yes folks, it's that time. unfortunately for us, big birds are leavin' town. I'm not talking about the yellow big bird either. It's hawk migration season. And this week is peak migration for Broad Winged Hawks.
Just in case you wondered, central PA is prime migration territory. Raptors follow thermal air belts that peak beginning in late august /early September through October and then slowly die / begin to cool. Specifically, in the Ridge and Valley, currents bounce off or ridge tops and sink into lowlands, creating ideal conditions for soaring (given a unique body mass : wing span ratio raptors soar in liu of flapping their wings). Believe it or not, our little rural region is one of the best for eagle sightings! And now is wave 1/2 of bald eagle migration with phase two later in the fall when Goldens begin to travel. Temperature and wind affects how many birds one may see on any given day.
Broad wings migrate early given their extended trip down to south america. The often travel in large "packs" known as kettles. Today we saw kettles of 8-12 birds at a time however they have been known to travel by the 100's!
My buddy the red tail.He's a buteo (short tail, fat body and thick wings). Take note of the dark belly band, the dark edge on the top front edge of the wing and the short broad tail and thick wingspan.
Rattlesnake next to the hawk platform - with 5 babies (one on the right).
Acipiter - Coopers Hawk. Not the long body - long tail with rounded feathers, crooked wings and round head. Classic cooper form. UPDATE: i think this may be a kestrel??? pointy wings and no streaks... hmmmm.
A broad-wing kettle!
Left: osprey - click on the pict. note the long wing span and dihedral form. Right: red-tail. note the windows in the wings, the dark bar at the front edge and the belly band!
Left: broad wing. Right: what has a white head and tail??? (hint: BALD EAGLE)
Turkey vultures...
not a hawk...
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4 comments:
I saw a medium-small raptor today...merlin or kestrel sized I think. 18". It had reddish brown below it's eyes and was kind of grey/blue with a white and spottedish belly and breast but it was up about 40' and I was moving. It landed while I was cycling on the lower part of the bike path around the golf course. Gorgeous whatever it was.
Maybe it was smaller. 15". Damn.
well - merlins are quite rare. but possible. But given the spots you describe it sounds more like a male kestrel. my favorite bird! Kestrels have that rufous (Red brown) color too that you describe. I think merlins have more streaky spots. they are a bit larger than a kestrel. But both are like 10-12"... pretty small.
cool!
kestrel. you are right. gorgeous.
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