End of May

Despite good flying weather the raptor migration dropped off after May 19th, with daily totals only breaking the hundred mark one time through the end of the month. Leading to long slow days on the mountain punctuated by the early arrival of blackflies which made the slowing migration all the more noticeable. As typical for late May juvenile Broad-winged Hawks have taken over the majority of the flight from the adults, nearly all are molting flight feathers resulting in gaps in their wings. Notable was a late adult Northern Goshawk on the 30th (photo below).

Off the mountain passerines have kept things interesting. The Loggerhead Shrike was present through the 21st, Green Heron on the 25th, Red-headed Woodpecker the 24th & 25th, Olive-sided & Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, Warbling Vireo on the 21st, Northern Mockingbird on the 28th, Gray-cheeked Thrush, 40+ Savannah Sparrows, 19 species of warblers on the 21st, Western Meadowlark on the 22nd, and Yellow-headed Blackbirds on the 20th & 27.