Jimmy, Bill and Harold had a long slow day under all blue skies. But it was not fruitless. They Squeezed out a few Raptors between 10:00 and 4:00. The predicted clouds never showed over he lookout, and it got really warm for a fall day -mid 80's. It was so clear they determined they could see 100 miles - about 160 K. Harold spent most of the day with Jimmy, and Bill was able to join them midday, when we have always expected the birds are flying high in blue skies, and not visible. So, what they saw is pretty remarkable.
10/05/15 - Monday
8 Broad-wings
5 Sharp-shinned
2 Coopers Hawks
1 Red-tailed
4 Black Vultures
5 Turkey Vultures
The note of the day, may be obvious. They have begun to count Vultures. Remember, migrants must have a definite migration attitude. Come from a general Northerly direction and make a dedicated directional move to the SW or S and keep going. Generally they will be grouped, somewhat like BWs. Most often, non-migrants turn within moment and show up going North. Therefore, you also wont' see them again in just a bit. We have been watching them gather for days. It has been obvious they are getting ready to leave.
Jimmy's already determined that if it is all blue skies tomorrow, he won't stay long alone. The weather indicates an area of rain that makes a large arc, which cuts off the route to the north the hawks would have to fly through. A cold front approaching, at least this year, has pushed the existing birds through ahead of it, but there probably wont' be birds making their way down from areas where the rain sets in. So unless there are a lot of hawks sitting between the rain and the watch...not likely to see much in the afternoon anyway. We've been surprised before...Just how far out they are, and how close the rain gets will tell the tale.
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