July Summary
It is the last day of July so now it's time for the report on what went down in the project over the month. Here we go!
Top 5 Species:
Osprey -- 26
Swainson's Hawk -- 18
Red-tailed Hawk -- 18
Turkey Vulture -- 9
Great Horned -- 8
Total Species Overall: 19
Top 5 Observations Submitted: birdwhisperer 34 obs, @uta_stansburiana 14 obs, @cgates326 7 obs, @flammulated 5 obs and @josegarrido 4 obs
Top 5 Most Species: uta_stansburiana 8 species, birdwhisperer 7 species, flammulated 5 species, cgates326 5 species and josegarrido 3 species
Species Still Not Observed: White-tailed Kite, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Barn Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Snowy Owl, Northern Hawk-Owl, Spotted Owl, Great Gray Owl, Short-eared Owl, Boreal Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Merlin, Gyrfalcon and Peregrine Falcon -- 16 species
Counties Needing Obsercations: WA (9) -- Ferry, Pend Oreille, Grant, Lincoln, Adams, Franklin, Klickitat, Columbia and Garfield -- OR (6) -- Morrow, Jefferson, Wheeler, Grant, Klamath and Malheur
News and What to Expect in August: This was great starter month for the project, a good 113 observations of raptors across inland Washington and Oregon. Osprey have a significant rise in sightings compared to last year, probably because of all the young. Washington observations definitely need some work but occasionally I go to work in Idaho, so I can expect to tag some sightings in southeastern Washington. And I would really like to see some sightings for Ferry County, WA, I know it's the best place in these two states to find Northern Hawk-Owls.
These hundred observations also made it hard to choose an observation for the month but after careful consideration and using a different spotlight from Obs of the Week, I've decided to make @patty_teague close-up shot of a Turkey Vulture the observation of the month. These vultures are really on the borderline of what I would call a raptor. Though hawks and eagles go under several names, I've always thought of "birds of prey" as any bird that eats flesh and that includes herons, pelicans, loons, grebes, shirkes, etc. And to a lesser extent, every bird is a bird of prey as crossbills are sometimes referred to as "cone predators". To me, "raptor" is a more apporiate term and describes any bird of prey that has 1) a beak make for tearing flesh and 2) talons to catch, kill and hold prey. New World vultures used to be a part of the order Accipitriformes but it was split a few years ago. Though typically associated as a raptor, they don't exactly have talons to hunt. Whether or no they are a true raptor, they're on the project anyhow.
August starts tomorrow, what should we expect? I really want a Broad-winged Hawk this year for the project. Though their peak migration month is September, there are 4 ebird August records of this species within the project's perimeters, all of them along the Cascade east slope. If you birding that area, look up and see if any hawks have a white subterminal band. I am kind of shocked nobody spotted a Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin or Peregrine Falcon, so it would be nice to get them down soon. August is also a good month to do some summer owling. Almost all Oregon sightings of Boreal Owls are in late summer. But who knows what will happen? Hopefully we are all staying safe and good raptor watching!