Over the Hill in November

This was the middle week of November, 2017 fall season.  Bill had a number of hours to get to the watch this week, so he has sent several reports since I was able to concentrate on getting them up.  So forgive, please the marathon of info.

Jimmy had a biopsy done on his muscles Thursday of this week, in an attempt to put a name to what's making him so weak.  Several good things have happened, in that we have stopped the rapid decline in weight, he no longer spends half his day in the restroom, he is thinking and speaking more clearly, (thank God), and they have brought the mass of medication he was on to something more manageable, and a little easier to see what was hurting him and what actually helped.

 It turned out he was on Diabetes Meds in addition to several others that he no longer needed, due to his weight loss.  His sugars are basically not an issue at this point.  That is a tremendous blessing, and his blood pressure and heart rates have become far more stable.  I generally don't speak of these things here, but I know many of our readers would like to know.  And I needed to explain why I have been neglectful this week.  He remains unable to walk without tremendous effort, and has fallen more. So it will be very helpful if we can just know a diagnosis.  I hate Statin drugs now, because they seem to have put this whole thing in motion, but his Neurologist seems to think the "disease" part of his problems may have been silently growing before his Rhabdo occurred, thus making the Rhabdo so much worse than it might have been.  Enough of the details, but thank you all for caring and praying and asking about him. 

Now for the real post!

I will just let Bill tell you his results through his own emails and pictures.  It's a blessing that our numbers continue to rise, showing what he always said, that the migration isn't over when the Broad-wings are gone.  In the first note, he recognized an error in addition, adding one more to the previous totals.  I just want to say that, I will always copy paste someone's report, unless we were also doing totals.  So I don't ck for errors. But when Jimmy fills in the charts on Hawkcount.org, it will recognize for us an addition error. But in the past Jimmy has checked and double checked our numbers, both through out the season and at season's end, to be sure of accuracy.  We check his numbers against mine, and we add both forward and backwards, as well as page by page, and month by month.  Just so people may know we make every effort to be accurate when we report to you our final numbers. But it is seldom that the numbers are more than a couple or two off.  The guys have done a great job with numbers down through the years!

Bill's Reports and pics:

"Monday November 13 Correction Note:
Hey, I just realized I had 28 total raptors on Nov. 13, not 27. One of these days I'll learn to count! 25 TV + 2 RT + 1 BE = 28.

Still waiting on that good day, but I just don't think it has gotten nasty enough up north yet For the RT's to move in numbers. Hardly saw any vultures at all today, and certainly no migrants.

Bill

 

 

Tuesday
Nov 14, 2017
Weather: Clouds: 90% @ 11:30, 55% @ 12:00, 35% @ 1:00, 5% $ 2:00. Wind: SE 1-3 @11:30, ENE 1-3 @ 12:00, E SE 2-8 @ 1:00. Temperature: 50 - 56 F. Barometric pressure: 30.33 @ 11:30 gradually falling to 30.23 @ 2:00. Humidity: 63%-57%. Visibility: 40K-50K.


Couldn't really see the bird in my phone view, but I could see the cloud. I got lucky. As this adult Bald Eagle streamed south, it was in a glide from the time I saw it over the north ridge to when it disappeared to the south. By Bill Haley

[Note: We have talked about distant BE's coming in with wings flat as a board. Here we see a different stance, as the Eagle captures the wind beneath it's wings in a look that resembles an M of an Osprey.   Notice the wing size compared to the bird's body. Now imagine that spread out flat. Even less body to wing! CW]

Raptors by hour: 

11:30-12:00 - RT 2

12:00-1:00 - 0

1:00'2:00 - BE 1 (ad), RT 1

2:00-2:30 - 0

TOTAL RAPTORS: 4

 

Found this Common Buckey caterpillar today, Nov. 14, at the hawk lookout.  It was on Narrow - leaved Plantain, it's larval host plant. I never realized how fuzzy this plant's leaves are.

Saw a Sleepy Orange butterfly up there yesterday. by Bill Haley

Counter: Bill Haley, 11:30-2:30

 

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Wednesday

November 15, 2017

 

Walked onto the lookout at 9:45. Set my binoculars on a cell tower to make sure I'd have the proper long focus and began to scan the horizon over the north ridge and in less than 45 seconds, BAM! A female Northern Harrier cresting the ridge. She then dropped low and I got to watch from above as she made her way down the fog covered valley with a good bit of flapping. I can't recall ever being able to watch one from above. They usually gain height and pass high overhead. An omen?

