ML50871651

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

At Cape Chiniak, the easternmost point if land on Kodiak Island, on a sunny day with moderate winds from the northwest, Jeff Allen and I witnessed a major (for Kodiak) movement of raptors. While walking along the beach and bluffs between Chiniak Lake and the bay, we watched raptors circle in the sky over Cape Chiniak and then either fly out over the ocean towards Long and Afognak Islands, or fly past us to the west towards Kalsin Bay. It appeared that the birds were arriving at the Cape from the south, the direction of Narrow Cape. In 3.5 hours, we estimated that we saw about 8 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 7 Rough-legged Hwaks, 2 Buteo sp., 8 Northern Harriers, 14 Merlins, and 1 American Kestrel. While it is common to see raptors migrating in the fall, the numbers here were unprecedented.

Technical information

Model

C2100UZ

ISO

100

Focal length

70 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/3.5

Shutter speed

1/650 sec

Dimensions

491 pixels x 456 pixels

Original file size

34 KB