Many of the Kestrels and Merlins follow this course when the winds have a strong westerly component just ahead/behind a frontal passage. Although it is rare to have a bird exactly on the dune top -- they drop out of the wind a bit to the right, down through the inner dunes. Or they work to the left -- on the strongest winds, appearing to go pelagic, but they still have a couple dozen meters of vegetated dune before they even reach the beach.
This northernmost point in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Parker River National Wildlife Refuge -- the first parking area in the refuge -- is one of the best spots to observe the Spring hawk migration of American Kestrels and Merlins in North America.
The camera was digital [Fujifilm MX-1700], and LivePicture's PhotoVista stitched over a dozen pictures into one seamless image.
Below is the current Spring 2000 hawk migration at Plum Island. Well, it's a written account posted just after it happens. It would way better if you came out and caught the flight firsthand...
Here's the final total for Spring '00:
Key to HMANA [Hawk Migration Association of North America] codes:
BV-Black Vulture, TV-Turkey Vulture, OS-Osprey, BE-Bald Eagle, NH-Northern Harrier,
SS-Sharp-shinned Hawk, CH-Cooper's Hawk, NG-Northern Goshawk, RS-Red-shouldered Hawk,
BW-Broad-winged Hawk, SW-Swainson's Hawk, RT-Red-tailed Hawk, RL-Rough-legged Hawk,
AK-American Kestrel, ML-Merlin, PG-Peregrine Falcon.
This count is conducted by the Natural Raptor Association [nra]: a dis-organization of hawk watchers.
The words and data are copyright © 2000 Tom Carrolan.
Go to main Plum Island Hawk Watch page.
Also online... a page with a weather note or two and some late Spring hawk watching from Cape Cod.
Subject: Plum Island MA: Season Totals To Date
Date: 5/10/00 6:52 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife
Refuge near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. The
count is conducted from Parking Lot #1.
The Spring hawk migration from Plum Island is online at www.hawksaloft.com/plum/
Below is the flight for the 2000 season to date, and where the count stood one
year ago today.
The following have been deemed to be migrating:
Season[thru 5/10/99]
TV 30 [28]
OS 42 [43]
BE 5 [12]
NH 65 [201]
SS 304 [384]
CH 12 [7]
BW 2 [1]
RS 1 [5]
RT 8 [89]
RL 1 [2]
AK 974[1275]
ML 72 [121]
PG 16 [6]
___
1532[2174]
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 5/4-5/00
Date: 5/5/00 8:02 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife
Refuge near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. The
count is conducted from Parking Lot #1.
The Spring hawk migration from Plum Island is online at www.hawksaloft.com/plum/
Thursday, 5/4: Straight South winds creates a Pedro Martinez kind-of-a-flight...
"high and in"... with no consistent Westerly component to the wind the birds
moved west a bit over the marsh; the numbers/variety were best between 10 and
noon DST; the afternoon juv. eagle and TVs were in the dunes.
Friday, 5/5: Rain ending at 9:30DST, followed by a light NW wind and temps
getting quickly into the 70s; the flight dwindled into the early afternoon.
The following were deemed to be migrating:
5/4 5/5
TV 3 6
OS 3 1
BE 1 0
NH 2 0
SS 10 25
AK 57 38
ML 4 0
PG 2 0
___ ___
82 70
Hawk Food: On Thursday [5/4] Least Terns and the first migrating RTHummingbird
were seen from the hawk watch, while an A. Oystercatcher and 7 prs. of Piping
Plover were reported by the plover warden and refuge staff out on the beach.
On Friday [5/5] 400+ Blue Jays,in groups ranging from 15 to 30, lifted off in the
morning; and 5 RTHummers at the hawk watch.
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 5/1-2/00
Date: 5/2/00 7:01 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife
Refuge near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. The
count is conducted from Parking Lot #1.
The Spring hawk migration from Plum Island is online at www.hawksaloft.com/plum/
5/1: classic Spring migration conditions... W6 shifting/increasing to SW14 out
ahead of an approaching cold front; four immie Coops - a season's worth in one
day - packing in amongst a nice flight of Kestrels and Sharpies... and the year's
first Broadwing.
