Beaver Mines, April 23

Thursday, April 23 Beaver Mines [Day 59] 0900-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0900 was 9C, the high at 1400 was 14C and it was 9C at 2030. Winds were light NW to 1030, WSW-SW 20-35 gusting to 50 km/h to 1600, WNW-NW 20-30 km/h to 2000 and light W at 2030. Cloud cover was 100-60% cumulus, stratocumulus and cirrus to 1330, 20-40% scattered cumulus to 1700 that thickened to 70-90% dark cumulus at 1800 and 1900 and produced scattered showers and brief periods of light rain that stopped at 1930, and then cleared to 20-30% cumulus and altocumulus for the rest of the day. Much of the day saw hazy sunshine, and migration and observing conditions were again very good, producing a total of 35 migrant raptors of 12 species between 1227 and 1842. The count was 1 adult Turkey Vulture, 6 Bald Eagles (3a, 3j), 1u male Northern Harrier, 4u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 adult Northern Goshawk, 2u light morph Broad-winged Hawks, 1 adult light morph Swainson’s Hawk, 7 calurus Red-tailed Hawks (5a, 1j light morphs and 1a dark morph), 9 Golden Eagles (1a, 2sa, 6j), 1 adult male columbarius Merlin and 1 adult female Peregrine Falcon. Movement was initially slow but gradually increased with 21 birds moving after 1600 culminating in 9 being seen between 1809 and 1842. Resident birds were a pair of Northern Harriers and a single adult male that displayed alongside the other male at 1618 (the first display by a single male was seen at 0615!), 2 pairs of Red-tailed Hawks that were mainly seen hunting and 1 adult Golden Eagle that was seen twice. Other birds were 9 Canada Geese, 4 Mallards, 8 Green-winged Teal, a pair of Barrow’s Goldeneye, a pair of Common Mergansers, 7 Rock Pigeons, 1 pair of resident Sandhill Cranes and  a pair that flew high to the NE at 1334, 2 Downy Woodpeckers, 3 Red-shafted Flickers, 3 Blue Jays, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 18 American Crows, 6 Common Ravens, 4 Tree Swallows, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 3 Mountain Chickadees, 1 White-breasted Nuthatch, 9 American Robins, 4 European Starlings, 11 Evening Grosbeaks, 14 Pine Grosbeaks, 90 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches that flew high to the N in 2 flocks at 1350 and 1444, 5 Dark-eyed Juncos (1 cismontanus and 4 montanus), 4 male Red-winged Blackbirds, and 2 male Common Grackles.

11.5 hours (742.7) TUVU 1 (6), BAEA 6 (357), NOHA 1 (38), SSHA 4 (97), NOGO 1 (48), BWHA 2 (15), SWHA 1 (5), RTHA 7 (267), RLHA 1 (63), GOEA 9 (1122), MERL 1 (25). PEFA 1 (11) TOTAL 35 (2113)