Hello all,
Although I was out of town much of the last week I've been able to
observe nice movements of Turkey Vultures moving through my area
recently. I figured the movement was mostly over, but this morning I
was happily surprised to see four birds fighting the wind as they
headed south. This afternoon I saw my biggest numbers yet as a kettle
of twenty circled as the wind blew them north. Eventually they reached
a couple hundred feet in the air and started gliding south painfully
slowly.

If anyone wants to add Turkey Vulture to their yard list, late
September is the time to do it. Even in my often painfully unbirdy old
Lynnwood home I was able to see groups of multiple TV's last year any
time I could spend an hour or to outside with good views of the sky at
mid-day. April can yield results as well, but in my limited experience
you'll typically get single birds rather than large groups and the
overall migration is more protracted.

My other nice surprise this morning were six Violet-Green Swallows
headed south. I mistakenly thought these might be my last of the year,
but a few minutes later a large flock appeared feeding over the river.
Estimating loose swallow flocks is a fools errand, but there were
obviously well over a hundred birds and perhaps several times that
many. All appear to be Violet-Green.

A few minutes ago a Merlin took advantage of the group and soared by
with a swallow in its talons.


Josh Adams
Cathcart, WA