September 18 [Day 24] This was the warmest day so far this season with the temperature ranging from 14C to 22.5C, but W winds gusting to 35 km/h in the afternoon ensured that we didn't get too hot. Cloud cover was 80-90% thick altostratus in the morning partially breaking up in the afternoon to altocumulus with some cirrus and cumulus producing difficult conditions in which to find, identify and age high flying birds. Deepening the morning gloom was persistent smoke haze which at least produced a spectacular sunrise and sunset. Yesterday afternoon's raptor shut-down persisted into this morning with only 2 migrants passing before noon, but thereafter movement was fairly steady with most birds flying very high and difficult to detect against a cloud cover that was either dazzling white altostratus or a cryptic pattern of altocumulus and blue sky patches. Thanks to the efforts of Teresa, Doug and Raymond we probably saw most of the birds that were moving today and we certainly didn't see any that we missed! Although Sharp-shinned Hawk (18) was again the most common species, it was not overwhelmingly so today, and generally there was a good variety of raptors moving. The highlight of the day was an adult Northern Goshawk and an adult dark morph Broad-winged Hawk gliding low overhead (which in itself was a highlight!) together at 1247. Because of the lighting conditions it was impossible to age many of the birds that appeared only as silhouettes. Passerine migration was relatively poor (only 9 Red-breasted Nuthatches for example) but it did included the 6th White-breasted Nuthatch of the season. 12.25 hours (268.42) OSPR 1 (7), NOHA 1 (22), SSHA 18 (578), COHA 11 (122), NOGO 5 (45), UA 4 (24), BWHA 1 (10), RTHA 10 (72), GOEA 12 (131), PRFA 1 (5), UU 5 (11) TOTAL 69 (1072)

September 17 [Day 23] Both the overnight low of 13C and the high of 21C were both seasonal highs, and it was still 19C at 1900. The wind was W all day generally light until 1300 then increasing to 20-30km/h occasionally gusting to 40 km/h. Cloud cover was initially 50% cirrus but gradually diminished throughout the day to just 5% by late afternoon. An adult male columbarius Merlin at 0759 was the earliest raptor seen this season and was quickly followed by a juvenile Northern Harrier at 0802 and 2 juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawks at 0816. Movement was subsequently steady until 1545 when a Sharp-shinned Hawk proved to be the 1000th migrant raptor of the season, but subsequently only 3 more migrants were seen, the last being a juvenile Northern Goshawk at 1703. This is the earliest date that we have reached the 1000 migrant level; in 2006 it was on September 24 and last year on September 22. Yet again the flight was dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks (42), but today saw the highest percentage (26%) of adult birds so far. All the day's 4 Red-tailed Hawks moved between 1428 and 1442, with two of them being adult dark morph "Harlan's Hawks". Passerine movement was also somewhat diminished but included the second Palm Warbler of the season along with 2 Blue Jays, 24 Clark's Nutcrackers, 33 Mountain Chickadees, 47 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 10 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 3 Mountain Bluebirds, 1 Townsend's Solitaire, 75 American Robins, 4 American Pipits, 34 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 Wilson's Warblers, 1 Chipping Sparrow, 3 White-crowned Sparrows, 27 Dark-eyed Juncos, 15 White-winged Crossbills and only 8 Pine Siskins. 11.5 hours (256.17) OSPR 1 (6), NOHA 2 (21), SSHA 42 (560), COHA 7 (111), NOGO 2 (40), UA 1 (20), RTHA 4 (62), GOEA 4 (119), MERL 1 (10), UU 1 (6) TOTAL 65 (1003)

