raptors

A big raptor was perched on a dead tree back of the marsh; when I arrived, it took off making a pretty impressive scream. Unfortunately the sky was overcast and the early morning light was distinctly poor so I wasn't able to make out any details. The bird was, by wing shape and silhouette (broad wings, rather short tail), almost certainly a buteo -- not a falcon, not an accipiter, not an eagle -- so that reduces the likely possibilities considerably. It wasn't a Red-tailed Hawk -- it seemed somewhat smaller and the scream was the wrong scream, nothing like Buteo jamaicensis. I immediately thought of Broad=winged Hawk -- not a common migrant in these parts but but definitely an early September migrant. But that species has a rather wimpy whistle, even less like the protest call of this bird. If I rule out the Western buteos as truly unlikely, that leaves Red-shouldered Hawk which is not a common raptor hereabouts but certainly a possibility. I have one good record from 2011 and the scream seems right but I'll never be completely certain.

This has been a good time for raptors. The Merlin that I reported on Tuesday was still here yesterday (at least I think it was the same bird) and this time it was being chivvied by the Blue Jays who caught my attention with the horrible cracking sound that they make in the presence of raptors. Don't know why they ignored Tuesday's perched Merlin but they didn't ignore it yesterday morning. Merlin was also seen yesterday on Dune Road and it has been seen in the Riverhead Sod Fields. As I have mentioned before, I think the Merlins move with the big Tree Swallow migration which probably originates in the Merlin's northerly breeding grounds.

The Great Horned Owl was in top hooting form last night. He didn't get any response for a while but eventually a female chimed in. Her pitch was just a tone higher than his and eventually the two overlapped creating a dissonant owl duet (and proving that there were indeed two birds involved)

Eric Salzman