Weather: Clouds : 50% @ 9:45, increasing to 85% by 12:00, and 95% @ 1:00. Light rain @ 1:15. Wind WNW  5-10 @ 9:45, SSW 10-20 for the rest of the day. Temperature: 42 F @ 9:45, 53 F @ 11:00, 56 F @ 12:00 and 1:00. Humidity : 82%-55%. Visibility 55K,  gradually increasing to 20K. 

Raptors by the hour:

9:45-10:00 - NH 1

10:00-11:00 - 0

11:00-12:00 - BW 10, TV 7, RS 1, RT - 3

12:00-1:00 - TV 19,  BE 1, SS 1, RT 1

1:00-1:15 - 0

TOTAL RAPTORS: 44

(BV 10, TV 26, BE 1, NH 1, SS 1, RS 1, RT 4)

 

One of two Red-tails that came through at 11:56 today, Bill Haley
[Note: strong petal shaped wings, as we've discussed in silhouettes CW]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 11:07 there were 14 Eastern Bluebirds,  7 American Robins.and 4 Cedar Waxwings on the wires in front of me. Many flew to land on or near a large Eastern Red Cedar at the south edge of the lookout and all were feeding on the abundant berries. At 11:20 an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk shot up over the edge of the bluff about 20 feet in front of me. It was hoping to surprise one of the bird's behind me. Instead it was only me that got surprised! The luckless hunter darted into the trees behind the lookout. A gorgeous bird with rufus belly and gun metal blue-gray back. I've seen this local bird numerous times this fall, and suspect it has better luck when I'm not around to distract it.

The sharpie I counted, I thought at first might be the same bird contemplating a second try, but it soared up and passed very high overhead, continuing south.

The Black Vultures were all in one group and all headed south. First ones I've counted this fall.

Bald Eagle was a 4th year bird. White head, very little white on body or under wings, white tail with a dark terminal band.

I was surprised as I neared Chattanooga and the sun was shining. I wonder if all these migrants were in a hurry to get out from under the cloud cover and sprinkles and head a few miles south to sunny skies?

Painted Lady butterfly 1

Counter: Bill Haley,  9:45-1:15

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Thursday

November 16, 2017

This was the most pleasant day this week, but it must have been just as pleasant to our north, because the hawks weren't coming past the lookout.

Weather: Clouds: 40% @ 9:00 (high, thin cirrus and jet contrails), 30% @ 11:00, 30% @ 12:00, 15% @ 1:00. Wind: Calm @ 9:00, ENE 3-5 @ 10:00, NNW 2-5 @ 12:00, NW 5-15 @1:00. Temperature: 65F,  gradually increasing to 61F. Barometric pressure: 30.17 @ 9:00? 30.18 @ 10:00, decreasing to 30.14 @ 1:00. Humidity: 77%-54%. Visibility starting @ 50K, ending @ 65 K.

Hawks by the hour:

9:00-10:00 - 0

10:00-11:00 - RT 1

11:00-12:00 - RT 1

12:00-1:00 - 0

1:00-1:30 - 0

TOTAL HAWKS: 2

Biggest excitement was a 4 - point buck Whitetail Deer that ran past the pole in front of me with its white flag of a tail raised. It then darted into the thick pines nearby. Looked like it had escaped a hunter.

Ladybug beetles starting to swarm on the lookout as night temperatures approach freezing.

Counter: Bill Haley 9:00-1:30

 

Bill Haley - Reporting"

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Jimmy had also noted and shared with me that several sites in the north, report rather large numbers of Golden Eagles this time of year, most of them every year.  Check out the Pennsylvania Hawkcount.org numbers for watches up there and at site a little further south.

 

Alleghany Front, for instance: 11/15/17

In just one day - 50 GE

	BV	TV	OS	BE	NH	SS	CH	NG	RS	BW	RT	RL	GE	AK	ML	PG	UA	UB	UF	UE	UR	MK	SK	Total
	0	3	0	2	0	2	1	0	0	0	25	0	50	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	83

 

We have begun to wonder where those numbers of GEs go?  May be ready for a chapter on

 just that bird.  But, since we see so few here, do they migrate down the coastline?Maybe they just do a shift out of Canada to our North Eastern climes.   Or maybe head west sooner than reaching our area of TN? 

 

 Maybe YOU would like to have a little fun, and do a research quest yourself.

But we need you to Report any Golden Eagles you may see. PLEASE report to the facebook page, with pics if possible. THANKS

 

One more reason to

KEEP LOOKING UP!