Following last night's severe storms, today, April 23rd, cleared off nicely
and brought an exciting daily record-tying 17 Bald Eagles (all immatures)
past the station on a variety of high tracks both east and west of us. Tom
Armour, Bill Williams, Fred Blystone and I watched as the heavy overcast
cleared
to zero clouds and the winds shifted from southwest to southeast, apparently
just what the birds wanted. When I left at about 1:15, there were still 12
Bald Eagles circling over Hog Island, though it appeared the flight was over
for
the day, as the previous 45 minutes was pretty quiet.
The day's total of 58 was excellent for April and also contained great
variety with 5 Ospreys, 18 Turkey Vultures, 2 Northern Harriers, 7
Sharp-shinned
Hawks, a Cooper's Hawk, 2 Broad-winged Hawks and 6 Red-tailed Hawks. Our
season total, after a pretty slow week, except for today, stands at 1226,
which is
at least a week ahead of last year's pace where the season record 1445 was
set.
We saw 12 Common Loons flying east and 13 Monarchs and dozens of other
butterflies crossing the river headed north.
We saw the White Pelican circling over Hog Island again, too.
Brian Taber
College Creek Hawkwatch, located on the James River near Williamsburg, is a
program of Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory