יומן של Inland Pacific Northwest Raptor Migration 2020

ארכיון יומן של ספטמבר 2020

ספטמבר 1, 2020

August Summary

August is now over and now we start the best month of raptor migration, September! Here's a summary of what happened over the previous month.

Top 5 Species (August):
Red-tailed Hawk -- 37 (+2 spots)
Swainson's Hawk -- 26
Osprey -- 17 (-2 spots)
Turkey Vulture -- 9
American Kestrel -- 8 (new to Top 5)

Top 5 Species (Overall):
Red-tailed Hawk -- 59 (+2 spots)
Osprey -- 45 (-1 spot)
Swainson's Hawk -- 44 (-1 spot)
Turkey Vulture -- 20
Cooper's Hawk -- 16 (new to Top 5)

Total Species Overall: 23

Top 5 Observations Submitted: birdwhisperer 75 obs, @cgates326 21 obs, @uta_stansburiana 16 obs, @masonmaron 16 obs and @josegarrido 13 obs

Top 5 Most Species: birdwhisperer 12 species, uta_stansburiana 9 species, cgates326 9 species, joseharrido 6 species and @flammulated 5 species

Species Still Not Observed: White-tailed Kite, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Western Screech-Owl, Snowy Owl, Northern Hawk-Owl, Spotted Owl, Great Gray Owl, Short-eared Owl, Boreal Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl and Gyrfalcon -- 12 species

New Species in August: Broad-winged Hawk, Barn Owl, Merlin and Peregrine Falcon

Counties Needing Observations: WA (6) -- Ferry, Pend Oreille, Grant, Klickitat, Columbia and Garfield -- OR (2) -- Morrow, Wheeler

News and What to Expect in September: As expected, we doubled the observations in the project as we now have 280 observations submitted, though I must admit, I have about half a dozen photos I still need to upload. It was a great month for raptors, the weather was much tamer than July and though smoke covered most of Oregon this month, raptors were prevalent.

Observations of the Month goes to @nmccullough for an excellent nighttime shot of a Barred Owl in the Okanogan region. I've always been fascinated by this species and sometimes a little envious that Rocky Mountain Barred Owls are much harder to find than Cascades individuals. Closely related to the endangered Spotted Owl, these two species can be distinguished by size and pattern. As the names say, one is barred on the underparts and the other is spotted. It would be great though, if someone happens to see a Spotted within the next month.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/55453734

Let's talk about Broad-winged Hawks. At the end of July, I specifically asked observers to look for Broad-winged Hawks. And here's what happened. August 26th, my friends Ginger Shoemake and Judy Treman photographed an adult Broad-winged Hawk in Walla Walla. I looked up sightings on ebird and their sighting is the first Blue Mountain record. There has been no previous sightings within the entire mountain range. Unfortunately, Ginger and Judy are ebirders, not iNaturalists but I'm hoping to convince them this site is just as good! Moving on, I went to McCully Creek in Wallowa county Sunday to look for Spruce Grouse. Up on Ferguson Ridge was what did know, a juvenile light morph Broad-winged Hawk being chased by a larger, longer-winged Swainson's. First county record and 2nd Blue Mountain record. And finally, yesterday, I get an e-mail from Dave Trochlell asking me for an id on a hawk he found in North Powder, Oregon. Hat trick! Another juvenile Broad-winged Hawk and I'm willing to bet he saw the very juvenile I saw the previous day. Perhaps I can get him to join iNaturalist too! First Baker county record and 3rd Blue Mountain record, all within a week's time. Mike Shaw mentioned that these Broad-wings are more likely early migrants than vagrants, as migrants have been spotted on the Cascade front. That's really good news in my opinion and I think if birders take more time to up into the mountains this September, we can find even more Broad-winged Hawks. I'm rambling but that is all I have for this summary. Good luck hawkwatchers!

הועלה ב-ספטמבר 1, 2020 05:18 אחה"צ על ידי birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

ספטמבר 3, 2020

Soaring High

I felt like I just wrote a journal post (which was yesterday) but it's Wednesday again so another week has passed for the IPNRM. We ended August and started September, what happened during this time? We've added 60 more observations and our total count is 312 with Red-tailed Hawks taking up 20% of those sightings. A new species was added, a Broad-winged Hawk spotted in the Wallowa Mountains. All great stuff.

The observation of the week goes to @craigjhowe for his excellent photo session of a hatch year Golden Eagle. Often birders ask how to distinguish Bald Eagles from Golden and the answer is quite simple in Craig's photos. What do you see? I see feathered legs, a diagnostic feature of Golden. Bald Eagles will have bright yellow tarsi that are not feathered. An easy way to identify if I do say. You can see the observation here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/58276105

What should we expect in next week's episode? September is starting which is probably the hype month for raptor migration. Stay in the mountains and scan the skies, you may grab more Broad-winged Hawks. It wouldn't hurt to get some goshawks along the way. We are certainly lacking in owl photos so if anyone has any interest, go owling on a nice clear night. I hope to see another boom in observations so keep it up hawkwatchers!

