Seasonal Research

Montclair Hawkwatch Update- October 10th

The past week at Montclair Hawkwatch has been cool and breezy overall, bringing the season’s first consistent fall weather. On Friday, October 4th, steady northwestern winds and regular gusts helped carry quite a few migrants southward. 488 Canada Geese traveled overhead this day; some in noticeable clean “V” formations, and…...

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Cape May Hawkwatch Update – October 8th

Another exciting week at the Cape May Hawkwatch. Every hawkwatcher in the northeast region was salivating at the forecast for Friday October 4th. It was the perfect set up for a massive flight of raptors. Multiple days of slow migration, causing lots of birds to be held up to our…...

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Morning Flight Update – October 7, 2019

This week on the Dike was fairly quiet in terms of large movements, but the slower days allowed us to really appreciate the newer arrivals! Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, those harbingers of the late season, were both present in decent numbers this week. We had hoped for a great flight…...

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Montclair Hawkwatch Update- October 3rd

Weather at the Montclair Hawkwatch has been somewhat erratic lately, with some days bringing chilly breezes and others summertime heat. There has been a bit of precipitation as well, which is much needed given the desiccated leaves on many of the trees and shrubs surrounding the view from the platform.…...

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Cape May Hawkwatch Update – October 3rd

We are now entering the prime window for raptor migration. Unfortunately, the weather has been unseasonably warm with less than ideal wind directions. Despite that, some decent flights have occurred in the last 2 weeks. September 21st brought light westerly winds in the AM which produced a good flight of…...

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Montclair Hawkwatch Update- September 26th

This past week at Montclair Hawkwatch has been great for seeing raptors, as well as a variety of other migrants. On the 22nd and 23rd, warm weather with limited winds increased all insect activity, including that of butterflies. Some monarchs flew southward mere inches above the platform, while others flew…...

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Morning Flight Update – September 27, 2019

This week featured some notable influxes of a few later Warblers, as well as a distinct departure of some of our early season migrants. While we only had one major flight, it was a good week overall with a few good flights and only one really slow day. Wednesday was…...

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Montclair Hawkwatch Update – September 19th

Fall migration data collection at the Montclair Hawkwatch began on September 1st, and over the course of the past two weeks, raptor migration activity has steadily been ramping up. On the 1st, two eager Broad-winged Hawks flew southward, leading the charge for future migrants. Until the end of the first…...

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Cape May Hawkwatch Update – September 19th

Greetings! Jesse Amesbury here, the 2019 Cape May Hawk Counter. You may remember me from 2016 when I was an interpretive naturalist at the hawk watch. Since then I have spent the subsequent two falls counting raptors in the Florida Keys and at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania. It is…...

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Morning Flight update – September 16, 2019

Hi all! My name is Jerald Reb and I’m super excited to be the Morning Flight Counter this fall! Some of you may remember me as one of the Interpretive Naturalists from the 2018 season. This season I’m looking forward to some spectacular flights past the dike, especially when the…...

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