Steve, not sure if one could say that the northeastern Red-tails are becoming more sedentary with 1,363 having passed the Franklin Mtn hawk watch so far this season. That # is only a little shy of the total # of 1527 for last year. Just my thought.....
Larry Federman Education Coordinator Audubon New York Rheinstrom Hill, Buttercup Farm, and RamsHorn-Livingston Sanctuaries and Centers From: Steve Walter Sent: Friday, November 07, 2014 9:19 PM To: nysbirds-l Subject: [nysbirds-l] Eagles and Ravens Not an upcoming football matchup, but birds I saw a bunch of today. Hawk watching with Gerhard Patsch and Bob Senerchia at the I-84 Overlook between Port Jervis and Greenville, NY produced 7 migrating Golden Eagles (plus one wrong way bird). That was just in a two hour span. It felt like we were on the way to a real bang up day, but that was done in by deteriorating conditions for the afternoon. So too was the Red-tailed Hawk count held in check at 66, although it seems that under the best of conditions that Red-tail numbers are far below what they were in years gone by (my first foray into big ridge hawk watching was a 900 Red-tail day at Raccoon Ridge about 25 years ago). Just my feeling, but it seems that northeastern Red-tails are becoming more sedentary (rather than declining). We counted 2 Bald Eagles as migrants, a task being made difficult by residents in the area. One potential migrant was scratched, in an entertaining way, when we watched it dive from above the ridge line to a tree in the valley below. On the way back, I stumbled into what appeared to be Common Ravens gathering into a communal roost. While driving a little ways beyond the Bear Mountain Bridge, I noticed a half dozen or so. Conveniently, there’s an overlook / pull off just beyond. I took advantage of that, then watched one small group after another come off the mountain above and fly past the overlook. Altogether, I estimated 40-50 birds (and I don’t think any were doubling back below the bluffs, though not ruling that out). I was not aware of this being done by Common Ravens, but I can see it considering their lineage. The real surprise to me is that there could be that many around in that general area. Steve Walter Bayside, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