הועלה ב-ספטמבר 3, 2020 04:17 לפנה"צ על ידי birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

ספטמבר 9, 2020

Migration Underway

The second September Wednesday is here, so time for another weekly report for the IPNRM. This was a really slow week as we only acquired 25 new observations, little under half of what got last week. Our total observation count is 337, which is great. Keep up the good work! It was still a good week though, several Accipiters, photogenic Buteos and a hooting screech-owl. We even tagged a new Burrowing Owl observation but the downside is, it lost its life to a vehicle. As the following weeks progress, let's get a live one.

The observation of this week will go to @philkahler for an excellent photograph of a Cooper's Hawk in my hometown of College Place, WA. The most common Accipiter within Washington and Oregon, they are Accipiter most often associated with humans. They can be identified from their smaller counterpart, the Sharp-shinned Hawk, by the gray nape and "crowned" appearance, meaning the blue-gray does not extend below the eyes. In flight, Cooper's Hawks have rufous and white barred underwing coverts contrary to rufous and black barring in Sharp-shinned Hawks. I've found these features more reliable than anything field guides publish so you have that. You can see Phil's observation here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/58925631

Once again I would like to stress the need for seeing Broad-winged Hawks. I've been giving this some great thought after the "first" three Blue Mountain records have come forth this migration season. These guys are annual, you just need to be in the right place at the right time to see them. So I offer some places to try for Broad-wings. Peak migration season is the next two weeks so it's a very small window to see them. I'll just list them below.

Ferguson Ridge -- Wallowa Mts -- Wallowa County, OR
Anthony Lakes -- Elkhorn Mts -- Baker County, OR
Mount Fanny -- Wallowa Mts -- Union County, OR
Mount Hood -- Cascades -- Hood River County, OR
Steens Summit -- Steen Mts -- Harney County, OR
White Mountain -- Kettle River Range -- Ferry County, WA
Tiffany Mountain -- Cascades -- Okanogan County, WA
Mount Adams -- Cascades -- Yakima County, WA
Table Rock -- Blue Mts -- Columbia County, WA
Mount Spokane -- Rocky Mts -- Spokane County, WA

In other advice, if you don't have time, energy or means of getting on top of a mountain, if you know any fields that are plowed, kettles of Swainson's Hawks are huge. And sometimes you may get a special surprise in those kettles. Touchet, Washington is a great place to go looking for such flocks. For Oregon, the combined smoke from McKenzie Fire in Eugene and the Sacramento, Cal fire are keeping all raptors grounded in the valleys. I'm going to heading out some time soon to see a Union County Ferruginous, which is a good county hawk. Who knows what might be in your county? Good luck hawkwatchers!

הועלה ב-ספטמבר 9, 2020 04:01 אחה"צ על ידי birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

ספטמבר 17, 2020

Accipiters, Falcons and Vultures Oh My

This Wednesday finishes the second complete week in September for the project. During this seven day period, we have increased the observation count by 35 observations and our total tally settles at 372. To be honest, I was hoping we would have a few more counts but I don't blame that on the birders. I went birding three times this week and guess how many raptors I saw. Two, a harrier and unphotographed Swainson's Hawk. The smoke from the recent Cascades fires are really putting a damper on our birding but soon it'll be over, winter will come and knock us out of our seats!

This week's observation of the week goes to @rccarl for a nice capture of a juvenile Peregrine Falcon. Not much I can say about this observation other than wow! Often considered the fastest animal on earth, the Peregrine Falcon can be distinguished from the similar and more common Prairie Falcon by the lack of dark armpits, more blackish upperparts and strong hooded look. Look for these along the Columbia River in the coming weeks, they love to terrorize Western Sandpiper flocks. You cans see the photo here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/59824701

What can we expect for the following week? Well, we did get a Great Gray Owl this week which is another species we can tag onto the list. That also means you should look out for owls wherever you are. Owling could be good in forests that are not burning. Just be smart when you're up there. And of course, look for Broad-winged Hawks, I'd like to see someone besides me see one. I'm heading out to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge this weekend so I may get one along with another Red-shouldered Hawk. Good luck hawkers!

