Migratory birds took advantage of a small window of warm weather today,
March 7th, to move north past College Creek Hawkwatch. Luckily, Tom Armour and
I
were there to see them. During just 2 hours, there were 95 Turkey Vultures,
one Osprey that appeared to be migrating, out of about 6 that were around, an
immature Bald Eagle, 5 Cooper's Hawks and 6 Red-tailed Hawks. The flock of 33
Turkey Vultures was the largest we have seen crossing the river at the site.
The Cooper's Hawk number ties the daily high count. The total of 108 is the
5th largest daily total in the 9 years of the count.
East winds are not generally good for migration at the site, but the winds
were light and the sun was strong, creating thermal updrafts. By the time the
wind had shifted to strong southwest, the flight was over.
Hundreds, maybe thousands of Ring-billed Gulls were also moving northward,
some very high. Small groups of Tree Swallows and Fish Crows were regularly
crossing the river.
Brian Taber
College Creek Hawkwatch is located on the James River near Williamsburg and
is sponsored by Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory.
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