As winter descends upon us, things are winding down at the Point LaBarbe count site. Snow showers and strong, gusty winds throughout the week led to no count days on 11/23, 11/23, and 11/26. No birds were seen on 11/21. The total count for this week was 70 raptors.
11/20 may well have been the last day in the double digits, with 63 raptors crossing the straits, 53 of which were red-tailed hawks, four bald eagles, three golden eagles, and three rough-legged hawks.
One northern shrike was spotted on 11/22. Otherwise, we have only seen bald eagles, golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, rough-legged hawks, and red-shouldered hawks. Two peregrine falcons were seen flying along the beach on 11/22 but did not head south across the straits.
11/30 will be the last day of the count! We’ll see how these last few days fare for the late migrators.
