August Summary
August is now over and now we start the best month of raptor migration, September! Here's a summary of what happened over the previous month.
Top 5 Species (August):
Red-tailed Hawk -- 37 (+2 spots)
Swainson's Hawk -- 26
Osprey -- 17 (-2 spots)
Turkey Vulture -- 9
American Kestrel -- 8 (new to Top 5)
Top 5 Species (Overall):
Red-tailed Hawk -- 59 (+2 spots)
Osprey -- 45 (-1 spot)
Swainson's Hawk -- 44 (-1 spot)
Turkey Vulture -- 20
Cooper's Hawk -- 16 (new to Top 5)
Total Species Overall: 23
Top 5 Observations Submitted: birdwhisperer 75 obs, @cgates326 21 obs, @uta_stansburiana 16 obs, @masonmaron 16 obs and @josegarrido 13 obs
Top 5 Most Species: birdwhisperer 12 species, uta_stansburiana 9 species, cgates326 9 species, joseharrido 6 species and @flammulated 5 species
Species Still Not Observed: White-tailed Kite, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Western Screech-Owl, Snowy Owl, Northern Hawk-Owl, Spotted Owl, Great Gray Owl, Short-eared Owl, Boreal Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl and Gyrfalcon -- 12 species
New Species in August: Broad-winged Hawk, Barn Owl, Merlin and Peregrine Falcon
Counties Needing Observations: WA (6) -- Ferry, Pend Oreille, Grant, Klickitat, Columbia and Garfield -- OR (2) -- Morrow, Wheeler
News and What to Expect in September: As expected, we doubled the observations in the project as we now have 280 observations submitted, though I must admit, I have about half a dozen photos I still need to upload. It was a great month for raptors, the weather was much tamer than July and though smoke covered most of Oregon this month, raptors were prevalent.
Observations of the Month goes to @nmccullough for an excellent nighttime shot of a Barred Owl in the Okanogan region. I've always been fascinated by this species and sometimes a little envious that Rocky Mountain Barred Owls are much harder to find than Cascades individuals. Closely related to the endangered Spotted Owl, these two species can be distinguished by size and pattern. As the names say, one is barred on the underparts and the other is spotted. It would be great though, if someone happens to see a Spotted within the next month.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/55453734
Let's talk about Broad-winged Hawks. At the end of July, I specifically asked observers to look for Broad-winged Hawks. And here's what happened. August 26th, my friends Ginger Shoemake and Judy Treman photographed an adult Broad-winged Hawk in Walla Walla. I looked up sightings on ebird and their sighting is the first Blue Mountain record. There has been no previous sightings within the entire mountain range. Unfortunately, Ginger and Judy are ebirders, not iNaturalists but I'm hoping to convince them this site is just as good! Moving on, I went to McCully Creek in Wallowa county Sunday to look for Spruce Grouse. Up on Ferguson Ridge was what did know, a juvenile light morph Broad-winged Hawk being chased by a larger, longer-winged Swainson's. First county record and 2nd Blue Mountain record. And finally, yesterday, I get an e-mail from Dave Trochlell asking me for an id on a hawk he found in North Powder, Oregon. Hat trick! Another juvenile Broad-winged Hawk and I'm willing to bet he saw the very juvenile I saw the previous day. Perhaps I can get him to join iNaturalist too! First Baker county record and 3rd Blue Mountain record, all within a week's time. Mike Shaw mentioned that these Broad-wings are more likely early migrants than vagrants, as migrants have been spotted on the Cascade front. That's really good news in my opinion and I think if birders take more time to up into the mountains this September, we can find even more Broad-winged Hawks. I'm rambling but that is all I have for this summary. Good luck hawkwatchers!
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