הועלה ב-ספטמבר 17, 2020 03:26 לפנה"צ על ידי birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

ספטמבר 23, 2020

Aiming High

Third week of September has passed and that means more observations for the project. Over the past seven days, 32 observations, though most of which are my own after a recent trip to Harney County, Oregon. That puts the project at a total count of 404 observations. We broke four hundred, huge milestone. Though unfortunately this does spill some bad news. We are almost halfway through the duration of this project and we're not on pace to break last year's observation record. What can we do as project members to get ourselves back on track? I offer two suggestions; one, even if it's a Red-tailed Hawk, take a photo of it. This project isn't for photographing the cool birds, it's for all raptors. Second, invite a friend who enjoys photography to join iNat. Spread the word and get more participates. With word out there, it could offer some promising results.

To promote this, I'm making the observation of the week someone who hasn't joined the project. Round of applause to @p38 for the excellent photo of a Western Screech-Owl. I speak from personal experience that these little gray owls are tough little buggers to find. Sometimes people get exceptionally lucky and it's awesome a shot like this was taken. Adds another owl to the project. You can view the observation here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60149303

Besides what I mentioned above, what news is there? This is the last week of September so if any of you are still looking Broad-winged Hawks, you better do it before the end of the week or are chances are slimmer than they already are. I would to see at least seventy observations by the end of the month. Owling should be good, we had Northern Saw-whet and Boreal Owl this time of year. Besides that, good luck birders!

הועלה ב-ספטמבר 23, 2020 11:04 אחה"צ על ידי birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה

ספטמבר 30, 2020

September Summary

It is Wednesday so normally I would do my weekly report but it's also the last day of September so let's do the summary while we are at it. Observation of the Week will be presented with monthly observation.

Top 5 Species (August):
Red-tailed Hawk -- 36 obs
Turkey Vulture -- 12 obs (+2 spots)
Swainson's Hawk -- 10 obs (-1 spot)
Great Horned Owl -- 9 obs (returns to Top 5)
Northern Harrier -- 8 obs (new to Top 5)

Top 5 Species (Overall):
Red-tailed Hawk -- 105 obs
Swainson's Hawk -- 61 obs (+1 spot)
Osprey -- 55 obs (-1 spot)
Turkey Vulture -- 32
Great Horned Owl -- 30 (returns to Top 5)

Total Species Overall: 26

Top 5 Observers (Observations): birdwhisperer 128 obs, @cgates326 37, @masonmaron 24 obs, @josegarrido 18 obs, @uta_stansburiana 17 obs

Top 5 Observers (Species): birdwhisperer 16 species, uta_stansburiana 10 species, cgates326 10 species, masonmaron 8 species, josegarrido 7 species

Species Still Not Observed: White-tailed Kite, Rough-legged Hawk, Snowy Owl, Northern Hawk-Owl, Spotted Owl, Short-eared Owl, Boreal Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl and Gyrfalcon -- 9 species

New Species in September: Sharp-shinned Hawk, Western Screech-Owl and Great Gray Owl

Counties Needing Observations: WA (4) -- Ferry, Pend Oreille, Klickitat and Columbia -- OR (2) -- Morrow and Wheeler

News and What to Expect in October: We have been on par this year for submitting the same amount of observations per month. We are now have 437 observations for the project and well, we didn't achieve my goal during the week. We are down forty observations from last year when I first started these surveys. It's been a tough year so I suppose we can use that as an our excuse for our slacking, including me. Don't take it too hard.

Over the week, we jump our observation count and added 33 new observations. And out of those new submissions, I believe the observation of the week should go to masonmaron for an beautiful capture of a female Barn Owl in Washtucna . This is one of the few raptor species that are sexually dimorphic, which means males and females have distinct plumages. Males are very white below while females are tawny. And I can say without a doubt, this is one of the tawniest Barn Owls I've seen. Observation can be seen below.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60601991

Observation of the month, goes to an observation submitted earlier this month that didn't get the recognition it deserves. For September, it goes to @philkahler for an intermediate morph Swainson's Hawk in Walla Walla. Like the Red-tailed Hawk, I am fascinated by Swainson's by the variety of color morphs. Their boldness to plowing farmers is also a favorite trait too, especially when I can even get within 100 yards of a Red-tail without them having a spasm attack. You can see that observation here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/58925626

Ok, now it is the time to discuss what we should see in October. Our first Rough-legged Hawks should come in this week and that will complete the Buteo cycle. This is also the time to find owls. Boreal and Barred Owl are now "expected" on the ebird filters now so I'm going to see just how expected these species are. I would also keep an eye for White-tailed Kites. It would be nice to get it but there's only one inland WA/OR record and that was over forty years ago. But they're nomadic so you never know. That just about covers it fellas, good raptor watching!

הועלה ב-ספטמבר 30, 2020 05:06 אחה"צ על ידי birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 תגובות | הוספת תגובה