Inland Pacific Northwest Raptor Migration 2019's Journal

Journal archives for September 2019

September 2, 2019

End of August Report

End of the month report is here and the statistics for the project.

Top Five Species (Overall):
Red-tailed Hawk -- 70
Swainson's Hawk -- 38
Osprey -- 21
Cooper's Hawk -- 14
Great Horned Owl -- 12

Top Five Species (Month):
Red-tailed Hawk -- 43
Swainson's Hawk -- 29
Osprey -- 12
American Kestrel -- 7
Cooper's Hawk -- 7

Species Observed Overall: 17

Species Observed in August: 14

Species We Still Need Observations: (18) Turkey Vulture, White-tailed Kite, Northern Harrier, Northern Goshawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Barn Owl, Flammulated Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Snowy Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Spotted Owl, Barred Owl, Boreal Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl and Gyrfalcon

Counties Still Needing Observations: (11 -- 6 WA and 5 OR) Ferry (WA), Lincoln (WA), Klickitat (WA), Franklin (WA), Columbia (WA), Garfield (WA), Sherman (OR), Gilliam (OR), Morrow (OR), Wheeler (OR) and Baker (OR)

What to expect from this month?
Hawks will be start going haywire this month so keep your eyes open for anything odd. Different Red-tailed Hawk subspecies should be showing up along with Harlan's and maybe a Rough-legged. Fresh-cut hayfields will provide perfect hunting grounds for Buteo species and if you happen upon those fields, expect huge numbers of Red-tailed and Swainson's. Also remember to search for a Broad-winged or Red-shouldered if you do. September also marks the month that owls will start courting, so go out into the woods and listen for Northern Saw-whet and an occasional Boreal Owl if you're in the mountains. Let's give this project a boost in September. Good luck hawk watchers!

Posted on September 2, 2019 06:11 AM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 1 comment | Leave a comment

September 4, 2019

Raptors Needs Per County

For those really obsessed with iNaturalist, here's a little challenge you can go if you happen upon a location. There are only a few regular iNaturalists the inland Pacific Northwest so here and there, data is patchy. So if you wish, visit some counties and get observations for places that have yet recorded the species. I'll list the counties that our five common species haven't been 'found' in yet but is in iNaturalist's range maps.

Red-tailed Hawk -- Ferry (WA) and Gilliam (OR)

Swainson's Hawk -- Ferry (WA), Stevens (WA), Pend Oreille (WA), Chelan (WA), Spokane (WA), Kittias (WA), Yakima (WA), Klickitat (WA), Benton (WA), Benton (WA), Garfield (WA), Asotin (WA), Hood River (OR), Sherman (OR), Gilliam (OR), Morrow (OR), Jefferson (OR), Wheeler (OR), Grant (OR) and Klamath (OR)

Osprey -- Ferry (WA), Adams (WA), Benton (WA), Garfield (WA), Sherman (OR), Gilliam (OR), Morrow (OR), Wheeler (OR), Baker (OR) and Malheur (OR)

Great Horned Owl -- Ferry (WA), Pend Oreille (WA), Douglas (WA), Columbia (WA), Garfield (WA), Hood River (OR), Gilliam (OR), Wheeler (OR) and Grant (OR)

American Kestrel -- Ferry (WA), Pend Oreille (WA), Chelan (WA), Columbia (WA), Gilliam (OR), Jefferson (OR), Grant (OR) and Malheur (OR)

And as I said, this challenge is for those who are really obsessed with going out all over to find something that may be just outside you window. But if you decide to go to one of those counties, good for you and I wish you the best of luck because whatever you find can be valuable data.

Posted on September 4, 2019 06:25 PM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 comments | Leave a comment

September 8, 2019

PNWRM Observations of the Week -- Sep 1-7

I have decided to give members of this project a little fun every week by provided what I think were the best photos submitted to the project within the past week. Hope you enjoy my top three favorite pics!

Three spot goes to @spauls for his photo of an adorable little pygmy-owl in Pend Oreille County, WA. This 6-inch, hard species to find (or for me at least) is our first sighting for the project and I hope to expect more as time passes. You can see his pic at the following observation.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32053403

Second place goes to @peterolsoy for his 'winking' owl in Whitman County, WA. Great Horns are by far the most common of the owls but it's always a neat experience to see them. If you happen to be owling some night this month, listen to courting adults while they're still be harassed by the previous season young.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32013268

And first place for this week goes to @kathawk for a very... shocking experience with another Great Horned Owl. Usually I find this expression on people when I show them owls but this is new for me. Almost like he's saying, "Oh my gosh! A human!".

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/31969822

Posted on September 8, 2019 10:45 PM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 comments | Leave a comment

September 16, 2019

PNWRM Observations of the Week -- Sep 8-14

Welcome to the next week of awesome observations submitted to the Pacific Northwest Raptor Count. This week was hard for me to choose who/what should be our top three observations this week since we didn't have as many observations as previously and @masonmaron had to be an awesome photographer. So here we go.

So without further adieu I give you, your third place spot for this week. It goes to @kenchamberlain for an outstanding closeup of a juvenile Western Red-tailed Hawk. Some might call it 'cheating' to use nets to get shots but it's a beautiful hawk so I think it counts anyhow. Besides, we may get our borealis and/or abieticola Red-tailed in a net this season.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32747273

Second place goes to @benmeredyk for a juvenile Swainson's Hawk who probably wished he oiled himself before the downpour. Within the next week or so, check out in freshly plowed fields to see flocks of Swainson's in numbers as high as 50.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32377418

And first place goes to @masonmaron for photographing the same juvenile Swainson's Hawk. I am like really jealous of Mason because I've been going nuts over photographing Swainson's this summer and then I see his photo on facebook under the post saying ebird will be using it for their front page and I'm like, come on man. Anyhow, congrats on the shots and good raptor luck as the season progresses. Hope you find a Broad-winged!

