Northern Flickers are Migrating Big Time!

 

Oh the gold! Northern Flickers (of the Yellow-shafted subspecies group) are migrating through here in NH big time. So exciting to see the beautiful gold underwings against the fall foliage. Flickers in the West are of the Red-shafted subspecies group and have reddish underwings and undertail.

Dahlia "Karma Bon Bini"

Dahlia "Karma Bon Bini" picked just before the hard freeze here in NH which has diminished most of the plants and flowers the pollinators thrive on. Blue Salvia and Agastache survived giving bees more nectar.

 

White-throated Sparrows Are Coming!! Are You Ready?

 

The sparrows are coming!! Will you be ready? White-throated Sparrows are on the move and numbers have been seen in northern NH on their way to us. They winter in much of the eastern, middle and far western parts of the country. Brush piles, native plants gone to seed, mixed seed on platform feeders or ground will welcome them.

Sharp-shined Hawks are Migrating!

 

The last flowers, boo-hoo, picked them just before hard freeze that happened yesterday. Hard freeze today also, 27 degrees this morning. Accipiters, like these Sharp-shinned Hawks, and falcons are migrating. The seasons progress.

Broad-winged Hawk mega migration in New England!

The motherload of Broad-winged Hawks passed over the hawkwatch sites in NH and MA yesterday with Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory, NH, reporting 2,886 Broadwings (out of 3,000 total raptors), Mt. Watatic, MA, reporting 2,988 (out of 3,078 total raptors) and Mt. Wachusett, MA ,reporting 3,898 (out of 3,964 total raptors). Counting was aided by some highly experienced spotters at these sites as large "kettles" rose up then peeled off overhead especially during the afternoon hours. These Broadwings are on their way to hawkwatch sites south of here and eventually past places like megasite Corpus Christi HawkWatch, TX, where 23,451 raptors were seen yesterday. The Broadwings will winter in Central and South America then return in the spring. There are still favorable winds this weekend for more migration, but after that most of the Broadwings will be gone and it's onto migrating falcons, accipiters and eagles. To track the migration visit hawkcount.org. (photos from other times)

 

Prime Time Broad-winged Hawk Migration Now!!

Broad-winged Hawks in New England did migrate yesterday finding lift mainly for a few hours in the afternoon. Pack Monadnock Raptor Migration Observatory, NH, saw 2,269 raptors, 2,195 of them Broadwings after 2 pm. The other New England hawk sites south of Pack missed that big number. Mt. Watatic , MA, saw 414 raptors, 378 of them Broadwings just about the same time Pack was getting their big numbers. Mt. Wachusett, MA, saw 33 raptors, 22 of them Broadwings. Meanwhile over in VT, Putney Mt. hawkwatch had 1,308 raptors, 1,270 of them Broadwings. The biggest migrations were seen yesterday at the mega sites, Corpus Christi HawkWatch, TX, 36,515 raptors, Hawk Ridge, Duluth, MN, 12,049 raptors and Holiday Beach Hawk Watch, ON, 17,372 raptors. There are still a few more days left in the prime time window for Broadwing migration and now through the weekend, which has clearing and northerly winds, should be good. All of these numbers can be seen at the amazing hawkcount.org website, you can follow the numbers there and hopefully get out and see some raptors yourself.

Go Hawkwatching Now Is The Time!

Go hawkwatching! If you are a birder in the Northeast the next several days, Tues. to Sun. will see a major push of migrating Broad-winged Hawks out of New England. Tues., Sat. and Sun. maybe look especially good with favorable northwest or north winds, the kind of winds Broadwings like to move on. To find a hawkwatch near you go to the awesome website hawkcount.org where daily results from all the major hawkwatch sites are posted and there are directions to the hawkwatch sites. Be aware that some sites are limiting visitations and may have other social distancing restrictions during this pandemic. Happy watching!
 

Broad-winged Hawk Migration has started!!

 

Here we go, hawk migration has started!! There was a big push of Broad-winged Hawks in NH yesterday and peak migration time for these raptors here is Sept. 12-25 with historically especially big flights several days on either side of the 15th. Big numbers have been seen on northeast and northwest winds so watch the weather and get out and look!! (My composite photo from our Stokes Pocket Guide to Birds of North America)

Clueless young Red-tailed Hawk

 

It's the time of year for birds to molt and young birds to learn the ropes. This Pine Warbler is hunting in our lawn, Eastern Phoebe is hunting from a post and this young Red-tailed Hawk dwarfs its bird house perch, while it figures out how to catch voles.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper migration

 While we wait for the big hawk migration push, don't forget to look (observing socially distancing) for the many migrating shorebirds now, some common, some rare, like this Buff-breasted Sandpiper I photographed on the NH coast in 2011. This is a juvenile bird, told by the whitish margins of the back and wing feathers and paler underparts than the adult.

An Arctic breeder, it usually migrates through the interior of the country and can be found during migration in plowed fields, upper beaches, margins of wetlands and short-grass habitats. Birds found outside the main migration route are often juveniles.