September 16 [Day 22] It was again cloudless until 1300 when 70-100% diaphanous cirrostratus developed giving excellent observation conditions for the rest of the day. Again the temperature reached a high of 20C, and the wind was initially calm to NW becoming W gusting 20 km/h at 1300 but diminishing to light (<10 km/h) after 1700. Late in the day smoke haze developed for the first time this season. Once again morning movement was slow with just 4 raptor migrants recorded before 1200 when a concerted movement started that persisted to 1800 after which just 2 more birds were seen. Once again the flight was dominated by accipiters providing 98 of the day's total of 132 migrant raptors, with the 72 Sharp-shinned Hawks being the second highest total of the season. Seasonal highs to date were established for Broad-winged Hawk (4, including the first dark-morph of the season: an adult), Red-tailed Hawk (14) and American Kestrel (5), but Golden Eagles have not yet started moving in any numbers. A Prairie Falcon was seen to catch and eat a small songbird as it passed the site, and later an American Kestrel performed the same feat with a high-flying long-horned beetle: in neither case was their migratory momentum impeded in the slightest! Passerine movement was again strong and included second seasonal records for Swainson's Thrush and White-throated Sparrow, a single Black-billed Magpie was the 80th species seen at the site this fall and the 137 Red-breasted Nuthatches brought the monthly total for September to 2052. Other migrants included 4 Blue Jays, 7 Black-capped Chickadees, 24 Mountain Chickadees, 29 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 36 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 8 Mountain Bluebirds, 9 Townsend's Solitaires, 82 American Robins, 4 American Pipits, 1 Orange-crowned Warbler, 31 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 1 Wilson's Warbler and 203 Pine Siskins. A brief glimpse of a Bobcat just north of the site at 0937 was the first sighting of the animal this fall. 12 hours (244.67) SSHA 72 (518), COHA 17 (104), NOGO 6 (38), UA 3 (18), BWHA 4 (9), RTHA 14 (58), GOEA 8 (115), AMKE 5 (15), PRFA 1 (4), UU 2 (5) TOTAL 132 (938)

September 15 [Day 21] It was 11C at 0800 and rose to a season high 20C by 1500 and was still 18C at 1900. The sky was essentially cloudless all day and after 1300 there was not even a trace of cloud. As yesterday the wind was initially NW or WNW becoming W after 1600 and was consistently between 15 and 30 km/h all day. The blue-out conditions made observation challenging but an additional 8 pairs of eyes at the site for much of the day helped considerably. Movement started somewhat earlier than yesterday with the first Sharp-shinned Hawk moving south at 0917, but like yesterday concerted movement only started after noon and was steady until the last 2 Golden Eagles were seen at 1903. The 127 migrants counted was the second highest count for the season and comprised 11 species. Again the flight was dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks (63), and Bald Eagle (4), Red-tailed Hawk (9) and Golden Eagle (24) had their highest totals for the season to date: two of the Red-tails were juvenile dark morph "Harlan's Hawks". Passerine movement was relatively thin and included 48 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 29 Yellow-rumped Warblers and 1 Townsend's Warbler, but the highlight was a Common Raven that flew to the south along the ridge at 1330 with a golf ball in its bill. Where it found it is anybody's guess! 12.5 hours (232.67) OSPR 1 (5), BAEA 4 (11), NOHA 1 (19), SSHA 63 (446), COHA 7 (87), NOGO 6 (32), UA 4 (16), RTHA 9 (44), GOEA 24 (107), AMKE 2 (10), MERL 2 (9), PEFA 1 (5), UU 3 (3) TOTAL 127 (806)

September 14 [Day 20] It was cloudless until after noon when variable amounts (5-70%) of cirrus cloud developed greatly assisting in the location of high flying raptors. The temperature ranged from 7.5C to 16.6C with the temperature remaining around 16C for the entire afternoon after 1300. winds were initially light to moderate NW up to 1300, then moderate W for the rest of the day, gradually increasing in velocity reaching gusts of 40 km/h by the evening. The first migrant raptor was not seen until 1150 but then the rush was on and when the last Golden Eagle moved south at 1857 we had counted 196 migrants of 12 species, both numbers being season highs. Season's single day highs were set for Sharp-shinned Hawk (119), Northern Goshawk (7, all juveniles) and Merlin (3), and the Golden Eagle number equaled the previous high with 7 of the 22 birds moving after 1800. One of the 7 Red-tailed Hawks was our first "Harlan's" Hawk of the season. The highest single hour count was 1600-1700 with 48 birds passing and it was thanks to Denise's assistance that I was (just) able to keep up with them as most were flying extremely high against a very patchy cirrus backdrop. Passerine movement was varied but generally numbers continue to drop. The highlight of the movement was our second Magnolia Warbler and the first Grey-crowned Rosy-Finches (2) of the season. Other migrants included 30 Mountain Chickadees, 71 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 40 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 15 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 3 Mountain Bluebirds, 2 Townsend's Solitaires, 13 American Robins, 2 American Pipits, 1 Orange-crowned Warbler, 17 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 3 Townsend's Warblers, 2 Wilson's Warblers, 6 Chipping Sparrows, 1White-crowned Sparrow, 7 Red and 39 White-winged Crossbills and 106 Pine Siskins. A "Yellow-shafted" Northern Flicker was also a first for the season. Not a bad day! 12.5 hours (220.17) OSPR 3 (4), BAEA 2 (7), NOHA 3 (18), SSHA 119 (383), COHA 23 (80), NOGO 7 (26), UA 4 (12), RTHA 7 (35), GOEA 22 (83), AMKE 1 (8), MERL 3 (7), PEFA 1 (4), PRFA 1 (3) TOTAL 196 (679)

