Beaver Mines, April 30

Thursday, April 30 Beaver Mines [Day 66] 0630-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0630 was 12C, the high from 1100 to 1300 was 17C and it was 10C at 2030. Winds were again WSW-W all day, 25-40 km/h to 0800, then 35-45 gusting 60-70 km/h to 1900 and moderating to 20-25 km/h at the end of the day. Cloud cover was 10% cumulus to 0830 then variable 20-80% cumulus with altocumulus, thin altostratus and thin cirrostratus for the rest of the day that once again gave excellent observing conditions. A total of 32 migrant raptors of 9 species moved between 0846 and 1932 that comprised a season-high 6 Ospreys, 4 Bald Eagles (2 sa3, 2j), 7 Sharp-shinned Hawks (3a, 4u), 1 adult Cooper’s Hawk, 1 juvenile Northern Goshawk, 1 juvenile dark morph Swainson’s Hawk, 1 dark morph Rough-legged Hawk, 9 Golden Eagles (1sa, 8j) and 2 Merlins (1a female columbarius and 1 female/juvenile richardsonii that was the first record of the subspecies this season). Movement was fairly steady with a high hourly count of 7 between 1500 and 1600. Other birds were 9 Canada Geese, 2 Wood Ducks, 8 Mallards, 3 Common Mergansers, 6 Rock Pigeons, 2 Mourning Doves, 1 male Rufous Hummingbird, no Sandhill Cranes were seen or heard but at 1617 an adult Whooping Crane appeared at the top of the ridge and flew high to the north with a steady slow wingbeat and almost passed directly overhead, 5 Wilson’s Snipe, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Blue Jay, 3 Black-billed Magpies, 20 American Crows, 17 Common Ravens, 24 Tree Swallows, 4 Mountain Chickadees, 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 5 American Robins, 40 European Starlings, 22 Evening Grosbeaks, 3 male and 2 female Cassin’s Finches, 1 intergrade oriantha– gambelii White-crowned Sparrow, 1 male Dark-eyed [montanus] Junco, 20 male Red-winged Blackbirds and 3 male Common Grackles.

14 hours (834.7) OSPR 6 (17), BAEA 4 (377), SSHA 7 (133), COHA 1 (26), NOGO 1 (52), SWHA 1 (9), RLHA 1 (65). GOEA 9 (1172), MERL 2 (33) TOTAL 32 (2306)

April Summary Beaver Mines (with percentage variance compared to 2015-2019 average for April 1-22) This is the first time a complete April count has been conducted at the site; for the comparisons for the standard count period see the report for April 22. Thirty days (+44.2%), 410 hours (+96%) TUVU 14 (+775%), OSPR 17 (+431.3%), BAEA 153 (+57.4%), NOHA 40 (+3.6%), SSHA 114 (+114.3%), COHA 22 (+103.7%), NOGO 20 (+7.5%), UA 0, BWHA 21 (+162.5%), SWHA 9 (+246.2%), RTHA 249 (+73.4%), FEHA 3 (-6.3%), RLHA 15 (-35.9%), UB 8 (-7%), GOEA 277 (+29.7%), UE 0, AMKE 21 (+169.2%), MERL 28 (+211.1%), GYRF 3 (+87.5%), PEFA 14 (+112.1%), PRFA 4 (+25%), UF 0, UU 0 TOTAL 1032 (+56.8%)