The hawks have been flying at Hook! We welcomed days with North winds and cool temperatures in September this season, a big change

The hawks have been flying at Hook! We welcomed days with North winds and cool temperatures in September this season, a big change from the very hot September days of the last couple of years. With the return of bygone weather, we also had a few more hawks, with 4952 Broad-winged Hawks, more than the last 2 years and just about at average. This is well above our median count of 3405, often considered more typical than the average. So, we did well with Broadwings this year, thanks to your dedication to being on the Hook!  (See Fall 2017 Dailies.)  For a comparison of the strikingly different winds in September 2016 and September 2017, see below.

Other Species at Average:  Golden Eagle and Merlin (59)

John, Vince, and Steve enjoyed seeing our only Golden Eagle of the year so far. It was a close view, and we all wish we were there that day. Our next Golden will be the 200th all-time Golden Eagle at Hook. I can’t wait to find out which day it will be, and which of us will get to see it! Dates for Golden sightings in the last 3 years were:

2014: 10/25, 10/27 (2), 10/31, 11/7, 11/11

2015: 10/16, 10/17, 10/19, 10/23 (2), 10/30 (2), 10/31, 11/14, 11/23

2016: 11/6 (2), 11/18, 11/23 (2)

For the dates above when 2 Goldens passed over Hook, the following winds are noted on Wunderground, using wind speed as average > gusts:

WNW 9>23, NNW 10>28, WNW 10>23, NNW 11>29, NW 12>25.

Drew is right – he always says that Goldens like the blustery days. So, be sure to get up to Hook on any of the next blustery days.  

Bald Eagle checks us out!  10/19/17  Note the uneven border of the remiges on this immature

Possible Record Highs - Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon Our good news for the season are our above average hawks. As expected, these include Bald Eagles, currently at a count of 164. We need 34 more to reach a new record. Last year we counted 40 in the time remaining, so a new record is possible. Our surprise of this season is the Peregrine Falcon.  We have counted 49 so far.  Our record year of 54 was 1990, a year when numbers were low on the barrier beach but high inland.  I had not expected to get close to the record for years, but we only have 6 Peregrines to go for a new record!  Last year we counted 11 PGs after Oct 22, so a new record is very possible, perhaps even likely.

We have counted 1070 Sharpies so far. Our record low, in 2016, was 1426, so we need almost 400 to avoid a new record low. Hopefully we will do that. The adults are moving through now, so there will be more to come. But, on average we can expect only about 255 more to come. Hopefully, I am wrong about this one, but it looks very much like we will hit a new low for our beloved Sharpies.

Kestrels are still below average: a count of 190 compared to an average of 221 by Oct 22. We have already past the low of 152 for the year in 2008, so at least it will not be a record low year. And, there is hope that we can break 200 again this year.

So, be sure to come up to Hook and help us count!

Trudy

Below are two graphs that require a bit of interpretation.  They show wind direction for September 2016 and September 2017.  The vertical axis at left represents clockwise degrees from north.  Both 0⁰  and 360⁰   represent north, so North is both at the top and at the bottom of each graph.  The top square represents NW winds, and the bottom square represents NE winds.  The middle line, at 180⁰ represents South winds.  The two vertical lines show the bounds of our typical Broadwing season, from Sep 10 to Sep 24.

 The difference in the wind patterns for the two years is striking, with a jumbled mix of winds in 2016, when the Broadwing flight was weak and late; and north winds predominant this year, with our stronger flight.

2016:  2016 was the year when we thought the Broadwings would never come.  Looking at the winds above, 9/11 and 9/14 both had NW winds and look good for hawks.  However, further investigation shows high winds on 9/11, and rain with thunderstorms on 9/14 and 9/15, inhibiting migration.  By 9/20 the winds had more or less shifted towards North, and the BWs finally came.  Our 2 days with counts of more than 100 finally arrived with 2212 BWs on 9/21 and 176 on 9/24. 

2017:  The two days with our highest Broadwing counts this year were 9/11 with 839 and 9/22 with 3164.  These days are noted on the graph by the boxes on the horizontal axis.  Note that each of these occurred after 2 days of sustained NW or NNW winds.  The only other days with triple digit counts were 9/10 with 100 and 9/12 with 377.  These days also were preceded by a day or more of NW winds. 

We have known for years that our Broadwing flights were associated with light winds and well developed thermals.  We also suspected that their numbers were effected by winds.  These graphs support the wind hypothesis.