Current Activity

April ended on a sweet note and May started the same way. Both days had strong south winds and warm temps. A nice run of Ospreys on both days and on Tuesday one was chirping at new arrivals, displaying some territoriality. Late in the day on 4/30 a dark adult Swainson’s Hawk showed up and late on 5/1 a dark adult Red-tailed flew past.The snow is melting rapidly but there is still much. I will keep you updated. The count for Monday and Tuesday:

A warm and south wind day brought lots of variety and the highest, but still modest, count of the season. Canada Geese had a big count of 7,680. I think it was much higher but the raptor count took priority. 63 Sandhill Cranes. 4 species of buteos. Deb Mues did the count yesterday and she remarked how the ravens harrassed the Rough-legged Hawks with vigor. The ravens have been going at Bald Eagles and occasionally Red-taileds but save their best for Golden Eagles and roughies. Today’s count:

It was wonderful to start removing some clothes. Red-shouldered and Shar-shinned Hawk were new to the count. Other new birds were 2 Common Loons, 7 Canada Geese and a Lapland Longspur. Great weather and an early S wind but no river of birds. But a fun day in the sun. Today’s count

Got 1.5 hours in today after the snow and fog. Nice tiny run of Bald Eagles and Red-taileds with sunshine, warmth and a mild NNW wind. Southerly wind and warmth have been lacking. April’s count so far:

The shack lets me know when the wind rises to a 4 on the Beaufort scale by doing a shimmy. Kudos to Bill D for storing, maintaining and hauling the shack to the site.

Today was almost balmy: mild wind and staying near 32 and a clear sky. First bird of the day was a male Merlin. The Merlin and Peregrine were both first for the season. April Count so far,

It is not a “Love Shack”. Maybe sometimes a party shack. I found an empty six pack of Keweenaw Brewery’s Widow Maker in it after a snow day off. I’m sure there was a designated driver. The shack is about equal to 3 normal size closets back to back to back. A good size of plexiglass on all 4 sides and a door that closes. It was cold and very windy today and without the shack I don’t know how a count could happen. I prefer not being in the shack because of having a better field of view outside but for 2 days in a row the shack was critical. Did I mention it has a comfy swivel chair? Love the Shack, Bob

March 31 and April 1 were lost to snow and for the most part so was today. The count totals for March are at the end of this post. March had 4 good flight days. March 25,26 & 28 all had strong wind with a southerly component and the high temperatures were all above freezing. The largest flight, Mar 28, had a high temp of 8 C. The fourth good flight day had NW winds and a high temp of 6 C, the second warmest day of the season. March had 2.5 days lost to snow and or fog.

Robust southerly winds sent some birds. A fun day. Bob