5/2: clearing in the afternoon following a lingering cold front [forecast to be
"a fast mover"], NW10 and into the low 60s finally; the birds came between 3 and
5 pm DST; the chronic group of hawk addicts, cell phones in hand, waited and were
not disappointed when the Merlins started up followed by a close adult tundrius
Peregrine tercel herding shorebirds, and the flight was on!
The following were deemed to be migrating:
5/1 5/2
TV 1 0
OS 6 2
NH 8 2
BE 1 0
SS 97 2
CH 4 0
BW 1 0 [adult in the dunes]
RT 0 4 [3i/1a in the dunes]
AK 105 53
ML 1 9
PG 2 1
___ ___
226 73
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 4/28-30/00 & Season
Date: 4/29/00 2:28 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife
Refuge near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. The
count is conducted from Parking Lot #1.
The Spring hawk migration from Plum Island is online at www.hawksaloft.com/plum/
Friday, 28 April -- Light West winds, intermittent mist and drizzle, temps in low
40s, and about every kind of foul weather cloud formation available; with that
said, the hawks came by in the first decent flight since early April.
Saturday, 29 April -- NE winds but there were Sharpies left over on the refuge
from Friday and they mostly passed by 8am DST.
Sunday, 30 April -- Moderate N to NNW winds created a flight on the deck but w/o
a strong Westerly component, "the deck" extended from the dune line in across the
marsh for over half a mile. Below are the flights for the weekend, the 2000
season to date, and where the count stood one year ago today.
The following were deemed to be migrating:
4/28 4/29 4/30 Season[end 4/30/99]
TV 3 0 1 20 [25]
OS 10 0 1 30 [24]
BE 1 0 1 3 [4]
NH 12 2 0 53 [162]
SS 90 38 10 166 [228]
CH 1 1 1 7 [5]
RS 0 0 0 1 [5]
RT 0 0 0 4 [82]
RL 1 0 0 1 [2]
AK 57 8 85 683[1225]
ML 2 2 25 58 [69]
PG 2 0 3 11 [2]
___ ___ ___ ___
180 51 127 1037[1834]
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 4/25/00
Date: 4/25/00 8:20 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife
Refuge near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. The
count is conducted from Parking Lot #1.
The Spring hawk migration from Plum Island is online at www.hawksaloft.com/plum/
On the heels of yesterday's Merlin trickle, more of the same: another dose of
low, close adult male Merlins... not a full crop in the lot. The flight was all
in the morning and shut off when the NE winds went straight East and
strengthened.
The following were deemed to be migrating:
OS 1
NH 1
SS 1
AK 5
ML 9
PG 1
___
18
Hawk Food: 1 Great Blue Heron and 389 Double-crested Cormorants.
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 4/24/00
Date: 4/24/00 8:41 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. The count is
conducted from Parking Lot #1.
The Spring hawk migration from Plum Island is online at www.hawksaloft.com/plum/
Following 8 days under the influence of two Nor'easter-style weather systems
delivering varying amount of precipitation, today the winds came from a direction
other than one associated with East: NNW winds at 8-12mph; 50F with occasional
sprinkles under mostly heavy overcast.
The flight? Mostly "rain birds" -- Ospreys and Merlins, with a couple of Peregrines
thrown in. Low, close adult male Merlins dominated... many with full crops.
The following were deemed to be migrating:
TV 2
OS 11
NH 1
SS 2
RT 1
AK 3
ML 13
PG 2
___
35
Hawk Food: 12 Great Blue Herons, 90 Common Grackles, 467 Double-crested Cormorants,
and the first Purple Martin of the year.
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 4/15/00 & Season Total
Date: 4/16/00 6:21 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife
Refuge near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. The
count is conducted from Parking Lot #1.
The Spring hawk migration from Plum Island is online at www.hawksaloft.com/plum/
On the gradient between a coastal low approaching from the south and a system
coming from the west, winds were warm out of the WSW 8 increasing to 14, gusting
to 18 mph; temps reached 70F.
