It was a good day on the hawk deck yesterday (4/14), though as it turned out, it was a merely a warm-up to the Ides of April where everything that happened on the 14th, happened again, only with more!
Sharp-shinned Hawk by Skye Haas
The 13th we hit double digit Sharp-shinned Hawks with 19 seen, but on the 14th, that total shot up to 224. The 13th was also notable for being the largest Red-tailed Hawk total of the season so far with 119 seen. “Only” 67 Red-tails were tallied in on the 14th, but 32 Rough-legged Hawks was a new high for the season. Equally impressive were 32 Northern Harriers and 41 American Kestrels. 3 Cooper’s Hawks and 4 Northern Goshawks were recorded, and as you can see from above, a Goshawk took a minute out of her day to ruin a Red-tails pleasant Thursday afternoon.
A bunch of goodies were seen today as well. A Sharp-tailed Grouse successfully navigated its way through a throng of hungry hawks. Flybys of an adult Glaucous Gull and Belted Kingfisher were the first of the season. A great passerine flight started out the morning- 439 American Robins, 15 Bohemian Waxwings and 80-some mixed species blackbird flocks revealed a few Rusty Blackbirds and a female Yellow-headed Blackbird flying over the deck.
Rough-legged Hawk by Skye Haas
It was a good day, and it being my birder Grandmother’s birthday, I could not help but think of her bringing me to Whitefish Point for the first time 26 years ago, almost to the day when I was but a wee lad, well on my way to becoming totally hooked on birds.
Thank you Grandma!
Skye Haas
