By Hugh Kent
As September 1st draws near, the Hawk Watchers of Holiday Beach Migration Observatory (HBMO) are looking forward to the expectation and excitement of hawks streaming over the Tower.
The truth is that the season will probably start slowly for the first week or so, but it really hots up quickly by the middle of September. If we are lucky with the north winds there is the potential for thousands and thousands of Broad-winged Hawks to form kettles over and around the tower, making counting a real challenge, with more eyes involved the better.
The Broad-wings are soon over having passed through on their journey to South America. But throughout September there is a steady stream of Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, Northern Harriers and a few Merlins, Peregrines and Cooper’s Hawks. In fact these species can be seen throughout the season, together with Bald Eagles and Ospreys that are resident for part of the time, as well as migratory.
Sorting out Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s is always a challenge, especially at distance. In fact, most raptors have an amazing ability to morph from one shape to another, making identification at distance more of an art than a science. Hours of observation do help to understand the nuances of species identification.
As the season advances into October Turkey Vulture numbers build, with sometimes thousands in a day, these are often accompanied by Red-tailed Hawks and the flamboyant Red-shouldered Hawk. Mixed kettles of hawks are a feature, with Buteos following Turkey Vultures for the best thermals.
Expectation grows towards the end of October for the first Golden Eagle, appearing late October and into November. This majestic bird often passes through at height but now and again you can get a fantastic view close to the Tower.
The final icing on the cake is the passage of a few Rough-legged Hawks, long winged and strong flyers, they can be past the tower in an instant. They can be light or dark phased birds, the less common being the dark phased.
The great thing about hawk watching from the tower is that even if the raptors are slow on a particular day there are plenty of other non-raptor species present in the marsh and surrounding the tower. Last year we saw a total of 184 species from the tower including many notables such as Northern Mockingbird, Northern Shrike and of course, good numbers of Evening Grosbeak. Oh, also we had over one million Blue Jays pass the tower!
Throughout the season each day we post a raptor and non-raptor eBird list and place a report in Ontbirds. Please check them out to see how the season is progressing!
A big thank you to all the volunteers who have supported the Hawk Watch throughout its 48 years!
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