Bill's First Post of OCT/NOV 2016

Fall color on the hawk watch hill.

 

Jimmy and Cynthia; 

Here is my Monday, October 10, 2016 report.

It is hard to believe we were melting in 90 degree weather only 2 weeks ago during Broad - winged season! The sumac are really starting to color up, as well as other trees at the Soddy Mountain lookout. I'll send 2-3 fall color shots.

I arrived at 8:45 this morning. It was clear and a nice 5-10 mph northeast wind was blowing. Ten minutes later an American Kestrel came sailing past. "OK." I thought, "It's going to be a good day!" Didn't see anything else until Jim Rowell got there around 9:45. We counted a Sharpie shortly before 10:00 and less than 5 minutes later a nice Cooper's Hawk flew right over us. Things were looking good!

Little could we have guessed at that time that when we prepared to leave at 3:45 the 10:03 Cooper's would be the last migrating hawk we would count today! Despite a decent NE breeze all day, the barometric pressure started at 30.35 and went down just a bit during the day to 30.28. Typically we don't get much of a flight when the pressure is that high and that trend unfortunately continued today. Temperatures ranged from 58 to 76, so at least it was pleasant.

I suspect that over the weekend,  when Hurricane Matthew was moving up the South and North Carolina coasts, it probably pushed coastal migrant hawks inland and a very strong north wind here would have certainly aided them. I had to work and I believe I missed what could have been a very good flight.

What do I base that assumption on? Last year on Oct. 4 a hurricane was on the coast. We saw 7 Peregrine Falcons, 33 Sharpies, close to 70 Broad - wings,   5 Bald Eagles and various other hawks passing the lookout that day.

Nobody was there this weekend, so I can only speculate.

Around 2:45 an adult Red - shouldered Hawk landed on the bottom black phone line just to the right of the pole. It sat there several minutes, carefully looking for prey underneath the pole and also checking us out. I am pretty sure it is the same bird I saw perch right there several times last fall. It finally took flight and we got magnificent close-in looks as it soared over the lookout.  What a beautiful bird!

Today's totals:

Sharp - shined Hawk - 1

Cooper's Hawk - 1

American Kestrel - 1

Monarch - 3

Cloudless Sulphur - 26

Blue Jay - 7 (migrating south)

Canada Goose - 9 (going north)

I think I heard a Red-breasted Nuthatch in the woods south of Ken's house! Also saw a Tennessee Warbler in the dead pine. 

Butterflies seen: Little Yellow, Orange Sulphur, Cloudless Sulphur,  Variegated Fritillary,  Gulf Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, 

Common Buckeye, Monarch, Common Checkered Skipper, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Sachem, Northern Broken - Dash. 

Reporting: Bill Haley

 

Please Remember to ck out Bill's Calendar to see when he will be on the Hawk Watch and feel free to join him if possible.  Remember to dress warmly and in layers. We had to take down the Bathroom, so consider that when you come. Sunscreen and lotions/lip balms to guard against the wind this time of year are necessary.  Jimmy and I used to go up for late fall Hawk Watch as often as we could when we both worked, and spent a few hours on days we worked later in the day/night.  We never came away sorry we went.  Often good sightings of hawks at much closer views than in BW season.  And we learned sooooo much!

 

Thanks to Bill land Jim for this report. They are continuing to -

 

KEEP LOOKING UP!!!!