March 22 Daily Flight Summary

I always feel like... somebody's watching me.  Finally figured out what all the commotion is about in the side canyon to the NW of the observation point (OP).  Resident adult Golden Eagle staking it's claim to the western entrance to the Smith River Canyon.

Official Counter         

Adam Richardson

Observers       

None

Weather         

Mostly clear skies with some high cirrus and stratus clouds at 09:00 with a temperature of -6C.  It was the first “warm” day of the count season with a high of 6C and temperatures climbing above freezing by 12:30 which is another first.  Winds primarily out of the south at 4-12kph.  Excellent visibility and the barometric pressure fell slightly.  Currently there is still 30cm of snow along the banks of the Smith River.

Raptor Notes 

A 9 hour effort yielded 5 migrants today: BE(2) GOEA (1) RL (1) UU (1).  For the most part BAEA seem to be flying down the Smith River or coming in from a draw to the SW of the OP.  The RLHA and UU were both flying slightly to the W of the OP which is the first time that flight line has been used this year.  The GOEA flew from Jumbo to Berkins Butte before continuing N into the canyon.  The migrants so far this year aren’t moving until late in the afternoon coinciding with the temperature climbing above 0C.  The first migrant today came through in the 13:00 hour with a trickle after that.  So far for the season with the exception of 14 March I am struggling to detect 1-2 birds an hour in the afternoon.

Residents were moderately active today with the adult light-morphed RTHA moving by 11:00 near Jumbo.  This bird spent most of the day in this vicinity.  Resident GOEA and BAEA were active as well.  The GOEA most likely have a nest site to the NW of the OP in a small canyon.  I can hear one of the birds calling from here frequently and noticed later in the afternoon that they are now making use of a rocky bluff in this vicinity which has melted out sooner than the surrounding mountains and fields.  It obviously creates some thermal lift and they appear to like to perch on top of the bluff.  These two adult GOEA are the only pair I see frequently soaring together for now.  Today’s conditions allowed them to make repeated circuits from this vicinity back to the N to Jumbo only to repeat the glide back over to this canyon.  It is this same canyon I believe I saw one of the eagles carrying a stick into.

Non-raptor Notes

The sweet song of a SOSP (1) was greeting me from the banks of the Smith River this morning as I walked to the pit toilet.  (1)  COME showed up today, but seemed confused about whether to proceed N or not.  It eventually wheeled back around to the S and joined the growing numbers of waterbirds at the Johnston Pasture.  (7) SACR were making their way N as well, but decided to join the two ongoing birds at the Johnston Pasture as well.  It was interesting to observe on of the seven break from the flock and coax the rest of them to abort their northward journey.  Seeing this behavior repeatedly makes me think migratory birds are well versed in stopping short for the day even though the conditions for migration are ideal.  I would imagine many species have overshot open water multiple times on their way north this year.

Visitors           

None.  I will have a detailed post tonight with information about the temporary closure notice at Camp Baker due to snow and the frozen Smith River.  I will also provide an update on our snowpack.  I have also located the excellent NOAA point forecast that ranger Nate Kluz directed me to which is much more accurate than what I was referring to (White Sulphur Springs, MT).

Next Day Forecast

Today

Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 50. South wind around 7 mph becoming west in the afternoon.

Tonight

A slight chance of rain and snow after 11pm. Patchy fog after 10pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 22. Northwest wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

-->