as line after line of massive Steppe Eagles pass below us without a flap on flat wings. They've crossed the Sarah desert on their way to Central Asia and Eastern Europe.  There are vultures too, and harriers …here comes a Snake Eagle, there's an Imperial Eagle. As the thermals increase, the birds climb and so we follow the mountain road higher to stay with the stream that continues well into the afternoon …did we just count 50,000 birds?

Here on the Eastern Shore it's the falcons that rule. There really aren't many places where the variety of raptors are so mixed. Merlin after Merlin skimming the treeline as they take little more than a second to wizz by. Taking out a dragonfly, smashing into a kestrel, the Merlins force their presence and take no quarter.  You had to be there to experience the energy last week …Visitors were enthralled and kept staying longer and longer. The volume and energy kept rising and rising with new folks adding to it.  I've never experienced anything quite like it. I am hoping we have more falcon frenzies like that. What a buzz. It's so much more than just numbers.

Tally so far at end of week 4:  total raptors 5859

Osprey 2368

Bald Eagle 199

Northern Harrier 148

Sharp-shinned Hawk 153

Cooper's Hawk 141

Broad-winged Hawk 776

Red-tailed Hawk 65

American Kestrel 1397

Merlin 496

Peregrine 102

Mississippi Kite 2

Happy birding,

Steve

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch

 Hey birders …..

All sorts of raptor mayhem happened this last week; did you catch any of it?  Osprey after Osprey were playing follow the leader in a long line way above our heads; Merlins were wizzing by catching dragonflies and terrorizing kestrels; Broad wings were forming kettles of more than a hundred birds and spiraling up into the clouds.  But the main story was the new birder and scientist converts.  No flat earth here.

I know of at least three kids who will now be getting bins for birthday / Christmas and several others who want to be scientists.  It's so fun to see the kids come alive when we involve them in the hawk count.  Thank you so much to those of you who lent us bins (we need more!!)…it makes such a difference to expose a new world to these kids and their parents.  I have them spotting birds and then entering it into the tablet where they can see their contribution live on the web.  Some of the smaller kids were linking hands and flapping their "wings" while running about as Eagles.  One little kid just laughed all the time constantly saying "biscuits."

So I've been kept pretty busy  counting the raptors while evangelizing birds and conservation, changing my style between the kids and adults; between new birders and experts.

My favorite thing to happen though was catching up with a birding buddy I grew up with in London, UK and who now lives locally in Richmond.  It had been way too long and it was fun to chat about old birding adventures when we were teenagers … but that's another story or two.

A special thank you to Andy, a visiting raptor raver from PA.  He bought a fake garden great horned owl, I mounted it on a pole and we got our first raptor strike….Who else but an energetic Merlin.

Hey, next Saturday it's the Kiptopeke Challenge.  My team is the Eagle Eyes.  I was going to call it the Garbled Modwits but I didn't know how silly was acceptable …

Anyway, if you're headed to the Eastern Shore on Saturday, spend some time up on the platform with me and help us spot some birds.  You can practice what you learned in last week's Blog.  You could also help out CVWO by contributing some cash or electronically via the web site.  It's the annual fundraiser … but for us on the hawk platform it's always a FUNraiser.

Tally so far at end of week three: 4,768  total raptors

Osprey 2,050

Bald Eagle 180

Northern Harrier 123

Sharp-shinned Hawk. 19

Coopers Hawk 95

Broad-winged Hawk 688

Red-tailed Hawk 60

American Kestrel 1,100

Merlin 369

Peregrine 70

Mississippi Kite 2

Happy birding,

Steve

International Hawk Migration Week

 International Hawk Migration Week is Sep 18-26...coordinated by our partner Hawk Migration Association of North America, where we send our hawkwatch data. The goal is to raise awareness for hawk conservation. Hope people can make it out to their favorite site!

Brian Taber

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch

 

Hey birders …..

So you want to see hawks, well here are some tips on how to enjoy hawk watching,:

1.  location, location, location.  Well this is an easy one as you have a great site close by called, you guessed it, Kiptopeke.

2.  Timing.  I suggest day time 

3.  Timing (part 2).  Seriously, we are getting into the peak of migration from the middle of September to the middle of October.  We will be getting big flights of falcons zipping by and who doesn't like falcons … apart from all those migrating songbirds and dragonflies … and shorebirds … and ….

4.  Bring a kid or a birder under aged 30 with you.  If you don't have kids, or close family who fit this description, then rent one.  This is super important as you need a pair of young eyes to spot those specks.

