NJ RAPTORS!
I have been to a couple of the widely popular "hawk watches" in the area. These have included the Montclair Hawk Watch and the State Line Lookout watch. Both of these are official stations where raptors are identified and numbers are tallied in order to keep tabs on the health of the populations.
At Montclair I hiked up over 100 stairs straight up to the top where a platform has been constructed on the cliff top. There were around 40 people at the watch by the time I left. Elsa Greenstone runs the watch now and can be seen up there. She is a valuable source of information regarding the hawk watches and birding. The "kettles", seen in migrating Broad-winged Hawk populations, were definitely the highlight of the trip!
Along with the beautiful hawk formations and migration activity there is an AMAZING view of the New York City skyline.
Broad-winged Hawks forming "kettles"
The other place I have been two a couple times now is State Line Lookout in Alpine, NJ. This is not only one of the most scenic vistas of the Hudson River Valley in Bergen County, but is also a great place to see a good number and variety of raptor species. During this migration season from about mid-September to early November there is always a helpful counter stationed from about 9am to 4pm (same as at Montclair and other dozen or so official state hawk counting places).
Many great photographers flock to this place during this time of year to catch raptors in flight and also birds that land in some of the nearby dead trees. I was lucky enough to see several species in these trees and also got some decent flight shots. There is also a resident Turkey Vulture that has an arrow stuck through its left wing. The arrow does not seem to bother or hinder the bird's flight. Shame on the person who attempted to kill it! :(
Red-tailed Hawk
Resident Turkey Vulture with arrow through its wing!
Resident Peregrine Falcon
Resident Osprey
Migrating Sharp-shinned Hawk
Merlin top and lower is Merlin with Blue Jay for size comparison
The last area that I have seen a lot of raptor activity is Richard W. DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst, NJ. Beyond the large variety of shore birds and wading birds there are passerines and most definitely raptors. Opsrey, Peregrine Falcon, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier and American Kestrals are all common. Kestrals are one of the more popular birds among photographers to capture image. They are extremely acrobatic and will land in sunflower plants (the most highly sought after images!). The following photos depict a scene I was lucky enough to catch. The top kestral is a female while the one on the bottom(and also hovering around her) is the male. Capturing this moment was a mix of a little luck and spending my entire Sunday afternoons birding.
Scene of a male American Kestral attempting to copulate with female. I think she was teasing. ;)
WASHINGTON RAPTORS AT NISQUALLY NWR!
The last week of August and first few days of September I was in the Pacific Northwest visiting a good friend in Tacoma, WA and also went to a family wedding in Portland, OR. During the vacation I took every opportunity I could to bird and do bird photography. In total, I saw 22 new life birds and saw dozens of other species I have already seen that were regionally distinct morphs. Some of the species, like wood warblers and woodpeckers displayed these subtle to obvious differences. A post is definitely coming over the next few weeks that will exhibit the diversity of birds I saw. This particular section of this post will be raptors only. ;)
There were several resident Northern Harriers that were actively hunting in the meadows.
Pics from an active Peregrine hunt! A Bald Eagle had just flown through the area to get to a tree on a far off ridge. The mere presence of the eagle caused many of the herons, gulls, terns, ravens and crows in the shallow channels to scatter about. It appeared as though the resident peregrine used this frequent causal/behavioral relationship (between the eagle and the other resident birds) to try to get an easier meal. It was fascinating to observe one raptor's routine behavior influence another raptor's hunting technique!
I was not able to get any good photos of the resident Bald Eagles. Had I been a little more on my guard I would have gotten some absolutely amazing ones! The other adult bird and one of their young were farther off standing in the muddy terminal channels draining into the Puget Sound.
Red-tailed Hawk way out there!
I plan on going to Montclair Hawk Watch at least one more time in October when other raptor species are coming through. I also plan to go to State Line Lookout on some Monday and Friday mornings until most of the action is over around early November.
Happy Raptoring!
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