Condo Birding Update - August 14 to August 24

August 14: NW winds! Highlights:

Willow Flycatcher
Hairy Woodpecker (NEW for the patch/condo! Where the HK did it come from?)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Kingbird (1 high flying migrant)
Puddle Duck Sp - 7 (high flying migrants)

Not exactly NW wind lakewatching birds, but I'll take the new patch bird (HAWO=198) - it's also #174 for my condo proper.

August 15:

Great Egret - 1
Bobolink - 1 --- NEW condo/patch bird! (175/199 respectively) - flew over my building (calling) at 11:20am!
Brown-headed Cowbird - (one notable "lost" (?) juvenile - circling around the top of the other condo building and chased by a House Sparrow... I was all excited for nothing!)

August 18:

Home late in the day - 10 Bonaparte's Gulls on light NE winds were my first of the fall (and a good sign!)

August 19: NE winds!!! Yeah!!!! Tis the season - almost?

Common Loon - 5    (all in basic-type garb??)
Baltimore Oriole - 4   (3 high-flying migrants? - all singles)
Green Heron - 1
Osprey - 2
A Kestrel - 1
Bonaparte's Gull - 1
Great Black-backed Gull - 1
Common Tern - 21 (pure flock late)
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 1 (1st alt/2nd basic) - at 7:30pm!

A major highlight was one of the flyby  Osprey - carrying a very large goldfish! If only I had a camera... No Jaegers though... I'm also not sure when it happens, but at some point - all the Common Terns seemingly vanish (the locals) and we get left with these rare sightings of wandering/migrant flocks. It has happened!

August 20: Not exactly what I wanted - but still fun! Light winds, E, S, SW, rain, sun, - everything

Great Egret - 1
Green Heron - 1
Osprey - 2
A. Kestrel - 2
RT Hummingbird - 1
Belted Kingfisher - 1
Baltimore Oriole - 13 (more high flying migrants)
Common Loon - 3
Mallard - 22
N. Shoveller - 2
Long-tailed Duck - 7
White-winged Scoter - 10

August 21 - didn't watch nearly as much as previous days

3 Green-winged Teal
6 Long-tailed Duck
1 Common Loon
1 American Kestrel

August 23 - birds! weather! winds!

1 Peregrine Falcon
2 Osprey
1 Common Loon
4 Common Terns
1 Red-necked Grebe
1 Bonaparte's Gull

Long-tailed Jaeger!!!!!!! But not at my condo... My lovely ladyfriend and I stopped at Van Wagner's (Lakeland) for 60 seconds before a juv LTJA flew right down the beach and directly over everyones head. Awesome!!! (10-15 feet away!)

August 24- moar east winds!!!!

But first, songbirds were evident from my balcony early. I scored:

1 Gray Catbird
1 Eastern Kingbird
1 Trail's Flycatcher
1 Warbling Vireo
1 Cape May Warbler (new for my condo proper)
1 Yellow Warbler
1 Least Flycatcher

- all darn good things from 160ft in the air!

Then, the "other" stuff! -

10 Common Loons
2 Osprey
1 Bonaparte's Gull
1 Great Egret
1 Belted Kingfisher
1 Common Nighthawk (dusk)
1 Peregrine Falcon
1 Black-legged Kittiwake
1 Forster's Tern


Pretty sweet stuff!!! The Kittiwake was exciting as my first "pelagic" of the season, whereas the Forester's Tern is actually a much rarer bird for Hamilton at the time/year - but lets be honest - the Kittiwake was pretty freakin great.

More to come! Tis the season!