What was interesting was most reporting weather stations noted a SW or even SSW
wind direction. The hawk flight reflected this difference: where the ground and
upper level winds were slightly askew. We had a two-tier flight... such as it
was... if fifty-something hawks constitutes a "flight." About half the total was
low to medium, but there were birds that were high enough that only a scope
could i.d. them when they were directly overhead. They were just dots in the
binoculars.
This high flight occurs along many water edges when the winds begin to parallel
the shoreline -- whether on the Atlantic or the Great Lakes -- and the birds
aren't as concerned about being blown out over the water. With a WSW wind, you'd
expect a low flight, but the upper level SSW to SW flow created a fearless
flight of birds over the lower ones.
The following were deemed to be migrating:
4/15 Season
TV 3 13
OS 2 4
BE 0 1
NH 2 35
SS 11 25
CH 0 4
RS 0 1
RT 0 3
AK 35 525
ML 0 7
PG 1i 3
___ ___
54 621
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 4/10/00
Date: 4/10/00 11:46 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. The count is
conducted from Parking Lot #1.
The Spring hawk migration from Plum Island is online at www.hawksaloft.com/plum/
Still very windy... for the third straight day: WNW most of the day, going NW in the
afternoon. Speeds running 12-14mph with gusts in the low 20s at ground level. Temps
made it the mid-40sF. Squall lines appeared in the late afternoon and spits of rain
and the odd snow flake made it to the ground.
The tail end of last week's Kestrel flight came by. But the day was most interesting
for the birds that didn't migrate! By mid-day the Kestrel flight became hard to count
as birds would approach from the south and more often than not retreat. I essentially
stopped counted just after noon. Reports from birders coming by the hawk watch noted a
congregation of Kestrels on the southern half of the island/refuge.
This is not a common behavior at Plum. The conditions were right for migration, the
day was young, but the birds had called it a day, early.
Two reports: one observer carefully counted 21 Kestrels staying in the fields on the
southern end; while another reported 7 Kestrels sitting in one small tree. Now this is
a little reported Fall phenom. -- this congregation of Kestrels -- but here we had in
the Spring. Possibly exhaustion was a factor... from the relentless three days of
winds and rain.
The juv. Bald Eagle was the first of the Spring migration; the adult Peregrine, second
of this young season, was enjoyed by several observers as it passed nearly overhead.
The season total crossed 500 today [557], lead by the Kestrel numbers, of course
[490].
The following were deemed to be migrating:
BE 1j
NH 2
SS 2
CH 1
AK 70
PG 1a
___
77
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 4/8/00
Date: 4/8/00 7:49 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. This count is
conducted from Parking Lot #1.
The Spring hawk migration from Plum Island is online at www.hawksaloft.com/plum/
Just a little windy... would be an understatement... all over the Northeast. At the
peak of the winds, I had winds in the mid-20's with sustained gusts to 28 and gusts
just over 34 mph [handheld anemometer].
Temps in the high 60s F, ahead of a sharp cold front. Winds were S most of the day,
with moments of SSW and SW, but mostly straight South: not a very productive winds for
moving hawks to the East coast. Predictions of SW winds never materialized and neither
did the hawks.
As happens everywhere, when winds parallel the water's edge -- Atlantic Ocean, Great
Lakes, etc. -- the birds quickly and fearlessly rose out of sight with no threat of
being blown out over the water.
The following were deemed to be migrating:
NH 1
AK 29
ML 1
___
31
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 4/7/00
Date: 4/7/00 8:29 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. This count is
conducted from Parking Lot #1.
The Spring hawk migration from Plum Island is online at www.hawksaloft.com/plum/
Aftermath of Wednesday's flight, interrupted by yesterday's unsettled weather. Light
W winds spent most of day coming out of the NW at 12 gusting to 16. As temps edged
into the 60s, the winds slacked and finally came onshore out front of an approaching
warm front... always a queasy weather system at Plum.
A immature Tundrius Peregrine spent over a half hour in view: beating in from the
south, close enough for birders to see the face mark while "playing" with a young
Harrier on the deck and then going on soar for a MassAudubon field trip.
