end of migration

Tuesday morning I did a 'final' walk around the place in time to see a medium-sized hawk flying with and even diving at a much large raptor. It took me a moment to figure out what was going on as the bigger bird was a powerful looking creature with broad wings and a long tail. Only when it tilted a bit soaring on the strong winds was I able to see the white rump. Northern Harrier in migration, flapping and soaring overhead, is quite a different bird from the marsh-hunting Harriers that we usually see with their up-titled V-shaped wings and slow coursing flight. The bird attacking it was an accipiter, almost certainly a Cooper's Hawk.

The N. Harrier was not the largest raptor of the day. While turning onto Eastport Manor Road a little later in the day, a huge raptor suddenly appeared right above the road, flying away from us with a series of shallow flaps followed by soaring on wide, flat wings. It was, without a doubt, an eagle, although on the basis of a rear silhouette alone, I couldn't be absolutely certain which one.

The midday winter feeding flock was active with its very handsome male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker -- red crest, red throat, yellow belly and all -- plus Golden-crowned Kinglets, White-breasted Nuthatch, Yellow-rumped Warblers, White-throated Sparrows, the other three woodpeckers and the usual Chickadees and Titmice. Flocks of American Robins are still on the move and there are many Swamp Sparrows in the marsh along with American Goldfinches and House Finches feeding on the Baccharis. But most of the passerine migration seems to be over. In fact, our personal migration is over and so this will be my last regular post for a while.

Eric Salzman