5.  Floaters that go consistently north - south are in fact birds

6.  Beware of dragonflies and butterflies.  We all get caught out.  What looks like a tiny very distant raptor could be a large butterfly circling past your nose at close quarters.

7.  Get up to speed on all the ways to distinguish the accipiters apart.  It doesn't matter if you can't ID them, but at least you can join in on the discussions with everyone one else who also can't ID them.

8.  A comfortable chair is a must.  I was hoping to be provided with a lazy boy but one can only wish.  

9.  Those of faith or atheists alike, pray for clouds.  We need a backdrop to see those tiny specks against.  A cloudless blue sky might be nice for a picnic but we're here for more than a sandwich.

10. Remember to bring your bins.  Sometimes it might seem like a waste of time when the birds are passing way high overhead but at least you can look like you're seeing the birds.  Just make sure you're pointed in roughly the same direction as everyone else.

It's really a lot of fun and I have loved the opportunity learning from everyone,  hearing birding stories and geeking out with fellow bird nerds. Kiptopeke is really a friendly place and a great opportunity to learn the hawks and other migrants   Hanging out at the hawkwatch platform all day has brought some surprises.  Perhaps the biggest one so far happened this last week when Tracy from Virginia Beach and I were watching what we thought was a distant osprey before I noticed a long tail, then a white head and belly … and then the gigantic pointed wings...black as night.  Who would have thought a Frigatebird!  Amazingly though, this is the second one to have been seen from the platform.

Tally so far at end of week 2: 1454 total raptors:

Osprey 943

Bald Eagle 118

Northern Harrier 30

Sharp-shinned Hawk 1

Cooper's Hawk 32

Broad-winged Hawk 87

Red-tailed Hawk 32

American Kestrel 164

Merlin 23

Peregrine 21

Happy birding,

Steve

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch – Week 1!

 Hey birders…

Steve Dougill here. I'm the 2021 Hawkwatcher at Kiptopeke State Park for CVWO!

After a week at Kiptopeke, I can't think of a place I would rather be right now. Each day has been different, the winds have changed, a cold front passed …. and I have visited with a fantastic group of local birders who are so welcoming and entertaining; fun tourists with story after story; and inquisitive kids with sharp eyes that are able to pick out tiny bird specks in a cloudless sky.

 

The main transient this week was the Osprey, with 448 being counted. Their characteristic long drooping wings in a "M" shape as they settle in for a long glide from the horizon to the far distance. Many birds were super high, probably close to 3,000 ft up, and only visible with bins as a speck….  now is that a floater, or some dirt on my lens, or a close dragonfly …. or an Osprey? Take your eyes off them and they are lost.

 

I felt like I passed my first test this week: I called out a distant broad-wing hawk. Although very high I could see the tight circles this bird was making as it rose up, up, up (small raptors make tighter circles than larger ones) and the long broad wings with the wrestlers’ lack of neck and big head …  no colors as it was a black speck. Steve, a regular on the hawk watch platform, maneuvered his ten pound lens into position and after some rapid fire caught some amazing details on this adult bird with the banded tail and distinctive under wing pattern. Phew, got that one right!

 

With the tail end of the hurricane that hit New Orleans, we saw some impressive diurnal song bird movements. Eastern Kingbirds were in a hurry to miss the cold front and I counted more than 5,000 in loose flocks streaming over one morning with about a thousand Bobolinks and 400 Purple Martins. In the middle of one flock were 3 Dickcissels giving their characteristic sharp electric buzz calls. An early Common Loon flew over very high, 2 American Avocets passed over high, and the most unusual visitor was a bird from the west: a young Rufous / Allen's hummer briefly at the hummingbird feeder. Thank you to Martina for keeping it stocked and clean! I promise I didn't pack it all the way from Oregon.

 

I have two requests. First, please come and visit the hawk watch. It's where the cool kids hang out (or at least the border geeks), it's fun and the birds are moving. Second, do you have an old pair of bins you can donate? I would love to have some optics to share with the kids / public so they can experience the birds. I've been handing over mine then snatching them back to quickly ID a rapidly vanishing bird …  and then wiping off thumb prints from my nice Zeiss lenses …  oh well…  what we do for birds huh?

 

Tally so far at end of week 1:

Osprey 448

Bald Eagle 63

Northern Harrier 13

Cooper's Hawk 20

Broad-wing Hawk 38

Red-tailed Hawk 25

American Kestrel 49

Merlin 9

Peregrine Falcon 3

Many more to come. 

 

Happy birding,

 

Steve Dougill

2021 Kiptopeke Hawkwatcher