Raptors – Page 18 – Orange Birding

Hawk Watch Weekend

One of the resident Peregrine Falcons at State Line Hawk Watch, 10/26/14.

I made it out to two Hawk Watches this weekend. On Saturday, I was of course up on Mount Peter, where I was the official counter. After a slow start with very blue skies (which makes it hard to locate the birds), I ended up having my second consecutive good Saturday. For the day we totaled 125 migrating raptors, with the most numerous being, once again, Sharp-shinned Hawks (43). Huge thanks to Judy Cinquina, Bill O’Keefe, Scot Marchal, and Rob Pirie (who located both Bald Eagles for the day). I have no idea how many birds would have been missed without their help up there.

At Mount Peter on Saturday, the photo opportunities were not numerous, but the Turkey Vultures always show up. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch, 10/25/14.

Here is my report from the day:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 25, 2014
——————————————————————-

Species Day’s Count / Month Total / Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture 25 85 86
Turkey Vulture 22 226 229
Osprey 2 34 109
Bald Eagle 2 16 63
Northern Harrier 0 17 31
Sharp-shinned Hawk 43 673 975
Cooper’s Hawk 5 62 79
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 44 49
Broad-winged Hawk 0 9 5685
Red-tailed Hawk 18 71 72
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 1 1
American Kestrel 0 46 125
Merlin 3 16 20
Peregrine Falcon 0 6 11
Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1
Unknown Buteo 1 7 15
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 2 3
Unknown Raptor 4 13 28

Total: 125 1329 7582
———————————————————————-

Official Counter: Matt Zeitler

Observers: Bill O’Keefe, Judith C. Cinquina, Scot Marchal

Visitors:
Joe + Linda Prunier, Marc Lebidois, Rob Pirie, Kyle Dudgeon, Herb Houghton,
and Terry Anne.

Weather:
Sunny and cool with temperatures ranging from 7 to 17 degrees Celsius. Wind
was from the west at approximately 10 km/hr. A cloudless sky early and late
in the watch made it difficult to locate migrating birds.

Raptor Observations:
One adult Bald Eagle and one immature Bald Eagle were observed migrating
during the watch.

Non-raptor Observations:
Other Species: Dark-eyed Junco (12), American Crow (26), Common Loon (3),
Blue Jay (9), Canada Goose (188), American Robin (47), Common Raven (2),
Tufted Titmouse (3), Black-capped Chickadee (5), Pine Siskin (75), Purple
Finch (4), Ring-billed Gull (3), Rock Pigeon (1)

A perched Peregrine Falcon at State Line Hawk Watch, 10/26/14.

I spent Saturday night and Sunday morning on Long Island visiting family. On the spur of the moment, on my way back I decided to stop at State Line Hawk Watch. I have wanted to get out there for a while, after seeing many photos online and hearing about how you look down at many of the migrating raptors and that there are resident Peregrine Falcons that offer decent photo opportunities. Having spent 8 hours identifying and counting hawks the day before, my interests were more about getting some photos and getting a different look at the raptors, from the top, such as this Black Vulture:

A Black Vulture flies over the Hudson River, well below the lookout. State Line Hawk Watch, 10/26/14.

As of this posting, the report for State Line had not gone through. While I was there, they had a relatively steady stream of Sharp-shinned Hawks, and I heard mention of a Golden Eagle earlier in the day. I will post their numbers from the day when I can get them. All in all, a good weekend to watch, count, and photograph raptors – very enjoyable!

Update: Here is the count for Sunday at State Line Hawk Watch –

BV TV OS BE NH SS CH NG RS BW RT RL GE AK ML PG UA UB UF UE UR Total

0 60 0 4 1 137 3 0 5 0 13 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 227

Mount Peter Hawk Watch, 10/18/14

At long last, I finally had a good day at the hawk watch. I got my first migrating raptor before I even had a chance to unpack my gear as I arrived at the platform. Things stayed pretty steady for the rest of the day and in the end, I counted 109 migrating raptors. Thanks to Rob Stone and Rob Pirie (who I met for the first time today) for their help counting. Here’s my report from the day:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 18, 2014
——————————————————————-

Species Day’s Count / Month Total / Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture 0 2 3
Turkey Vulture 0 46 49
Osprey 3 27 102
Bald Eagle 1 6 53
Northern Harrier 1 11 25
Sharp-shinned Hk 83 381 683
Cooper’s Hawk 7 36 53
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hk 0 11 16
Broad-winged Hk 0 8 5684
Red-tailed Hawk 0 5 6
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 6 26 105
Merlin 5 11 15
Peregrine Falcon 1 4 9
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 1 5 13
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 1 2 3
Unknown Raptor 0 4 19

Total: 109 585 6838
———————————————————————-

Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours

Official Counter: Matt Zeitler

Observers: Rob Stone

Visitors:
Rob Pirie, Rob Stone, Anthony Stone, Kyle Dudgeon, and James & Darlene
Mussi.
Weather:
Cloudy and cool with W winds at approximately 20 km/hr. Temperatures ranged
from 12 to 18 degrees Celsius.

