The following e-mail was just received from Gil Randell this evening (4/6),
who was observing today at the Ripley Hawk Watch.
Observers at the Ripley Hawk Watch (an affiliate of the Hawk Migration
Association of North America) observed three adult Whooping Cranes at 12:10
EST, April 6, 2005.
The Ripley Hawk Watch is located on the south shore of Lake Erie, roughly
halfway between Erie PA and Buffalo NY (about 3 miles west of Westfield,
NY, on NYS Route 5).
Observers included seven experienced birders. Five of the observers saw the
birds from the time they were about 1/4 mile west of our hawk watch site
until they were within 100 yards of us. We then followed the birds as they
went out of sight to the northeast. Altogether we watched the birds for
about 3-5 minutes as they flapped steadily in a northeasterly direction
just south of our watch site. We coordinated by 2-way radios with two other
observers about 3 miles south of us, who also were able to spot through
binoculars the 3 Whooping Cranes.
Happy Trails,
Jim Landau
Colden, NY
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
