Well....it look long enough this season...the 1,000th bird for the College
Creek hawkwatch, a Turkey Vulture, passed by today, May 13th. It was with an
intense wave of 30 other birds that crossed the river together in about 15
minutes, struggling against a stiff north wind. The group consisted of 5 Bald
Eagles, 4 Ospreys and 22 Turkey Vultures. The conditions for migration have
been quite poor.....very windy , cool and rainy, for most of the past week.
As a comparison, during last year's record-breaking season, the 1,000th bird
was recorded on the amazingly early date of April 2nd. For the two previous
years, the dates for the 1,000th were April 11th and 19th respectively.
With last year's severe drought, we shouldn't complain about the wet weather
this year, but it has reduced our coverage considerably and perhaps altered
migration routes. We will continue for more days throughout May hoping for
Mississippi and Swallow-tailed kites. Bald Eagles generally also make a good
showing at this time.
Brian Taber
College Creek Hawkwatch is a program of Coastal Virginia Wildlife
Observatory and is located on the James River just east of Williamsburg.
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