Saturday Morning on Jeff's Dune

Yesterday morning I counted migrating birds on Jeff's Dune (Muskegon State Park north of the Channel) from 9:00-11:00, then stayed up there until almost noon chatting with a geo-caching guy and his dog Bennett.  Even without binoculars, we saw more migrating hawks that hour than the previous two (perhaps because the east wind picked up and brought the birds lower?).

I counted 180 migrating Blue Jays the first hour (only a few after that) with the largest flock of 40+ birds at 9:40.  Three Broad-winged Hawks popped out of the trees at 9:45.  The Merlin and a Cooper's Hawk perched and hunted the area again this morning.  Five Red-tailed Hawks (a family?) soared together up by Snug Harbor throughout the morning (as did an adult Bald Eagle).

Migrating raptors during the first two hours included 7 brown-plumaged Northern Harriers ...

48 Sharp-shinned Hawks ...

10 Broad-winged Hawks ...

1 immature Red-tailed Hawk ...

17 American Kestrels, 2 non-adult Bald Eagles, and four unidentifiables.

Northern Flickers again called and flew around the area but not so many as last week.  There were a few V's of Canada Geese around, a male Wood Duck flew by, and an immature Red-headed Woodpecker rested for a few minutes on a snag west of the dune.

- Ric