Another 2-for-1 special! Unfortunately, I don’t have anything incredibly exciting to report. These past two weeks have been very quiet, with very light migration for most of the days. Week 10 was the quietest week in a long while. Each day was mostly empty skies, with just a few birds here and there. A real test of strength to stay focused on those long days while I was completely by myself. Week 10 brought 218 new raptors, bringing the season total up to 9,306. Week 11 came with mostly the same, but the 17th and 19th brought some decent migration (120 raptors on the 17th and 236 on the 19th). These days, if they happened in April, would have felt like light migration, but after the week and a half of incredibly slow days, it felt crazy busy. Week 11 brought 491 new raptors, and brought the season total up to 9,797.
The young Broad-winged Hawks have dominated the count these past two weeks, which means that migration is almost over. An adult Broad-winged Hawk and especially an adult Red-tailed Hawk are a rare sight these days. While not much has happened recently, a highlight has been breaking the season high record for Cooper’s Hawks at 32 (past record was 26 in 2021)!
In the last two weeks of the count, I am expecting to see even more young Broad-winged Hawks before the season winds down to a close. I am excited to see how the end of the season wraps up and compares to past seasons!
