by Dan Casey
The 16th fall monitoring season at Jewel Basin Hawk Watch (JBHW) kicked off August 25th, and as of September 15th we had conducted 18 surveys. It has been an interesting and rewarding early season, with high species diversity and higher than average counts. We suspect that the extensive fires in British Columbia and Alberta may have helped provide impetus for early migration; it will be interesting to see if these trends continue.
We had tallied 944 raptors of 16 species as of September 15th. These included above average numbers of Ospreys, Broad-winged Hawks, Swainson’s Hawks and Ferruginous Hawks (although the latter two make up a very small portion of our flight). Accipiters (especially Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks) comprised the bulk of the early flight, with 661 counted. This is typical, as Golden Eagle numbers generally do not pick up until early October, when they can dominate the counts. A Sharp-shinned Hawk tallied on September 5th was the 19,000th we have counted over the history of the count, which was initiated in 2007.
Our totals as of September 15th:
Turkey Vulture (2); Osprey (10); Bald Eagle (7); Northern Harrier (35); Sharp-shinned Hawk (439); Cooper’s Hawk (198); American Goshawk (12); Accipiter sp (12); Broad-winged Hawk (27); Swainson’s Hawk (4); Red-tailed Hawk (83); Ferruginous Hawk (2); Buteo sp (7); Golden Eagle (20); American Kestrel (62); Merlin(12); Peregrine Falcon(3); Prairie Falcon (6); Falcon sp (2); Raptor sp (1). Total: 944
As we hit mid-September, the peak migration season is upon us! There will always be an experienced primary observer on site, but extra sets of eyes are needed on the busiest days! The Jewel Basin site sits on the ridge crest about a half-mile north of Mount Aeneas. The scenery is as spectacular as the birding! Already this season, volunteers have also had Black Bear, Moose and Bobcat sightings!
We will be including monthly updates of this year’s effort in the Pileated Post. But if you would like more information, contact Dan Casey at (406) 270-5941. There is a Google group dedicated to the effort which you can join by submitting an email to info@flatheadaudubon.org; you can also follow daily surveys in real time by visiting our Dunkadoo Page. Or visit the Jewel Basin Hawk Watch page for more information and survey calendar.