Here is my entry for today's Daily Update (a YahooGroups Hawk Ridge daily blog). I hope you enjoy it! West and North winds are expected over the next two days, so be on the lookout for some of these fun birds headed your way (saying that you live anywhere south or southeast of Duluth. Over the past few weeks I've added a few other photos to my Hawk Ridge 2010 Gallery. Enjoy!
If you want to receive the updates sent out throughout the end of this month, this link can help you: http://hawkridge.org/about/news.html This season's Hawk Ridge album: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/hawk_ridge_2010 *DAILY UPDATE* SHORT VERSION: Wow, what a day of raptors! Red-tailed Hawks were really moving through, in kettles approaching two dozen birds… 946 Red-tailed Hawks were seen today, which is the largest count of the season so far. At 3:00pm, we had 1010 raptors total… with a few more flying throughout the later hours. Most of the Red-tailed Hawks were adults! Golden Eagles came through in good numbers, as did Snow buntings… details to come later. Today’s quiz bird is a fun one, and for identification and difficulty-in-the-field purposes, lighting and contrast have not been altered at all (it’s a shadowed bird in front heavy clouds). The answer can be found at the bottom of this daily update. Quiz Bird: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/129853069 RAPTOR FORECAST: With today’s strong west winds, and tomorrow’s calmer southwest winds, tomorrow has a potential to be filled with raptors throughout much of the day. Mostly sunny skies are expected, and thermal activity may assist raptors as they make their way through the Hawk Ridge vicinity. Expect raptors to move throughout much of the day. DETAILED VERSION: We had a very impressive day of Golden Eagles – 26 all together! In addition to Red-tails making a significant (and largest-of-the-season) movement, the Golden Eagles also had a big day for the season so far. Songbirds made significant movements today as well; a few Red and White-winged Crossbills moved through, and a very arctic-worthy songbird had a grand-counted total of 509 individuals (Snow Buntings). Snow Buntings are so cute, and very well adapted for living in cold climates! They produce a high-pitched, soft-sounding “chew” call note. Their song is also quite beautiful, which is a musical bubbly rattle. They have black and white wings, with a mostly white belly. Males have a little buffy-tan throughout the backside, whereas females have considerably more buffy-brown throughout their backsides. The browns on their backs and faces just glows against the high-contrast rest of the body. Snow Buntings can be found around here in the winter. Your best chance at seeing them… while you’re on roads going through farm fields, scan along the roadsides. They feed on seeds as well as some grit, both of which can be found throughout the wind-swept fields and road edges. Snow Buntings: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/129852562 http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/129852563 Some highlights from today… Golden Eagle: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/129852558 Red-tailed Hawk (western form): http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/129852566 Kettle of Red-tailed Hawks: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/129852560 The raptor-world-renown Bill Clark stopped by the ridge today, and educated us about a Red-tailed Hawk in the hand: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/129852561 Quiz bird answer (enhanced lighting). Answer given under photo: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/129853071 Hope to see you at the ridge tomorrow. The weather looks pleasant, and it should be another fun-filled day of raptors! Good hawkwatching, Erik Duluth, MN NATURALLY AVIAN - Bird photography and guided bird hikes www.pbase.com/birdfedr [email protected] Erik Bruhnke Count Interpreter Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory P.O. Box 3006 Duluth, MN 55803-3006 [email protected] www.hawkridge.org ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
