יומן של Inland Pacific Northwest Raptor Migration 2020

Very belated month summary but that's because I forgot. Anyway, the month's report and the weekly report will be below.

Top 5 Species (October):
Red-tailed Hawk -- 31 obs
American Kestrel -- 9 obs (returns to Top 5)
Sharp-shinned Hawk -- 8 obs (new to Top 5)
Bald Eagle -- 7 obs (new to Top 5)
Merlin -- 6 obs (new to Top 5)

Top 5 Species (Overall):
Red-tailed Hawk -- 145 obs
Swainson's Hawk -- 62 obs
Osprey -- 59 obs
Great Horned Owl -- 36 obs (+1 spot)
American Kestrel -- 35 obs (new to Top 5)

Total Species Overall: 27

Top 5 Observers (Observations): birdwhisperer 144 obs, @cgates326 43 obs, @masonmaron 33 obs, @uta_stansburiana 19 obs and @josegarrido 18 obs

Top 5 Observers (Species): birdwhisperer 17 species, cgates326 13 species, uta_stansburiana 11 species, masonmaron 10 species and @brodiecasstalbott 8 species

Species Still Not Observed: White-tailed Kite, Snowy Owl, Northern Hawk-Owl, Spotted Owl, Short-eared Owl, Boreal Owl, Northern Saw-whet and Gyrfalcon -- 8 species

New Species in October: Rough-legged Hawk

Counties Needing Observations: Washington -- Ferry, Klickitat and Columbia -- Oregon -- Morrow and Wheeler

News and What to Expect in November: That's the month, we tagged on our expected addition of the Rough-legged Hawk and if this year is anything like last year, the observation counts will skyrocket with this arctic Buteo. We still have 5 counties lacking any raptor sightings whatsoever but in all fairness, I drove through 3 of them two weeks ago. We'll see how it goes.

We are closing in on the last two months of the year and though this year may have been crummy, I sense that a lot of birders had more opportunities to go out and do what they love. Let's keep the observations pouring in and if can, find a few owls. We'll probably miss the White-tailed Kite for the project but there's only two overall sightings within the project's perimeters anyway, so it was a long shot. But we can totally get the Northern Hawk-Owl or saw-whet.

Observation of the month goes to @doughenderson11 for his photo of a Northern Pygmy-Owl lunch. I really liked this photo because it really gives us a perspective on just how small these owls are, they aren't called pygmy-owls for nothing. It's prey, a deer mouse if I were to hazard a guess, is nearly the same size as this 6 inch owl. The pygmy-owl also holds the placement of being our project's smallest raptor. We should see more sightings of these guys as winter progresses. See the observation here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/63734872

Observation of the week goes to cgates326 for his Western Red-tailed Hawk by his ramshackle nest. Raptorial species that are residents, such as Red-tails and Bald Eagles, tend to stay in the vicinity of their nest and will continue to repair it throughout the winter to make sure it's in tip top shape when spring comes around. Link to that observation here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/64021011

And that is it hawkwatchers, good luck to whatever birding you do during the month.

What has the first eleven days of November gave us? Bitter cold, or at least that's what I'm told since I'm an very tolerate of colder weather. Northeastern Oregon got two inches of snow Saturday and since it's been snowing as fast as its melting. Roads are a complete mess but that didn't stop me from hopping into the car and getting out in the valley looking for hawks. We added 33 observations to the project over the week, though admittingly, I posted 24 of those. I got my first Rough-legged Hawk of the 2020-2021 winter which is big for me.

The observation of the week is another Red-tailed Hawk of the western race. This excellent flight shot from @danithedeer in Madras shows a rufous morph. I won't go into the whole speech again on identifying this cool guys but you might like this. I found two northern-type Red-tails two days ago in the Grande Ronde Valley. They were juveniles so much harder to identify to subspecies, if at all. The jury is still out in confidently confirming my hawks as abieticola because calurus can exhibit my key field marks, but these variants do not occur in juveniles born and raised in Oregon, so my hypothesis is that they come from British Columbia or Alberta. Anyway, you can see the rufous Western Red-tailed here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/64401965

In the following week, stay safe as roads are becoming more hazardous. Snow is not fun to drive in if you don't know what you're doing. But if you get a chance, photograph some raptors and see what kind of data can be produced. Good luck!

Another week has passed and admittingly, I'm shocked to learn only seven observations were submitted this week. I do have to submit some, but I'm waiting for ebird to get back online tomorrow morning before I start downloading things. What went down during this slow but windy week?

The seven observations were good, including Merlin and goshawks but I think it's time to dabble in the Debate. Observation of the week goes to @heyrobt for an amazing quality photo of a juvenile Accipiter. As you can see from the community id, it's a hot heated debate right now. I believe we've all seen that Youtube video which was a "trailer" for the Great Accipiter Debate but I think instances like this observation is the reason it should be a full-length movie.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65121596

For the next week, I hope the winds calm down in the Blue Mountain Basins. I tried looking for some White-winged Scoters but the 30 mph winds with 45 mph gust made sure I couldn't stand let alone see birds on the choppy waters. But on the bright side, if I hadn't stop looking for the scoters, I wouldn't have spotted my first 2020-2021 Harlan's Hawk and a Ferruginous Hawk. Taking advantage of the high winds apparently. Definitely good stuff out there. Good luck!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, the one special holiday to enjoy some time with your family whether or not you decide to or not. During the week, we obtained 21 observations, which is a little below the average. Good news for us, unless my plans change (which they do often), I get to go Morrow/Umatilla County this Sunday in search for some cool hawks.

Observation of the week goes to @nordsman for a photo of a juvenile Western Red-tailed Hawk. It might be a common species but when you get a great photo, it deserves some recognition. The broad patagials and barred flanks are good indicators of the subspecies, especially in juvenile plumage. You can see the photo here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65501164

I still want to go out and find owls but snow will keep me away from the mountains until I get snow tires on my car. We still need saw-whet owls for the project and with the excitement of the Rockfeller owl, go looking in spruce trees. It's their favorite tree and it doesn't matter if it's remote or in a city, they'll be there. Good luck birders!