Jenner Headlands Hawkwatch 2024, Team 3's big day ...... 9.24.24 JHHW

 

9.24.24 Jenner Hawkwatch @ Jenner Headlands Preserve

Team 3 Got its Hawkwatch on.....

Kinda slow start from 10am to 11am ...

But by 11am the wind picked up from 3mph to a nice 6 to 7mph, and it was a show to behold.

Great day, lots of Coopers and Sharp-shinned close flybys. With a couple Broad-winged Hawks flying right over us. Endless Red-tailed Hawks and Turkey vultures. A few distant Merlins and good number of Kestrels and Harriers. The Coops and Sharps would come in groups of 3's, sometimes 2's and 4's, a couple times groups of 5. Remember where there's one there more! We had great looks right over our heads.

TUVU 135

NOHA 10

SSHA 26

COHA 25

BWHA 3

RTHA 91

AMKE 12

MERL 3

UNDOC BUTEO 1

UNDOC ACCIP 2

We are all part of something bigger, being a part of the documentation of these wayward migrants helps one see the bigger picture of being connected to the natural world from which we all came from. These birds have a seasonal movement built into their DNA, their genes, their internal clock, an age old tradition to move south in the fall. It is incredible to see it unfold right in front of your own eyes, amazing creatures moving 100s, 1000s of miles is a sight to behold... Behold the beauty, behold the Jenner Headlands Preserve annual raptor migration 2024.

(side not BWHA's photo'd here are from a week ago by Scott Carey, we may have some photos coming from 9.24.24, stilling processing and shorting)

(Note two, be aware of traffic and road closures, it was a task getting out there today, and checking your route and getting an early start helps)

The arms in the air, and hugs were after the Broad-winged Hawk flew right over us....

Great work today, Sarah Reid, Alan Glazier, Carol Chiang Abdelfattah, appreciate you all coming out on such short notice, LB.

#jennerheadlandspresevre #jennerheadlandspresevre #jennerhawkwatch #hawkwatch #hawkwatchinternational #jennerheadlands #raptormigration #raptoridentification #raptorsofinstagram Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) HawkWatch International

West County Hawkwatch Raptor Research Group : Birds of Prey silhouettes / Raptor forms 2017 fal...

West County Hawkwatch Raptor Research Group : Birds of Prey silhouettes / Raptor forms 2017 fal...: Hawk Silhouettes, Random and various examples of raptor ID shapes and forms used here for educational purposes all copyrights original authors 

Estero Americano (SLT) Property, Estero Americano Sonoma Land Trust section 9.25.2022

 Sonoma Land Trust, Raptor Hike, 9.25.2022 Estero Americano.

Heavily fogged out day, overcast, cool, Day

A few Red-tailed Hawks, A Kestrel or two, and distant Harriers, from 10am to roughly noon, then we a had a Sharp-shined hawk down by the water as things started clearing, 12:30  A coyote, King Fisher, Snowy and Great Egrets, Great-blue Heron...  not seeing a lot of hawks! 

Then we headed back about 1pm, as we stared the hiking back up the service road and the sky's cleared up a bit, just enough to see a close Harrier, a Red-tailed Hawk and a Kestrel.... Then off on the eastern flank of the coastal hill, we noticed a Coopers Hawk tussling with a Harrier and the Kestrel flew over to strafe them both, suddenly another Harrier appeared, a Peregrine showed up an adult Red-tailed Hawk flew over us, A juvenile Red-tailed hawk appeared on the coastal hill, as all this was going on the fog started getting thick again... and then obscured and almost colorless, a interesting buteo appeared. photos below at very bottom of this post  (juvenile Swainson Hawk) we studied its form and were 90% sure of the SWHA ID, photos later would confirm ..

below some of the raptors we saw.... 

Photographs Alan Wilson and Greg Lavaty.

Northern Harriers 

Examples of two of the accipiter's we saw on the day. 

Sharp-shinned Hawk left, Coopers Hawk right 

(internet photos used here for example, education and non-profit use only)

American Kestrels, we saw a half dozen through out the day

(random internet photos of American Kestrels)

Above photos of read-tailed hawks, Adult, juvenile, adult, juvenile.

Notice the brick red tail of adults and the fine barred tail of the juveniles 

Red-tailed Hawk ID help

Peregrine Falcon, juvenile 1st photo above and silhouette 2nd photo

and .... here is the actual Swainson Hawk we saw, a bit out of season. 

These are foggy photos of the Swainson's Hawk we saw, buteo form, light leading edge of wing, dark trailing edge of wing, correct tail barring.