Kiptopeke Hawkwatch

 Hey birders ….

It's not over until it's over! The raptors are still moving over, maybe at a more relaxed pace now and in lower numbers than during the peak a few weeks ago …but we're still having a lot of fun. Instead of Merlins zipping over and disappearing in a second we've been getting longer views … well that's a relative word with these gems as they are fast fast fast. Still, I'll take all I can get of these amazing birds. Sharpies are fluttering over just above the platform, turning their whole body on the side to look down at us. These little accipiters are topping the charts right now and typically are the commonest birds but the larger and steadier Coops are still giving pause and reflection. I can't count how many times an accipiter has changed back and forth between a coop and a sharpie as it approaches head on …what a great learning experience!

Old friends like the Osprey are still putting in an appearance. Often now they seem more hurried, flapping south instead of their long effortless glides of September. It's always a thrill when harriers flap over, typically low now, and typically at a totally different flight angle to the main flow. The rich pumpkin oranges and brown hues of the young birds remind me it's almost Halloween. Really, I've been here almost two months…  and how can we get more goulish than the gray ghost. A few male harriers are still being seen but maybe they will stop come all hallows eve.

The change now though is the focus on the larger birds. Red-tailed and Red-shouldered hawk numbers are picking up and we just wait for sunny days with a little less wind to see small groups thermalling up. My advice is to inspect the vulture groups carefully as the other birds clue in on their superior ability to find and ride thermals. Often you will spot other raptors in their midst; a couple of buteos thermalling in and out of the larger, blacker vultures; a small sharpie spinning in tight circles at the top; and if we're lucky, go up even higher and there might be a Peregrine lazily circling looking down on all those Feral Pigeons.

Bald Eagle numbers are picking up …those huge wide barn door shaped wings hardly moving in the wind.  But you need to check them carefully. A few days ago I spotted one that was flying a little differently: thinner, longer wings in a dihedral. I got everyone on the bird and as it came closer we could see the distinctive discreet white patches at the base of the primaries and a white tail band.  Wow. An immature Golden Eagle. I'm so glad it was refound a few miles to the north feeding on a deer carcass close to (but not too close to) Highway 13. 

It's also the time of year when diurnal songbirds and waterfowl are passing in big numbers. Clouds of Myrtle Warblers chip and seep overhead. Blackbirds chup as they cruise over in mixed flocks.  Sparrows and thrashers are all around. Cormorants are forming long lines. Distant ducks are skimming the Bay. It won't be long until the Tundra Swans go over in line after line. It's really an exciting time.  It's the time for the unusual raptors… maybe this will be a Rough-legged year. Maybe even a Goshawk.  I'm just imagining a Short-eared Owl clearing the tree line and skimming the platform, it's yellow eyes fixed south.

Total birds by October 26 …17,246

Osprey 3892

Bald Eagle 475

Northern Harrier 527

Sharp-shinned Hawk 3653

Cooper's Hawk 1172

Red-shouldered Hawk 30

Broad-winged Hawk 1308

Red-tailed Hawk 159

Swainson's Hawk 2

Golden Eagle 1

American Kestrel 4001

Merlin 1333

Peregrine 641

Mississippi Kite 4

Steve

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch

 Hey birders,

So what's a typical day like up on hawk watch recently?  Well, if you've been there you can skip to the end, but I'm sure a few of you haven't made it down yet, so read on.

I normally arrive just as it's getting light: it's a calm time when I hear the chips and seeps of warblers passing overhead and tree swallows are starting to lift off, often drifting around in clouds that look like smoke.  I fall into the daily routine of setting up the data entry tablet, cursing at it several times as I wait for forms to load, updating the totals board …. and then starting to look north for raptors.

It's sharpie sunrise …  the hour when these small accipiters start flying on snappy wing beats while Ospreys flap with determination above and the tally increasing in ones and twos.  Maybe ten in the first hour, maybe thirty in the next.

Soon visiting birders and park campers start turning up and are often treated straight off to a small silhouette passing overhead … or maybe a marauding Merlin dashing by.

A little later, numbers of raptors are picking up and I'm having difficulty keeping up with the data entry, chatting with people and remembering to stay hydrated or eat.  Birds come in pulses and it's exciting to see a lone raptor and then suddenly notice that it's accompanied by more and yet more, as they appear out of the clouds.

I try and keep the enthusiasm levels high on the platform giving updates on how many birds passed that hour, handing out unabridged humor on unsuspecting visitors and generally participating in the general geeky bird talk that we are all so comfortable around.  It's a fun, inclusive atmosphere where most people really get into the spirit and add to the energy.

When the Kestrel cocktail hour hits in the late afternoon I'm exhausted.  Most of us suffer from "raptor neck" from looking high up all day long and I think sometimes we should all participate in a massage circle.  My eyes are tired and I'm ready for supper.  However, I'm also ready and excited to do it all over again the next day, and the next … all the way to the end of November.

Tally so far at the halfway mark of the counting season:  total raptors 14,106

Osprey 3,629

Bald Eagle 329

Northern Harrier 383

Sharp-shinned Hawk 2,436

Cooper's Hawk 652

Broad-winged Hawk  1,235

Red-tailed Hawk 99

Red-shouldered Hawk 8

Swainson's Hawk 2

American Kestrel 3,302

Merlin 1,221

Peregrine 567

Mississippi Kite 4

Happy birding,

Steve

Kiptopeke Hawkwatch

 

Hey Birders,

Wow, sometimes those raptors are hard to identify.  In fact, sometimes you just have to accept it that those falcons crashing by at a million miles an hour just didn't give you enough of a look to choose between Merlin or kestrel, especially on an overcast day when colors fade to silhouettes, and silhouettes fade to blurs.  Sometimes those pesky accipiters are flying directly overhead  seem to show equal numbers of characteristics for both sharpies and coops.  You're split and everyone has a different opinion as to the identity based on values they put on identification.

My job here as a hawk counter means I need to work hard and assign an ID where possible.  If you are up on the platform with me I will explain my reasoning and thought processes … now there's a dark tangled web indeed …. and we get to a stage where we can identify most of the birds.  Birding really builds on experience and repetition.  Did I say repetition.  I'll say it again: Repetition.  I was reminded by a fantastic birder very recently to keep looking at the bird, even after you know what it is.  It's the best opportunity to see a known species in different conditions, it's flight styles and habits / quirks as it gets further and further away.  How else are you going to be able to identify those distant specs with certainty?

Someone is always going to have better bins than you, maybe a more elaborate lense on a camera … maybe better eyesight.  But nothing beats practice and patience.  I've been doing this thing called birding since I was five years old, starting with a pair of plastic binoculars out of a spy kit….  Now they are Zeiss, but wherever I go in the world there are soooo many birds that remain unidentified.  I give you a toast to uncertainty.  Cheers.

Tally so far at end of first week of October:  total raptors 10,839

Osprey 3268

Bald Eagle 309

Northern Harrier 325

Sharp-shinned Hawk 1041

Cooper's Hawk 495

Broad-winged Hawk 1153

Red-tailed Hawk 87

Red-shouldered Hawk 4

Swainson's Hawk 1

American Kestrel 2633

Merlin 1032

Peregrine 329

Mississippi Kite 4

Steve