So now that the 2020 Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch is in the books, where will Ottinger be taking her skills next? After 10 or 20 years of data, we get an idea of which species are increasing, which ones are declining.” The watch still gives an opportunity over time to census the population of different species. I think the populations are still there, but weather patterns are changing. I’m not alarmed by the declining numbers. Birds aren’t migrating as early as they used to, and some are not migrating as far south as they used to. With warmer weather, we’re not getting as many fronts in the fall that force birds to leave their northern feeding grounds. “It’s not getting cold as early as it used to. Ottinger said generally speaking, numbers of raptors migrating past Cape Henlopen southward have been declining over the past five years. We also saw a Mississippi Kite this year, which is rare for the East Coast.” The last time we saw a Magnificent Frigatebird was in 2005. Maybe it was pushed up north of us by west or southwest winds associated with one of the many hurricanes this year. The sighting of the Magnificent Frigatebird, said Ottinger, came on Nov. Northwest and west, not too strong, and right at the time when we get our peak flight here.” “On that great day in October, there was a big push of birds after a cold front moved through. Ottinger said counts at Cape Henlopen are especially dependent on the wind. Some go straight across, she said others may go out to sea still others go up the Jersey side of the Delaware Bay before crossing the waterway as it narrows. But Gruver said once the birds reach the point at Cape May, they head off in all kinds of directions to make their bay crossing. There’s a huge variety of bird life there.”Ĭape May, across the mouth of Delaware Bay from Cape Henlopen, is often touted as a birder's paradise in the fall because southward migrating species tend to funnel to the point there and concentrate before crossing Delaware Bay. With the ocean right there, you get shore birds, sea ducks as well as the migrating raptors. The Hawk Watch is a great place for birding. “I love birds, all of them, but especially the raptors and eagles. Delaware’s Fish and Wildlife Division provides grant money to pay for her services. Jen Ottinger, a professional birder, has been contracted for the past nine years to bring her expertise to the Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch. Geological Service’s bird-banding program. “Bruce Peterjohn is retired from the U.S. Gruver said having volunteers with particular expertise is especially helpful. When all was said and done, we still counted more hawks this year than last.” They’re a bird of the gulf coast of Florida and Texas. And then there was another day when we spotted our most unusual bird of the season – a Magnificent Frigatebird. They were coming at us from all directions, 360 degrees. We counted 765 hawks and other raptors that day – 459 of them sharp-shins. Some days you couldn’t even see the ocean.”īut there were other days that were nothing short of spectacular. Sue Gruver, a volunteer coordinator, said this fall’s weather wasn’t particularly helpful. They carefully record and report each sighting to DOS, and maintain a whiteboard at the platform showing species and numbers. they scan the skies with bare eyes and binoculars. Volunteers and one professional birder, coordinated by Delaware Ornithological Society, mount the steep steps to the observation platform seven days a week. This year’s Hawk Watch season, running annually from Sept. And then there are days when dense fog and rain make spotting southerly migrating hawks just about impossible. There are days when hawks, eagles and other birds of prey fly fast and furious over the Hawk Watch platform atop an oceanfront bunker in Cape Henlopen State Park.
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