Beaver Mines, April 24

Friday, April 24 Beaver Mines [Day 60] 0900-2030 (Peter Sherrington and Hilary Atkinson). The temperature at 0900 was 7C, the high at 1700 was 13.5C and it was 9.5C at 2030. The wind was W in the morning, light at 0900 then 20-30 gusting 40 km/h, and throughout the afternoon it was WSW 30-40 gusting 45 km/h. Cloud cover was variable 10-70% cumulus to 1430 after which 100% thin cirrostratus quickly developed that thickened to 100% grey altostratus after 1700 that made for a gloomy end to the day. A total of 16 migrant raptors of 7 species were counted between 1029 and 1856 that comprised 1 adult Turkey Vulture, 2 Northern Harriers (1 juvenile female and 1 adult male), 4u Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 adult light morph Broad-winged Hawk, 3 calurus Red-tailed Hawks (1a and 1j light morphs, and 1 adult dark morph), 4 Golden Eagles (1a, 3j) and 1 adult female Peregrine Falcon. Movement was generally slow with maximum hourly counts of only 4 birds between 1700 and 1800 and again between 1800 and 1900. The evening gloom was enlivened, however, by the consecutive appearances of the Turkey Vulture at 1830, the Broad-winged Hawk at 1835 and the Peregrine Falcon at 1844 and suddenly it seemed that the day was not so bad after all! Other birds were 22 Canada Geese, 5 Mallards, 5 Green-winged Teal, 9 Rock Pigeons, the first Mourning Dove of the season, 1 Vaux’s Swift that flew fairly low near the site at 1124 for a first seasonal record and a first April record for the area, 8 Sandhill Cranes that fed SE of the creek and  a pair that flew high to the SW at 1246, 1 Great Blue Heron, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Red-shafted Flicker, 3 Steller’s Jays, 1 Blue Jay, 5 Black-billed Magpies, 16 American Crows, 12 Common Ravens, 3 Tree Swallows, 5 Mountain Chickadees, 11 American Robins, 6 European Starlings, 10 Evening Grosbeaks, 50 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches that flew high to the WNW at 1402, 1 female Spotted Towhee that was a first for the season, 4 Dark-eyed Juncos (2 cismontanus and 2 montanus), 4 male Red-winged Blackbirds, and 1 male and 2 female Common Grackles.

11.5 hours (754.2) TUVU 1 (7), NOHA 2 (40), SSHA 4 (101) BWHA 1 (16), RTHA 3 (270), GOEA 4 (1126), PEFA 1 (12) TOTAL 16 (2129)