As expected, frequent rain showers during most of week 10 really limited the count numbers. No count was conducted on 10/25, 10/26, 10/27, and 10/29 due to the poor weather conditions. In total, 134 raptors braved the Straits this week. 89 red-tailed hawks sightings contributed to 66% of the total.
10/28 was the busiest day of the week, with 114 raptor sightings- although maybe not as busy as expected given the slow migration days before (nine on 10/24 and 11 on 10/23). The red-tail flight on this day (84 birds) included a leucistic bird that was mostly white with a few dark flight feathers! This was also a good day for flight diversity. In addition to the red-tails, nine bald eagles, nine red-shouldered hawks, seven turkey vultures, two rough-legged hawks, one northern harrier, one sharp-shinned hawk, and one goshawk were spotted.
Hopefully we’ll see a nice push of birds during week 11 to make up for week 10’s low numbers (weather permitting!).