September 13 [Day 19] Heavy rain overnight turned to snow leaving 1 cm at
the site in the morning, with the temperature at 0C at 0800. Overnight the
pressure had risen 10 hPa and at 0700 the sky was almost cloudless but by
0900 a 100% stratocumulus cover had developed which dissipated to 10% at
1300, after which cirrus cloud cover progressively spread becoming 100%
cirrostratus at 1900. It was a sky that was a pleasure to watch! An initial
weak upslope (easterly) flow changed to westerly at 1030 that steadily
increased in velocity reaching 30 km/h at 1900. The temperature high for the
day was 11C. Because of the initial calm conditions the first migrant raptor
did not appear until 1201 and movement was slow and steady throughout the
afternoon with the last of the day's 8 Golden Eagles moving south at 1900.
The 8 Red-tailed Hawks was the highest daily total so far this season
reflecting the relative scarcity of the species so far. Passerine movement
was also muted by last night's storm and included 15 Red-breasted
Nuthatches, 1 White-breasted Nuthatch, 20 American Robins, 31 Yellow-rumped
Warblers, 17 Wilson's Warblers and only 2 White-winged Crossbills. The early
morning frosty conditions induced 19 Canada Geese in two skeins to fly high
to the west before 0900. 12 hours (207.67) NOHA 2 (15), SSHA 14 (264), COHA
3 (57), NOGO 2 (19), RTHA 8 (28), GOEA 8 (61) TOTAL 37 (483)

September 12 [Day 18] The temperature at 0800 was a very pleasant 10C and rose to
17C at 1300 equaling the highest temperature at the site this season. Winds were WNW
to W generally below 15 km/h and cirrostratus and cirrus cloud cover gave hazy
sunshine and good viewing conditions. After 1300 towering cumulus developed and at
1410 the wind shifted to E-NE, the temperature rapidly fell and as three days ago I
reached my car just as heavy rain started and the ridge was enveloped in cloud at
1820. The only raptor species moving in any significant numbers today was
Sharp-shinned Hawk comprising 27 of the 35 migrants seen with the first bird moving
at 0827 and the last at 1802 just before the weather closed in. Three male American
Kestrels were the first seen since August 30 and only one migrant Golden Eagle, a
subadult, moved south. It is probable that the slowly southward-moving weather
system occluded the mountains to the north for much of the day preventing the
passage of the larger birds, and the flow of the smaller birds also markedly
diminished after 1600. Yet again passerine movement was dominated by Red-breasted
Nuthatches (260) while Yellow-rumped Warblers (96) had their highest single-day
count so far this season, but Wilson's Warbler movement has now slowed to a trickle
with just 5 birds counted. Other warblers seen included the site's first ever
Tennessee Warbler (a first winter female), 2 Orange-crowned Warblers and 2
Townsend's Warblers. At 1612 the season's first migrant Common Loon flew high to the
SW, the 78th bird species recorded on the count so far. The mid afternoon warm
temperatures put 4 species of butterfly on the wing at the site including a first
record of Long Dash Skipper for the study area, the 47th butterfly species recorded
there this year. 11 hours (195.67) SSHA 27 (250) COHA 1 (54), NOGO 1 (7), RTHA 2
(20), GOEA 1 (53), AMKE 3 (7) TOTAL 35 (446)