Counts
Turkey Vulture 56
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 5
Northern Harrier 4 (1 male, 3 unknown)
Sharp-shinned Hawk 10
Broad-winged Hawk 9
American Kestrel 6
Merlin 5
Peregrine Falcon 3 (1 adult, 1 immature, 1 unknown)
Total 99
Observation Period: 9:00AM – 6:00PM
Observers: Todd Watts, Richard Blaquiere, Evan Houlding, Bob, Greg and Jamie Gamble
Weather: No clouds for the first hour or so. Clouds soon arrived building to 50% by noon before slowly diminishing to 10%. Wind WNW to NW and back in the upper 4-7 to lower 8-12mph ranges. A damp morning with Rh at 96% slowly dropping to 80% by noon, reducing to 58% during the afternoon.
Notes: Fewer kestrels and sharp-shins than expected. No Red-tails either. The Broad-wings arrived as a group, leaving the area a little before 6PM (they were struggling to get lift)). One of the resident goshawks was observed well south of the site as it attacked a few ravens.
Highlights: A small group Broad-wings arriving late in the day. Some of these birds lingered over the site. One took a shot at the decoy. Good views of Peregrines early and late. Plenty of close vultures including a migrating group that was still soaring over the site at 6PM. Unfortunately, close birds were few today and counts for a couple species were lower than expected despite good winds. We weren’t alone in receiving somewhat disappointing numbers of smaller raptors.
Birds going for the decoy: Broad-winged Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk
Raptor interactions: Sharp-shinned Hawk and Turkey Vulture, Sharp-shinned Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk, Bald Eagle and Bald Eagle (aggressor listed first)
Non-raptors: The first Black-backed Woodpecker of the season visited the site late in the day. The first flocks of Siskin were observed. Crows numbers greatly increased late in the day, but these birds didn’t move.
The coming days: Looks like sun with a light ENE wind shifting to SE for Sunday. Far from ideal conditions. The length of counts is uncertain. Migrants were very likely be distant.
More details can be found at https://www.hawkcount.org. Additional information on hawk migration can be found at https://www.hmana.org/
This project takes place on private land. Please contact the project co-ordinator before visiting the site.
Primary support comes from the New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund (NBWTF) with additional support from the New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund, private donors and the volunteers. Purchasing conservation license plates supports the NBWTF and this project.
Todd Watts
Official Counter/Co-ordinator
Greenlaw Mountain Hawk Watch
Saint John Naturalists’ Club