Hi, Tweeters ...
We're about to begin our spring hawk migration observations at Cape Flattery
[the Ad Hawk volunteers and HawkWatch (HWI) collaboration] and a boost from
y'all would benefit the effort immensely ... .

Data are lacking about the routes of the raptors prior to their appearance
in the Cape Flattery area and after they cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca
... and the logistics of any extended survey are beyond our capabilities.
We'd appreciate your postings of exceptional sightings of raptors in western
WA and OR during the 20 March to 1 May period, either privately to us,
at < clark at olympus.net > or < wiersema at olympus.net >
or on tweeters. Our Oregon stalwart in the Flattery study and in HWI, Don
Baccus < donb at Rational.com >, may be able to relay some Oregon sightings also.

As many of you are aware, this study was first undertaken by Bud Anderson's
Falcon Research Group in 1983-1987, an impressive logistic exercise across
the Sound and the peninsula! D Byrne assumed the burden in 1989, and by 1991
our loose coalition of volunteers -- Ad Hawk -- joined in. Steve Hoffman's
HawkWatch Int'l has joined us in collaborative study since 1993.

The notable counts from the early years were: 1985 = 6781 over 30 days; 1986
= 5230 over 62 days; 1987 = 4536 over 45 days. The 32-day effort in 1989
produced 3807 sightings, and the 31-day 1990 work of Janet Partlow, Matt
Irinaga and D, with occasional other help, totaled 8842 sightings including
Janet's incredible 3800+ day.

Since 1991, with a larger, more diverse crew and using standardized
data-collection forms we've seen 1991 = 3325 over 45 days; 1992 = 4978 over
49 days; 1993 = 2042 over 48 days in especially crummy weather; 1994 = 4893
in 36 days; and 1995 = 6757 in 45 days. Typically 70% or so are buteos
(mostly RTs), and 15% or so Sharpies, with smaller showings of Coopers, TVs,
Golden Eagles, and Kestrels and still fewer other falcons, Goshawks, N
Harriers and Osprey. [Of course we have resident Bald Eagles with some
obvious migrants mixed in, not included in the above numbers.] We must
emphasize that these are "sightings", not migration crossings -- the extreme
variation in weather, flight and observation conditions have limited our
ability to confirm crossings, so we've opted to report sightings with
attempts to avoid double-counting insofar as possible.

The past several years' studies have given us some modest success in
relating the day-to-day variations of sightings at the Cape to regional
weather patterns, mostly by use of an intraday temperature rise proxy for
flight conditions for the soaring raptors, calculated for the Cape area and
several points down the west coast. Improved access to weather data through
Internet this year -- for the big picture of North Pacific systems,
twice-daily upper-air soundings from nearby Quillayute, and frequent surface
observations from Tatoosh Island and the BC lighthouses -- should allow us
to better understand both the timing of movements and the flight behaviors
at the Cape.

But, spring studies up the west coast are lacking and we know little about
the spring flyways. The paucity of reported concentrations of westbound
raptors in the northeastern Olympic Peninsula -- in spite of the number of
active birders in the area -- makes the thought of wholesale migration
westward out along the U S side of the strait somewhat tenuous. And a
coastal-plain flyway seems plausible, especially because the widespread
logging along the west coast side of the Peninsula and south, into Oregon,
has perhaps enhanced the thermal-lift conditions and hunting opportunity for
the soaring birds ... but these are only conjectures. Perhaps with your help
the sightings at the Cape can be correlated with those from your travels
elsewhere and the mysteries will diminish.

Please join in ... we'll try to keep tweeters posted on happenings at the
Cape and summaries of correlated postings from you, and share the results
afterward. And please contact us for schedules, directions, and weather
guesses if you want to join us in observations at Cape Flattery ... the
Makah are generous in giving us access to their lands remote from the
tourist and sportfishing areas.

Virginia and Welden Clark -- email: clark at olympus.net tel: 360/683-1087

Ken Wiersema -- email: wiersema at olympus.net tel: 360/683-4763