Lucky Hawks

Sixteen new observations join our little collage. Not a lot but just remember, if we are going to break last year's observation count, we need to add at least 31 observations per week. If we want a record-breaking year, we need to add 44 observations a week to break our 2019 record.

Observation of the week goes to @teachertom for a photo a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk in Frenchglen. I initially identified this bird when Tom posted this image to ABA group on Facebook. And I'm sure you can guess my excitement when I learned today that he's an iNatter too. This observation also represents the third Broad-winged Hawk of the season! To all the doubters who said they don't occur in eastern WA and OR, take that! This is just another testament to why a project like this is so vital in understanding raptor behavior. What also impresses me about this sighting is how late this bird is. At Lucky Peak in Boise, peak Broad-winged season is the third week in September and seeing any hawks at all after October is rare. You can see this awesome photo here:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/97891661

It's still owl season, though the mountains just became a little inaccessible. From coming into work this morning, the Wallowas and Blue Mountain were crispy white with the first snow of the season. I went up last Friday looking for Barred Owls. I was able to obtain an audio of a saw-whet owl that you can barely hear at the end but couldn't get the Barred. I'm going to out again this weekend looking for more saw-whets in Baker County, though the Boreal Owl I couldn't record two weeks ago is really tempting me to go back. So get out, photograph some raptors and good luck to you all!

Posted on October 14, 2021 05:14 AM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer

Comments

No comments yet.

Add a Comment

Sign In or Sign Up to add comments