Montclair Hawkwatch

As is typical at Montclair, November was the slowest month this season, with the bulk of migrants composed of Turkey Vultures and Red-shouldered Hawks. The latter did not seem to accompany the former as they frequently did in October, but instead, often appeared to materialize suddenly out of thin air,…...

This was another period of feast or famine at Montclair, punctuated by some weather events (in other words, a typical October).  The 13th was certainly a famine, with only a single migrant Sharp-shinned counted, but accipiter numbers started to pick up the following day, and some decently large groups of…...

It is often the case with hawk-watching that the birds seem to be nowhere until they are everywhere.  This is an important concept to remind yourself of, especially when you begin to question why you are spending your third hour sitting in a chair staring at a blank sky.  That…...

The last 3 weeks of September were not spectacular in terms of raptor numbers, but nevertheless produced some good sightings and interesting migration data.  Typically, this is the period all Montclair-area birders wait with bated breath for the “big push” of Broad-winged Hawks, a true avian spectacle that is usually…...

The Fall 2021 season at Montclair got off to a rough start this Wednesday, September 1st as the remnants of Hurricane Ida started to hit the region in the early morning. A lone, intrepid Merlin, flying close over the watch during a pause in the rain, was the first recorded…...

The second half of this unique 2020 season had its share of challenges but was also a boon of amazing observations. Bad weather continued through the last two weeks of October and caused us to miss a few days; despite this, these proved to be two of our best weeks…...

The weather was tough this week with Monday and Friday being washed out and Tuesday’s count being delayed; however, migration continued and our cast of characters shifted a bit to reflect the changing season. Turkey Vultures are dominating the scene while the ratio of Sharp-shinned to Cooper’s Hawks is widening…...

The morning of October 5th was dominated by songbirds as noisy flocks of Pine Siskins and Purple Finches bounced past the watch, a sure sign of the season. As the day went on, the finches quieted down and any shred of cloud cover left us. This made for a challenging…...

Saying Goodbye to September and Remembering a Montclair Icon As we round out the month of September, we reluctantly say goodbye to peak season for Broad-winged Hawks. This week’s total was just 51 individuals. What was a down week for raptors overall hosted a large diversity of songbirds including many…...