I’ve just finished my third day as the WPBO hawk counter — what a fun job! Despite the mere trickle of raptors so far, I’ve been having a fantastic time spending my days up on the hawk deck. The first raptor of my season didn’t come until the second day, but it was worth the wait to begin tallying hawks with the thrill of seeing a snazzy immature Northern Goshawk come tearing in at full speed, passing just over my head! I also snagged four Bald Eagles on Thursday, which combined with the six from today makes them my most common bird of prey for the three days.
Today’s big excitement came during the 2 o’clock hour, when a pair of adult Golden Eagles passed through! They never came as close as I might have liked, but Skye was able to snag a nice photo of one. The addition of a couple Red-tailed Hawks today brought my raptor diversity up to four species so far.
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An adult Golden Eagle, one of two that appeared mid-afternoon on day three, making them the fourth raptor species for the season. By Skye Haas
Thankfully during the lengthy lulls between hawks the passerines have kept me going. Finches in particular have been delightful these first three days, with tons of Common Redpolls streaming overhead, scattered sightings of both crossbills, and the sounds of whistling Pine Grosbeaks each morning.
We’re trying a few new things with our data collection and dissemination this spring, including the debut of a brand new WPBO eBird account where you can easily keep tabs on the latest happenings at The Point. There’s much, much more to come, so be sure to keep watching this space, and better yet, come up to the hawk deck and say hi!
— Gary Palmer
Today is Monday, March 20th. Had my 1st Red-winged Blackbird visit my yard in Indian River. It was warm yesterday in the low 40s and expected to be that warm again today. So maybe you will start seeing some Red-winged Blackbirds up your way in a few days. My husband works in Mackinaw City and has been seeing Golden and Bald Eagles flying over almost daily now, just a couple or so. Big excitement is the almost nightly Barred Owl hooting that’s been happening now for a few days. Good luck with your Raptor Count season.
I hope to visit the point sometime in May or June; I will definitely visit the deck and say hello. Enjoy your time counting!