I saw today my first Black & White Warbler of the year, as well as my first
R.T. Hummingbird. Yesterday evening I saw my first Chimney Swifts of the year.
I thought it would be ideal for the hawk migration so I climbed our monastery
bell tower and watched for a couple of hours. It was much more interesting
below than above! The sky was so blue I could hardly pick out the tiny black
specks miles above. I did see 25 Cormorants flying north, as well as an Osprey,
a Red-shouldered , 5 Broadwinged , 3 Red-tailed Hawks, and a Kestrel. Yesterday
was better for hawks with many more Osprey and Broadwings. One curious thing I
noticed was an apparent migration of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Goldfinches. I
think fifteen or twenty small flocks of Goldfinches flew past the tower,
heading northeast up the Blue Ridge, as well as a constant stream of
Yellow-rumps, maybe 40-60 in all. They weren't stopping, just following the
hawks.
Father John
Franklin County
A complete list:
D.C. Cormorants 25
Black Vulture 3
Turkey Vulture 8
Canada Goose 2
Osprey
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk 5
Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Kestrel
Turkey 16
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove 6
Chimney Swift 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Eastern Phoebe 4
Blue-headed Vireo 3
Blue Jay
Crow 6
Raven
Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 4
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Carolina Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 5
Eastern Bluebird 4
Robin 4
Brown Thrasher 2
Starling 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler (lots)
Black-and-White Warbler
Eastern Towhee 8
Chipping Sparrow 12
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow 7
Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 4
Eastern Meadowlark 2
Brown-headed Cowbird
Purple Finch 2
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch (a whole lot)
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