The South Livingstone Raptor Count for the spring migration of 2008 has now begun. First official day of counting began on 20th February 2008. Follow the daily movement of raptors on this blog updated daily by Peter Sherrington.

Monday, May 5, 2008

May 5 [Day 70] Winds were again westerly all day, light in the morning and gradually increasing to 40 km/h in the late afternoon. Cloud cover was 100% altostratus and cumulus all day giving rather gloomy conditions and the temperature started at 5C and rose to 11C. The calm conditions precluded early movement and the first bird, a juvenile Northern Goshawk, wasn’t seen until 1133. After that, however, movement was steady until 1500 when it slowed to a trickle until 1844 when the last 4 Golden Eagles of the day came through in a 12 minute period. The last bird of the day was a juvenile Bald Eagle at 1929. Eleven of the day’s 36 migrants moved between 1200 and 1300 which included the 4,000th migrant of the season which was a Golden Eagle at 1218, and an11 minute period that saw the passage of 3 Turkey Vultures, an adult dark morph “Harlan’s” Red-tailed Hawk, a juvenile Golden Eagle and an adult Peregrine Falcon. The Golden Eagle count comprised 2 subadults and 11 juveniles, and the resident pair was seen soaring together on occasion, but never near a visible nest site. On a couple of occasions the male vigorously mobbed a resident Red-tailed Hawk only to have the tables quickly reversed with the eagle beating a hasty retreat closely pursued by the hawk! The recent list of bird species apparently out of place on a mountain ridge was augmented at 1334 by our first Great Blue Heron flying high to the north just east of the ridge. The first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the year was singing at 0745, but the most spectacular bird of the day was undoubtedly a male Dusky Grouse in full display strutting with a fully fanned tail and expanded scarlet nuchal sacs set off in their coronas of snow white exposed under-feathers. 12.83 hours (807.7) TUVU 3 (6), OSPR 1 (18), BAEA 3 (442), NOHA 1 (25), SSHA 7 (147), COHA 1 (26), NOGO 3 (123), UA 1 (8), RTHA 2 (213), GOEA 13 (2928), PEFA 1 (5) TOTAL 36 (4030)

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