The following were deemed to be migrating:
TV 1
OS 1
NH 12 many adult males
CH 1
SS 4
RT 1
AK 93
PG 1
___
114
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 4/5/00
Date: 4/5/00 8:52 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife
Refuge near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border.
This count is conducted from Parking Lot #1.
The Spring hawk migration from Plum Island is online at www.hawksaloft.com/plum/
Howling WNW winds [18 mph, gusts to 22 ] on the heels of a frontal passage.
Temps were predicted to approach 55-60F on SW winds, but didn't leave the
mid-40s with the arrival of a noticeably colder air mass by early afternoon.
The following were deemed to be migrating:
NH 9
SS 1
RT 1
AK 197
ML 2
___
210
Hawk Food: a dearth of other spp. today, besides the odd flock of icterids, a
passing Flicker, and an occasional, calling Golden-crowned Kinglet.
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 4/2/00
Date: 4/2/00 8:13 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. This count is
conducted from Parking Lot #1.
The Spring hawk migration from Plum Island is online at www.hawksaloft.com/plum/
SW winds running 6mph early, and, after a lull drifting to SSW, an approaching frontal
system upped the ante to SW 14 with gusts to 20; temperatures up to 69F; a complex,
messy system approaching our area.
On any wind, roughly parallel to the water's edge [anywhere], hawks tend to "sky"
easily fearless of being blown out over the thermal-absorbing, Spring waters. And
that what half the Kestrels were doing today.
The following were deemed to be migrating:
TV 4 [1 bird 15' off the deck in the dunes]
NH 1
CH 2i [half the season's total anticipated total today]
RS 1a
RT 1
AK 28
ML 1
___
38
Hawk Food: at first light, Golden-crowned Kinglets were everywhere... not much else
at the small end of the bird spectrum; occasional Great Blue Herons up high;
migrant butterflies -- 4 Milbert's Tortoise Shell-like -- round, red, beating butterflies.
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 3/30/00
Date: 3/30/00 7:19 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. This count is
conducted from Parking Lot #1.
Windy, chilly, still March... when the sun goes behind the clouds. Nearly 50F, with
WNW winds running 14mph with gusts to 18. Again today, air became more and more
unstable leading to afternoon squall lines all around.
This was a morning flight of birds remaindered from yesterday's numbers.
Unfortunately, a significant movement of Kestrels here happened last weekend, but I
was at Derby Hill for the 1700 hawk day... I can almost live with the trade-off [Got
away with a February run to Derby for 160+ Roughlegs in two days]. March Kestrel
total would easily be over 100 with some of last weekend's numbers.
The following were deemed to be migrating:
NH 1i
AK 21
___
22
In the area today but not on the move: 2 Roughlegs -- one light and one dark
immature, enjoyed by all; two Harriers -- one adult and one immature; 1 TV and 2 RT
-- one adult and an immature.
==========
Subject: Plum Island MA: 3/29/00
Date: 3/29/00 8:14 PM
To: HMANA Mailing List, BIRDHAWK@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
The Plum Island Hawk Watch is more specifically Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
near Newburyport MA on the Atlantic Ocean at the MA/NH state border. This count is
conducted from Parking Lot #1.
Strong, gusty SW winds and falling temps ending in increasingly unstable skies and rain
in amongst three low pressure centers; temps fell from 55F to 45F, winds SW at 18
w/gusts to 24.
The following were deemed to be migrating:
TV 2
NH 3i
SS 1a
AK 32
ML 1
___
39
In addition, one young light morph Roughleg seen from the hawk watch; also, a pair of
adult Northern Harriers remained in the area on and off.
==========
==========
Nota Bene: Not all days at the watch are represented by sent emails. For that reason,
the sum of the above numbers will be less than the figures shown in the table at the
top of this page.
However, every day/bird is on a season's spreadsheet updated several times a week.
Copies are on display at the hawk watch, the Vistor's Center [when its open], the
refuge gatehouse, and at the Parker River NWR headquarters. Spreadsheets will be
available here by the end of the Spring.
Stay tuned.