Earlier this week Libby Mojica filled-in for me while I was out of town in Duluth, MN visiting Hawk Ridge, one of the major bird migration banding sites in North America. I didn’t have to go so far from Virginia to see birds, especially raptors, migrating because Coastal Virginia is also one of the major migration routes for birds. I strongly encourage our viewers to visit one of these sites. This is the peak of the fall migration. It is the best opportunity you will ever have to see birds up close in hand, or flying overhead sometimes in large kettles. Kiptopeke State Park on the Virginia Eastern Shore offers such an opportunity. The Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory operates a Hawk Watch and bird banding station there (www.cvwo.org) for both hawks and smaller passerines.
The photos above were taken by me on my visit earlier this week to Hawk Ridge. #1 is a juvenile female sharp-shinned hawk, #2 is a second -year female sharp-shinned hawk, #3 is a juvenile male American kestrel, and #4 is a juvenile female northern goshawk. (Photos by Reese F Lukei Jr – copyrighted)