A NOTE: IF YOU ARE SEEING WORDS DOUBLE UNDERLINED ON THIS BLOG OR ANY OF MY OTHER SITES, PLEASE NOTE THESE LINKS ARE NOT BEING PLACED BY JIMMY OR MYSELF, AND WE DON'T RECOMMEND YOU GO TO THEM!!!
Today on the hawk watch hill, Jimmy, Harold Birch and I (Cynthia) watched a consistant parade of Broad-winged Hawks and only BW's flow silently through on their yearly trek almost nonstop. It began with only one, which appeared to lift from the trees behid us, on the ridge along the hill through which Hwy.111 is cut. It was large and close and beautiful in the morning sun that was still low in the sky. We seldom went more than a few minutes before spotting at least one more BW crossing the not so helpful sky. There was very little lift, anywhere along their path. The earliest birds would wander around in a small thermal, gaining a couple of hundred feet for all their effort, only to lose it all almost as soon as they flew off the top in their more westerly directions.
After midday, we no longer could see most of them with our bare eyes, and at least one kettle formed and kettled to good heights out over the valley, as we looked in the directon of the Watts Bar Nuclear plants rising steam. There were lots of nice clouds scattered about. I felt that we wouldn't miss birds for lack of perfect viewing conditions. But as this kettle of BW's gained height, it disappeared into the clouds so far out that we couldn't count them, because they didn't fly off the top and stream into our direction before the entire kettle disappeared. We could only hope they flew in our direction instead of heading due west, if we had any chance of seeing them again. Jimmy asked me to estimate how many, which after all the years of doing this I am becoming more confident to do. But we wouldn't record the number just yet. We would wait and hope to see them again. I guessed 34, maybe 35, 36.
Within 15 minutes a stream of birds appeared, on approach directly toward us, as if they were dropping in on a gentle glide from the top of a very high thermal. It soon became obvious this was the kettle we watched disappear into the heights, as pepper flake specs, minutes before. We counted them several times, because they flew through slowly spread apart across the path they took, and we scanned across their path determined to capture every one for the record. There were 36. I believe it was our largest kettle. But this kettle was the prime example of how we counted most of our birds today.
Most seldom kettled, at least not for long. Rather they streamed through often 3 here and 2-4 there, led by a single bird, and followed by a single bird, scattered widely across the sky. They seemed in no hurry, but once they made that turn that typically proved they were in migration, they tucked wings and bulleted into the west or southwest as tiny specs once again. Some paused just behind us to gain a little elevation before moving on, just as the first bird of the morning had.
Some which were close, skirted the tree tops, as if dancing along their tops. I wished we had a new birder with whom to share the experience. No one who would have come today, would have left not having seen their fill of lovely Broad-wings.
THE TOTAL: 199 BW Hawks
That's it. Oddly...no other migraing hawks or raptors. Not an osprey, or falcon, or accipitor that we could count.
There were local Red-tailed Hawks kiting, a Red-shouldered Hawk calling behind us which never showed its face, and one local Cooper's which dive bombed a Turkey Vulture like a falcon dropping out of the sky. Many Blacks and Turkey Vultures tested the wind and sought out food. And there were butterflies, dragonflies, Hummingbirds, and Chimney Swifts darting about everywhere. Seldom a boring minute today. Just a neck breaking, arm aching wonderful day!
Can't be there tomorrow, (Tuesday), so anyone who gets up there, please stay, and report what you see while you are there. Thanks for your continued interest.
THINGS ARE LOOKING UP!
No comments:
Post a Comment