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--=====================_163026921==.ALT Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed 26 Sept. 2009 - Prospect Peninsula, HRM On the Nova Scotia Bird Society's field trip on Saturday, 26 September, we were lucky enough to experience the largest hawk flight I've ever seen in HRM. We hiked the full length of the Wagner's Beach trail from the cul-de-sac at the end of the Cedar Court subdivision, to the "Yellow Bus" trailhead beside house #1225 on the Prospect Bay Road. This trail runs N/S down the western side of the Prospect Peninsula, and as we cleared the trees and started along the barrens section of the trail we noted that the north winds had blown many raptors down the length of the Prospect Peninsula. They seemed to reorientate along the higher coast north of Wagner's Beach, before flying west across the mouth of Shad Bay, in the direction of the East Dover Peninsula. The bulk of the raptors were accipiters and falcons, and they (along with a harrier) were the only ones to cross the water. The buteos simply soared up, and retreated north up the peninsula. Other birds were caught up in this diurnal migration -- Blue Jays and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Every time we scanned with binoculars we could see birds moving up and out across the mouth of Shad Bay -- warblers, jays, hawks, and unidentified finches. Our conservative minimum count of the birds involved was as follows: Sharp-shinned Hawk - 80+ (more soaring and flying birds were too distant to ID, but were likely SSHA) Northern Goshawk - 4 Coopers Hawk - 1 (not confirmed, but it was highly suggestive based on size and shape -- but at a distance) Northern Harrier - 2 American Kestrel - 3 Merlin - 1 Peregrine Falcon - 1 Red-tailed Hawk - 1 Broad-winged Hawk - 1 Blue Jay - 120+ Yellow-rumped Warbler - 75+ counted, but many, many warblers were seen high flying west, and were likely Yellow-rumpeds as well. Of note: the two raptors I most regularly encounter on the Prospect Peninsula, Osprey and Bald Eagle, were not seen. Many of the raptors were seen at close quarters, giving us the opportunity to discuss flight field marks, and with Suzanne Borkowski's help we were able (by grace of the raptor fly-by) to help the beginners in the group a great opportunity to learn about migrating raptor identification. And most of the group had life birds in the process, especially with the very cooperative Northen Goshawks, two of which put on a superb show. Four species were new to the Wagner's Beach Trail list - Goshawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, and Red-tailed Hawk, bringing the trail list to more than 100 species. Not too bad for a picturesque piece of coastal barrens and scrubby spruce. Cheers, and good barrens' birding, Blake Maybank ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blake Maybank maybank@ns.sympatico.ca 902-852-2077 Editor, "Nova Scotia Birds" http://nsbs.chebucto.org author, "Birding Sites of Nova Scotia" http://tinyurl.com/birdingns Downloadable Nova Scotia Maps for inside front and back covers: http://tinyurl.com/mr627d White's Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada --=====================_163026921==.ALT Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" <html> <body> 26 Sept. 2009 - Prospect Peninsula, HRM<br><br> On the Nova Scotia Bird Society's field trip on Saturday, 26 September, we were lucky enough to experience the largest hawk flight I've ever seen in HRM. We hiked the full length of the Wagner's Beach trail from the cul-de-sac at the end of the Cedar Court subdivision, to the "Yellow Bus" trailhead beside house #1225 on the Prospect Bay Road. This trail runs N/S down the western side of the Prospect Peninsula, and as we cleared the trees and started along the barrens section of the trail we noted that the north winds had blown many raptors down the length of the Prospect Peninsula. They seemed to reorientate along the higher coast north of Wagner's Beach, before flying west across the mouth of Shad Bay, in the direction of the East Dover Peninsula.<br><br> The bulk of the raptors were accipiters and falcons, and they (along with a harrier) were the only ones to cross the water. The buteos simply soared up, and retreated north up the peninsula. Other birds were caught up in this diurnal migration -- Blue Jays and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Every time we scanned with binoculars we could see birds moving up and out across the mouth of Shad Bay -- warblers, jays, hawks, and unidentified finches. Our conservative minimum count of the birds involved was as follows:<br><br> Sharp-shinned Hawk - 80+ (more soaring and flying birds were too distant to ID, but were likely SSHA)<br> Northern Goshawk - 4<br> Coopers Hawk - 1 (not confirmed, but it was highly suggestive based on size and shape -- but at a distance)<br> Northern Harrier - 2<br> American Kestrel - 3<br> Merlin - 1<br> Peregrine Falcon - 1<br> Red-tailed Hawk - 1<br> Broad-winged Hawk - 1<br> Blue Jay - 120+<br> Yellow-rumped Warbler - 75+ counted, but many, many warblers were seen high flying west, and were likely Yellow-rumpeds as well.<br><br> Of note: the two raptors I most regularly encounter on the Prospect Peninsula, Osprey and Bald Eagle, were not seen.<br><br> Many of the raptors were seen at close quarters, giving us the opportunity to discuss flight field marks, and with Suzanne Borkowski's help we were able (by grace of the raptor fly-by) to help the beginners in the group a great opportunity to learn about migrating raptor identification.<br><br> And most of the group had life birds in the process, especially with the very cooperative Northen Goshawks, two of which put on a superb show.<br><br> Four species were new to the Wagner's Beach Trail list - Goshawk, Peregrine, Kestrel, and Red-tailed Hawk, bringing the trail list to more than 100 species. Not too bad for a picturesque piece of coastal barrens and scrubby spruce.<br><br> Cheers, and good barrens' birding,<br><br> Blake Maybank<br><br> <x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------<br> Blake Maybank<br> maybank@ns.sympatico.ca<br> 902-852-2077<br><br> Editor, "Nova Scotia Birds"<br> <a href="http://nsbs.chebucto.org/" eudora="autourl"> http://nsbs.chebucto.org<br><br> </a>author, "Birding Sites of Nova Scotia"<br> <font color="#0000FF"><u> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/birdingns" eudora="autourl"> http://tinyurl.com/birdingns<br> </a></u></font>Downloadable Nova Scotia Maps for inside front and back covers:<br> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/mr627d" eudora="autourl"> http://tinyurl.com/mr627d</a> <br><br> White's Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada </body> </html> --=====================_163026921==.ALT--
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