Overcast and cool,
light breeze
Statistically, this is a
significant day. First of all,
autumn began at 10:29 this morning and already, the trees are beginning to show
signs of the change. A few hints
of red, yellow, orange and brown are beginning to change the hue of the landscape,
and predictions are that this will be a colorful fall due to the drought we
sustained over the summer.
Secondly, this marks the point
in the daily blog where we are 100 days away from the goal of a full year of
entries without missing a day. We
had a long dry spell as far as trying to drum up some good images and subjects
to write about during the end of summer, but things are suddenly beginning to
pick up as autumn enters the scene.
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| Cooper's hawk |
Today, our birding club
met at the Bashakill where we had visited on Monday in search of the
Connecticut warbler and any other migrants that might have taken advantage of
this most wonderful sight. The
warbler in question was seen once again on Thursday, but has not reappeared
since and unfortunately, he did not do so today. What we did have in the early morning gloom was a great
performance by the raptors on site.
The main players were kestrels, Cooper’s hawks, Sharp-shinned hawks,
Broadwings, and a female Northern harrier.
Not only were these birds
actively engaged in hunting this morning, but they were also engaged in one
another. On multiple occasions,
sharpies. Coops and kestrels were seen in conflict. At one point, a Cooper’s hawk left its perch and attacked a
kestrel for no other apparent reason than the fact that the kestrel had chosen
to perch in the same tree. The
Cooper’s hawk made a bee-line for the kestrel whose speed and agility kept it
out of harm’s way. Even the
similary sized sharpies seemed to take exception to the presence of the
kestrels and drove them away.
Often, there were near misses in mid-flight and it certainly was exciting
to watch the confrontations. 
Later in the morning, a
murder of crows was seen chasing a Cooper’s hawk out of the area. It seems as if all the birds including these starlings are
feeling their oats as they make their way to their wintering grounds in the
south. We’ll join them in January,
but for now, it is keeping us entertained watching their progress as they
proceed into the season of change….autumn.
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| Broad-winged hawk over "the Bash" |
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