Observation start time: 05:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 9.75 hours
Official Counter: Maili Waters
Observers: Amy O'Neill , Bridget Watts, Daena Ford, Jessie Barry,
Liam Waters , Mike Tetlow, Mitch Barry, Vid Killius
Visitors:
12
Weather:
The morning started off with cloudy skies, SW winds at 10-15mph, and temps
in the mid-60s. It started to rain around 8:30am and lasted until around
noon. The clouds began to break up and birds suddenly started to get up and
move. Temps reached a high of 71F. Winds stayed SW all day and increased to
20-25mph.
Raptor Observations:
Turkey Vultures, Northern Harriers, and American Kestrels were on the move
early before the rain. The rain paused the flight for a couple hours, but
then it picked up dramatically right after the rain stopped. The total
number of migrating raptors seen over the course of the day was just over
2,600. Today is the first day of the season where Broad-winged Hawks were
the most numerous species, with just over 1,000 seen! There were some nice
kettles of up to 80 birds. Sharp-shinned Hawks (582), Northern Harriers
(108), and American Kestrels (89) were also moving in good numbers. We also
picked out a few immature Red-shouldered Hawks, and a single Peregrine
Falcon that chased a Sharp-shinned Hawk right over the platform.
Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptors: The morning flight was fairly limited, with hundreds of
blackbirds over the lakeshore but not too much else. Some first-of-year
birds included Field Sparrow and Purple Martin. The heat shimmer was tough,
so we didn�t see much over the lake.
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Report submitted by Maili Waters (<mailirwaters...>)
Braddock Bay information may be found at:
http://www.bbrr.org/