Raptor Observations:
Migrating raptors included: (1) Adult Bald Eagle, (1) Male Northern
Harrier, (5) Unknown American Kestrels, and (1) Female American Kestrel.

Non-migrating raptors included (4) Red-tailed Hawks, many Turkey and Black
Vultures, and a Peregrine Falcon which was seen several times to the north
of the platform but was not seen moving through.

Non-raptor Observations:
Other Species: Blue Jay (112), Tufted Titmouse (4), Black-capped Chickadee
(6), Palm Warbler (1), Canada Goose (84), American Goldfinch (24), Rock
Pigeon (4), American Robin (2), American Crow (23), Red-bellied Woodpecker
(2), Pileated Woodpecker (1), Downy Woodpecker (1), Northern Flicker (1),
Common Raven (2), and Monarch Butterfly (18)

One of 3 migrating Osprey at Mount Peter Hawk Watch, 10/18/14.

Highlight of the day for me: FIVE migrating Merlins. These birds just cruise past the watch, so awesome! Mount Peter Hawk Watch, 10/18/14.

Mt. Peter Hawk Watch 9/13/14

I did my first shift of the year as counter at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch last Saturday. I didn’t do a blog post because it was uneventful – I counted only 5 migrating hawks in 6 hours of observation. Today was quite a different story. Despite the cloudy and drizzly weather, I surpassed last week’s total in the first 10 minutes of the watch. The highlight was the third hour of the watch, when I had 301 Broad-winged Hawks pass through. To make it even better, the birds were flying relatively low and could be seen easily with the naked eye. I had two large kettles – one with 126 BWHAs and the other with 105. I was so involved with trying to get a good count that I neglected to take any photos. I had one more sizable kettle of 49 birds where I remembered to get the above photo. My total for the day was 337 migrating raptors. All were Broad-winged Hawks with the exception of a single Osprey. Here’s my report, as submitted to HMANA at hawkcount.org:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 13, 2014
——————————————————————-

Species / Day’s Count / Month Total / Season Total
____________________________________________
Black Vulture 0 / 0 / 0
Turkey Vulture 0 / 1 / 1
Osprey 1 / 18 / 18
Bald Eagle 0 / 10 / 10
Northern Harrier 0 / 2 / 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 / 31 / 31
Cooper’s Hawk 0 / 6 / 6
Northern Goshawk 0 / 0 / 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 / 2 / 2
Broad-winged Hawk 336 / 444 / 444
Red-tailed Hawk 0 / 0 / 0
Rough-legged Hawk 0 / 0 / 0
Golden Eagle 0 / 0 / 0
American Kestrel 0 / 13 / 13
Merlin 0 / 2 / 2
Peregrine Falcon 0 / 3 / 3
Unknown Accipiter 0 / 0 / 0
Unknown Buteo 0 / 4 / 4
Unknown Eagle 0 / 0 / 0
Unknown Falcon 0 / 0 / 0
Unknown Raptor 0 / 5 / 5

Total: 337 / 541 / 541
____________________________________________

Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 13:30:00
Total observation time: 5.5 hours

Official Counter: Matt Zeitler

Observers: Carol Linguanti

Visitors:
Visitors included: Karen Miller, Carol Linguanti, Carol Pastushok, and
Grace Woleslagle.
Weather:
Cool and cloudy with a light drizzle beginning in the third hour of the
watch and developing into rain on and off during the last hour and a half
of the watch. Winds were from the East at 10 km/hr and temperatures ranged
from 12 to 15 degrees Celsius.

Raptor Observations:
During the third hour of the watch, 301 Broad-winged Hawks were observed.
Kettles formed to the northeast of the platform and most birds flew
directly over the viewing platform – low for Broad-winged Hawks, all could
be seen easily with the naked eye.

