Subject: Weekend Raptor Count
Date: Sep 8 10:24:57 1997
From: Tom Foote - footet at elwha.evergreen.edu




Tweets-


I spent this weekend on a raptor count in the Kent Valley
on Saturday and again in the Kent Valley Sunday morning
plus an additional loop Sunday PM through Elma, over to Oakville
Scatter Creek and back up to Olympia. Jim Pruske and
and I wanted to see how many raptors there were this time
of year. The tallies follow:


Sat. Sept 6, 1997

21 Redtails (5 immatures)
3 Northern Harriers (2 immies)
1 Bald Eagle
6 Cooper's Hawks (4 immies)
2 Kestrels

total: 33 raptors

Sunday AM Sept. 7, 1997

17 Redtails (3 immies)
1 Cooper's Hawk
1 Northern Harriers

total: 19 raptors

Sunday PM Sept.. 7, 1997

5 Turkey Vultures
2 Redtails
1 Osprey
1 Sharpshin Hawk

total: 9 raptors

28 for the day

We thought it interesting that we saw so many immature Coops..might
indicate an early movement in the valley, although it is time for
them to be moving down the ridges about now.

We saw several extremely handsome dark morph redtails. One of them
was a rufous morph.

total number of species for the Kent Valley was 27 on Saturday
and we saw 31 species Sunday (including a bat we got an early start :)
but, only 11 species on the Oly-Elma-Oakville-Scatter Creek loop.

Interesting observations:

the Sharpie near Elma being harrassed by Crows. She flew
into a tree and the crows went around to the other side to get on her
again as she came out the other side, but she didn't. She stayed put
while they flew around in muddled confusion.

3 Soaring redtails in the Kent Valley playing around together as they
swirled around each other.

Most common bird was the Starling..there were amazing numbers of these birds.
second were rock doves, and then Canada Geese.

Tom




Tom Foote footet at elwha.evergreen.edu
Lab II
The Evergreen State College (360) 866-6000 x6118
Olympia, WA 98505