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32396835

Posted on September 16, 2019 04:23 AM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 1 comment | Leave a comment

September 24, 2019

PNWRM Observations of the Week -- Sep 15-21

Another week done with a lot of observations. Let's see what's cool for this week!

In third place for this week, I nominate myself (Am I'm allowed to do that?) with a juvenile Western Red-tailed Hawk just taking off into the air, sighted near Vale in Malheur County, Oregon. I just took one look and I thought it had to be an honorable mention.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/33070923

The second spot goes to @garth_harwood for a great photo of a Great Horned Owl in Malheur NWR in Harney County, Oregon. To me, every time I see a good owl photo, I'm completely mesmerized and fall in love with it. Great shot and I hope you can participate in the project more.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/33019071

And lastly, the best shot of the week goes to @harryj37 for an outstanding photograph of a Cooper's Hawk in Deschutes County, Oregon. I think the photo is just purely jaw-dropping with the rich blue upperparts contrasting with the red background. Also how distinctly obvious of the bird's identity. Let's give this observer a warm welcome to iNaturalist and congrats on the shot.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32919184

Posted on September 24, 2019 04:44 AM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 comments | Leave a comment

September 30, 2019

PNWRM Observations of the Week -- Sep 22-28

The final complete week of September is over and so comes the last three observations for the month. Let's go on with it and see what has been submitted over the week that we should appreciate.

I think the third place spot goes to @umpquamatt for a dazzling photo of a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in the Steen Mountains. These mountains in southeastern Oregon is one of the best places to hawk watch in our project's zone because it's a north to south isolated range which acts like a magnet to our fierce feathered friends. You can find all the photos to the observation in the link and congrats to the photographer.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/33411730

Second spot goes to @kenchamberlain for this week. The one thing I've learned about this project is how many facial expressions Great Horned Owls process. In this outstanding photo, we now have a Great Horn who is seemingly winking. I'm just wondering why. Is he winking because the owl believes the observer would see the Broad-billed Hummingbird or he's trying to flirt with the observer.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/33296933

And what I call the coolest observation of the week, goes to @guyincognito for the mesmerizing photo of a species that gets me every time, a Northern Saw-whet Owl. Spotted in Pend Oreille County, Washington, this bird was spotted as far north and east as possible in our project. As for the bird itself, just look at that face and tell me it doesn't make you go "awwwww". Thanks to all the photographers who contributed to the project. If this is your first time seeing this project, I'm still looking for committers to find some awesome raptors. Good luck and let October be a good raptor month.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/33352658

Posted on September 30, 2019 04:32 AM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 comments | Leave a comment

Upcoming Opportunities and Possible Field Trips

Hi followers to the IPNRM project. I just wanted to bring some announcements regarding to the project and upcoming opportunities to see some raptors between now and December 31st. Hopefully you can help contribute and attend some of these events.

Ebird Events:
October 19 -- October Big Day -- The fall counterpart to May's Global Big Day, it's where birders observe as many species in one day as possible. I think this will be a great opportunity for us as birders and hawk watchers to take the chance to also find as many species as possible.

Audubon Events:
Most Audubon chapters will provide weekly bird walks and monthly field trips at minimum. These events provide great chances to not only see birds but raptors as well. You can find an Audubon chapter just about any place you go in Washington and if you wish to attend in Oregon, the East Cascades Audubon is your only option. Christmas Bird Counts (CBC) will also provide good chances of seeing lots of raptors so stay tune to those.

Possible IPNRM Field Trips:
Fore Warning!!! These field trips are not confirmed!

I think it will be a great idea that I take the members of this project to a certain location once a month for the next three months to go looking for raptors as a group. It should be a great chance for us to meet one another and get to know each other better. However, I have limited transportation methods so I'm afraid that as much as I want to lead these trips, I may not make it in reality and these field trips could be cancelled. However, if I do happen to be able to do it, here are the dates and places I'm intending on going.

October 25 or 26 -- Steen Mountains, Oregon -- The Steen Mountains are a perfect place to go raptor watching, especially at the time I listed. The plan would be not only explore the Steen Mountains but surrounding areas as well in Harney and Malheur Counties in Oregon. We should expect to see plenty of Red-tailed Hawks, Ferruginous Hawks, eagles of both species and Prairie Falcons. More details to come if I can attend.

November 15 or 16 -- Blue Mountain Loop, Oregon/Washington -- Colder weather means possible snow finding but also great raptor findings in foothills. My plan for this trip is to likely start in La Grande and we work our way around the Blue Mountains going through Walla Walla, Clarkston and finally ending in Enterprise, Oregon. Species should include Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Merlins, accipiters and perhaps a Northern Goshawk.

December Friday or Saturday that doesn't conflict with CBC -- Columbia River Bend, Washington -- December raptor watching Walla Walla County is my favorite. Our trip will start in either Umatilla or Walla Walla County and we'll work our way upright. We'll continue on the Franklin County side of the Snake River to Lyons Ferry and work downriver on the Walla Walla side. Species include plenty of Red-tailed Hawks, Rough-legged Hawks, Harlan's Hawks, Northern Saw-whet Owls and Long-eared Owls.

And those are my plans. As I said, these field trips may not become reality because of my traveling conflictions. I am willing to pass on trip leadership if that happens and the birders are committed to going out as a group. You can state your opinions below and I'll make a final decision on these possible field trips.

Posted on September 30, 2019 05:21 AM by birdwhisperer birdwhisperer | 0 comments | Leave a comment