The fifth week of the raptor count saw some dramatic rises and falls! On April 8 and 9, hawk migration intensified, with 141 Sharp-shinned Hawks recorded on the 8th and 312 Red-tailed Hawks on the 9th. Then the wind direction changed, and quite dramatically! Within less than 24 hours, the wind turned almost 180 degrees. On April 12, the winds from the northwest reached 35 mph, and the migration stopped altogether. A couple of Red-tailed Hawks that dared to get in the air were tossed and turned in the wind with such force that I was truly amazed that they managed to remain airborne. Although windspeed diminished, the northwestern winds prevailed for the next two days, and only a handful of raptors were seen. The situation somewhat improved on the morning of the 15th when winds briefly changed to southeast, and Sharp-shinned Hawks were moving through the area again. However, this mild weather did not last, and soon enough, the northwest wind returned. Nonetheless, the week also produced the first Peregrine Falcon and Broad-winged Hawk of the season. On April 13, an immature Golden Eagle soared over the observation deck for nearly an hour and was photographed by several visiting birdwatchers, who hopefully managed to get much better photos than I did.

~ Michael Patrikeev
2024 Raptor Counter

Featured photo: Golden Eagle. Photo by Michael Patrikeev

You can see updates for the 2024 Raptor Count on hawkcount.org, read Michael’s weekly blog post, and follow WPBO’s social media (Facebook, Instagram, and X) for raptor count highlights this season. The raptor count runs March 15 through May 31.

Michael Patrikeev, M.S., is a graduate of St. Petersburg State University (Russia) and studied diurnal birds of prey for his M.S. In later years, he worked at the Lower-Svir Nature Reserve in Russia, and then headed the wildlife inventory section at the Ecological Centre of Azerbaijan. He conducted avifaunal surveys and inventories in the latter country and published “The Birds of Azerbaijan” in 2004. Michael arrived in Canada in 1992 and has since worked for the Canadian Wildlife Service, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Parks Canada, The Nature Conservancy, and Texas Parks and Wildlife. Michael is semi-retired and works in Canada and the United States for wildlife-related contracts. His private interests include the conservation of tropical birds and amphibians.