Non-raptor Observations:
Other bird species observed: Northern Cardinal (2), Black-capped Chickadee
(5), Tufted Titmouse (2), Downy Woodpecker (2), American Crow (4), Canada
Goose (3), American Goldfinch (3), Pileated Woodpecker (1), Blue Jay (4),
Chimney Swift (5), Gray Catbird (1), Red-bellied Woodpecker (2),
Black-and-white Warbler (1)

**ONE YEAR AGO ON THIS DATE AT ORANGEBIRDING.COM: American Golden-Plovers in Pine Island.**

Broad-winged Hawk – 9/3/14

Broad-winged Hawk in Pine Island NY, 9/3/14.

I had an interesting and fun experience in Pine Island yesterday afternoon watching a young Broad-winged Hawk hunt for insects. The bird was either unaware of my presence (I was using my car as a blind), or just didn’t care. Very close by, the hawk successfully hunted for about a half dozen insects, each of which the bird dismantled and patiently ate. While I was watch ing the bird in the field, I was pretty sure it was a Broad-winged Hawk. But, then when I got home and I thought about doing a post with the photos, I started to ask myself – “why is this a Broad-winged and not a Red-shouldered Hawk?” Thinking about it, probably the main reason I was thinking BWHA was the size of the bird. To me, the bird appeared small in size – likely the smallest buteo that I have ever seen perched. The hawk’s behavior was another reason; a BWHA hunting insects in a field made sense to me, though I’m not sure why, perhaps Red-shouldered Hawks are just as likely to do this? I also think that at some level I was thinking about the fact that BWHAs are just starting to migrate through our area. For me to post about this bird, I needed to have a more positive identification, so I did a google search and found a very useful comparison of juvenile Broad-winged and Red-shouldered Hawks, provided by the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council. The following photos illustrate some of the field marks exhibited by this bird that lead me to believe that the bird is indeed a Broad-winged Hawk:

According to the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council Raptor ID Series, juvenile Broad-winged Hawks have a malar mark on the cheek and a pale bluish spot on the lower part of the upper mandible. I can see the bluish spot clearly, and I guess the dark area that starts at the base of the bill and goes down and away is the malar mark. Click on the link to see the comparison between the two hawks more clearly.

Again, according to the IWRC Raptor ID Series, juvenile Red-shouldered Hawks have a reddish panel in the primaries, while Broad-winged Hawks do not.

Fin — And, finally, and also according to the IWRC Raptor ID Series, the markings on the underside of the wing are consistent with a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk: narrow dark bars across the secondaries and inner primaries. Check the link to see how the underwing compares to that of a RSHA.

I guess the bird had eaten enough and it flew (not very far!), and perched in a tree on the roadside:

A few more shots of the bird:

BWHA hunting insects. I'm still not sure what the insects were. Pine Island, 9/3/14. — BWHA hunting insects. I’m still not sure what the insects were. Pine Island, 9/3/14.

Eating bugs can be a messy business. BWHA in Pine Island, NY 9/3/14.

Broad-winged Hawk in flight. Pine Island, NY 9/3/14.

Eastern Screech-owl Release!

Last night, Tricia and I were fortunate enough to be present for the release of not one, but three EASTERN SCREECH-OWLS. The owls were all injured in the Warwick area and rehabilitated by Missy Runyan at the Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center. Our friend Carol Linguanti, who is also a wildlife rehabber, was given the wonderful task of releasing the birds and invited me along to witness and take some photos. This, of course made me nervous about getting good shots, but I was thrilled to have the opportunity. Our first stop was at Homestead Village, where one of the birds was found on the lawn of a resident. Since the bird was brought in for rehabilitation a short time ago, it was released in the same spot where it was picked up. Here are some shots from the release:

An Eastern Screech-owl waits for its eyes to adjust to the light before being released. Warwick, NY 7/18/14. — An Eastern Screech-owl seems to be waiting for its eyes to adjust to the light before being released. Warwick, NY 7/18/14.

The EASO was out of the box before I knew it, but I did manage one silhouetted flight shot.

Tricia faired much better from the other side, getting this shot.

The owl perched on a nearby branch for probably less than a minute and then seemed to get its bearings and took off.

The second and third owls apparently had been in rehab for a longer period of time, during which, they bonded. They were to be released together on a large tract of land that Carol owns in Warwick. This release was made even more exciting with the sighting of TWO BEARS! How good can it get? Here are the photos from that release:

Getting ready to be free again, one rufous and one gray Eastern Screech-owls. Photo by Carol Linguanti, Warwick, NY 7/18/14. — Getting ready to be free again, one rufous and one gray Eastern Screech-owl. Photo by Carol Linguanti, Warwick, NY 7/18/14.

This EASO behaved similarly to the first release, perching nearby for a short period of time before taking off into the woods.

The first bear we saw was relatively small, presumably a young bear.

