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. 

 

Broad-winged Hawks on the West Coast migration 9-26-2021.... Jenner Headlands Preserve Raptor Migration Hike ~ 10am to 2pm

9.26.2021 Jenner Headlands Preserve

6 Broad-winged Hawks comprised of;

2 Adult light morphs, 

1 Adult dark morph, 

3 Juveniles

(see photo references below)

So WE did a thing yesterday.. 9-26-2021....

During a TWC Raptor Migration Hike / Count event; the hike pretty much just ended up a Point Count... 

WE set up on the Upper "Raptor Ridge" trail, below the upper trees to the north east, on that bluff over looking the "football field" as it was windy down along the coastal prairie and overlook... We sat / stood in awe and watched the parade of Accipiter's and Broad-winged Hawks..

The shear fact we had both Dark and Light Morph Adults accentuated the experience, and add in the Juvenile birds and the BWHA workshop was complete.... 

Fantastic experience for the group and great memories for many who got a life bird on this special day.

(photos below of the Broad-winged's are from professional photographers, these photos are indicative of what we saw, but not the actual birds we saw, using them as reference and educational use only)

Juvenile Broad-winged Hawk, Ron LeValley 

Juvenile Broad-winged Hawk, the one and only Don Bartling photography 

Adult Broad-winged Hawk, David Brown photo 

Dark Morph Broad-winged Hawk, Tony Leukering photo credit 

Luckily the whole group was able to get onto {thanks TWC and WCHW} for suppling some extra binocs so everyone could enjoy these highly migratory, small, compact Buteo's. 

This day ties, and possibly breaks the earlier record up at Jenner for BWHA's.

A lot of the plans for Jenner Hawk Migration monitoring were conceived by Dan Nelson's records of Hawk Migrations on of Bay Hill road in the 1990s and early 2000s and documented in his Madrone Audubon sightings as well as Jesse House who also was instrumental in some of those early west counties surveys....

Lucky to be able to get up there and count these hawks, thankful for all the volunteers, counters, spotters and ultimately the day leaders.

Keep up the great work .. 

Also on this day of 9.26.2021: 

19 Coopers Hawks 

8 Sharp-shinned Hawks 

36 Red-tailed Hawks [3 were juv]

23 American Kestrels 

4 Northern Harriers 

21 Turkey Vultures

Adult Red-tailed Hawk Jenner

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, all rights original photographer. 

Sharp-shinned Hawk Jenner

Coopers Hawks tussling Jenner

Coopers Hawks Jenner

Sharp-shinned Hawk Jenner

Cooper's Hawk Don Bartling...

Juvenile Harrier Jenner 

Two birds below for reference only.... from the web, male harrier and juvenile harrier 

male^ 

juv^

Northern Harriers above, juv, female, male ... ^

Female Kestrel for reference only 

Male Kestrel for refence only 

LB, Jenner Headlands Hawkwatch Project 

Thank you The Wildlands Conservancy, Sonoma Land Trust, Hawkwatch International and North American Hawk Migration Association... 

#hawkwatch 

@HawkWatchInternational 

#WestCoastHawkWatchGroup 

@hawkwatch

#hawkmigration

northcoastraptor@gmail.com
Jenner Headlands Preserve
Raptor migration hike, Sunday 9-26-2021, 10am to 3pm
Go to link:
https://wildlandsconservancy.org/preserves/jennerheadlands/publicprograms

2021 season dates coming! Tolay Lake Regional Park, Lynch Canyon Open Space, Jenner Headlands Preserve, Estero Americano Coastal Preserve...

 Stay tuned, dates coming for West County Hawkwatch 2021/2022 season !

2021 season dates coming!  

Tolay Lake Regional Park, 

Lynch Canyon Open Space, 

Jenner Headlands Preserve, 

Estero Americano Coastal Preserve... 

Will update soon! 

Neat video for folks just getting into Birds of Prey "Raptor Identification Raptor ID for Beginners"

Click video link to watch YouTube video.

In this online presentation, Hawk Mountain Senior Research Biologist David Barber will walk you through the basics of identifying raptors in flight and share tips used by seasoned hawk watchers locally and around the globe.

An Inside Look: Raptor Migration

Join bird experts and trained hawkwatchers from Audubon Connecticut, Bedford Audubon Society, and Braddock Bay Raptor Research (plus a special guest appearance by a feathered friend) to learn how to identify raptors in flight, get information on participating in a "hawkwatch" to help scientists gather data, and discover some of the best viewing spots for fall migration.

Birds of Prey Hike Lynch Canyon 11-21-2020 10am to 1:30pm West County Hawkwatch

 

Bird of Prey Hike at Lynch Canyon

November 21 @ 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Solano Land Trust and Solano County Parks are proud to present this popular series of birds of prey hikes of the winter migration season led by California Naturalist Larry Broderick of West County Hawkwatch . Lynch Canyon is home to golden eagles and hawks. It is also a magnet for migrating and over-wintering birds of prey.  It provides them with over 1,000 undeveloped acres where they can hunt and rest. Some feathered visitors come from as far away as the Arctic Circle. This hike will be between 4-6 miles. Meet in the parking lot.

COST: The guided hike is $10 per person. You can pay online when registering, or bring cash/check, payable to Solano Land Trust.

*NOTE: There is a separate parking fee of $6 at Lynch Canyon, cash or check, payable to Solano County Parks.

Space is limited.

Registration Required.

 

Please help us contain COVID-19 and protect ourselves and the public by following these recommendations from the CDC.

• Avoid entering the facility if you are feeling sick, or have a cough or fever
• Maintain a minimum six-foot distance from anyone who is not a household member
• Sneeze and cough into a cloth or tissue or, if not available, into one’s elbow
• Not shake hands or engage in any unnecessary physical contact
• Wearing a face covering is strongly recommended
• All picnic areas are closed for public use