The second bear was huge and Carol's husband Bobby was very excited when we watched the bear use the bridge that Bobby had built to get over a stream. — The second bear was huge and Carol’s husband Bobby was very excited when we watched the bear use the bridge that Bobby had built to get over a stream.

I really cannot thank Carol enough for inviting me to be part of this. It was so exciting to get to see these owls up close and fulfilling to know that they had been successfully rehabbed and now were back where they belonged.

Double Snowy

It was cold but very beautiful out, and I was lucky enough to locate TWO very distant Snowy Owls in Orange County after work this evening. I spent an hour and a half watching these two incredible birds interact with one another – what a privilege!

Additionally, I had two Short-eared Owls, one of which landed not very far from my car just as the sun was setting. This photo was taken at ISO 12800!

Sunday Shots 3/2/14

WALLKILL RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE – 2/28/14

It was for some reason unexpected that I had a nice evening shooting raptors on Friday after work. But, the light was nice and I was lucky enough to have a few birds close enough for some decent shots. Also noteworthy were my first Red-winged Blackbirds for the year in Orange County.

Rough-legged Hawk on Mt. Eve Road, on my way out to Wallkill River NWR, 2/28/14.

When I arrived at the parking area of Wallkill River NWR, this Red-tailed Hawk was perched on the wire across the road. The bird did not leave its perch for a good 25 minutes. I kept waiting for the bird to fly, but when it finally did I missed the shot.

It's been ages since I've gotten a good Northern Harrier shot - I think I was spoiled last winter when they seemed to always be around. Wallkill River NWR, 2/28/14. — It’s been ages since I’ve gotten a good Northern Harrier shot – I think I was spoiled last winter when they seemed to always be around. Click to enlarge this shot – I think it looks really nice. Wallkill River NWR, 2/28/14.

RONDOUT RESEVOIR – 3/1/14

I had a nice outing at Rondout Resevoir on Saturday afternoon. I knew there was a good collection of waterfowl present because I read about it on John Haas’ blog, Bashakill Birder. I got all the birds John reported in his post, including three first of the year birds for me: American Wigeon (5), Redhead (7), and Killdeer (1). It was not a great outing for photos, the birds were for the most part distant and from where you view the birds, in the afternoon all the birds are backlit. I did have a Common Merganser that didn’t seem to mind my presence at all:

Common Merganser at Rondout Reservoir, 3/1/14.

SOUTHERN ORANGE COUNTY – 3/2/14

This morning I made the rounds in southern Orange County without seeing much of note. I did see a single Common Grackle and a single Red-winged Blackbird, both on Celery Avenue. I sorted through MANY Canada Geese without anything out of the ordinary. American Crows rivaled the Canada Geese in numbers and seemed to be everywhere.

Horned Larks are still present in numbers in Orange County, I came across several good sized flocks today. This shot was from Onion Avenue, 3/2/14.

It's tough to get a good shot of American Crows. Pierce Circle, 3/2/14. — It’s tough to get a good shot of American Crows. Pierce Circle, 3/2/14.

Rough-legged Hawk Flyover

After the terrible light in all of yesterday's photos, I was really hoping to get a shot today. It was a beautiful, crisp, winter day with some nice light. I was fortunate enough to have this Rough-legged Hawk fly directly over. Wallkill River NWR, 2/24/14 — After the terrible light in all of yesterday’s photos, I was really hoping to get a shot today. It was a beautiful, crisp, winter day with some nice light. I was fortunate enough to have this Rough-legged Hawk fly directly over. Wallkill River NWR, 2/24/14

Black Vultures 2/21/14

On my to a meeting this evening, I ran across approximately 20 Black Vultures perched on rooftops just south of Florida, NY, on Route 17A. — On my way to a meeting this evening, I ran across approximately 20 Black Vultures perched on rooftops along Route 17A, just south of Florida, NY.

A Pleasant Evening…

A SEOW does a fly-by at the Wallkill River NWR, 2/19/14.

I took advantage of the foggy, misty weather by having a peaceful evening watching the Short-eared Owls out at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge. The parking lot, which has been filled most evenings lately, was practically empty. The owls were up early, and plenty of other raptors could be seen from the viewing platform, including numerous Red-tailed Hawks, a couple of Rough-legged Hawks, and a single male Northern Harrier. Also noteworthy were the seven Northern Cardinals flew into a bush near the entrance to the parking area. It started to rain after a little while, but that didn’t put damper a pleasant evening.

A pair of SEOWs perched in the distance at Wallkill River NWR, 2/19/14.