2014 Hawk Watch at Lighthouse Point, New Haven

Lighthouse Point Park Hawk Watch, August to December

The hawk flight schedule seemed to have “moved to the right”, this year. We had a record slow August, with no real cold fronts, and then the worst September since full coverage began in 1980. October totals rebounded, although the traditional peak Columbus Day weekend failed to bring huge numbers. Our peak season day was later; 1159 hawks on October 19. November’s totals were well-within the 10-year averages and we had a record breaking December.

But it’s not just about the numbers. Everyone who visited has a memory of the afternoon “falcon follies” or an occasional Golden Eagle, or even the Goshawk which barreled, low, past onlookers from the south, and just a few feet above ground.

And, it’s not just about the hawks. Although there seemed to be fewer neotropical migrants, Gnatcatchers, hummingbirds, Dickcissels, thousands of Tree Swallows and even Purple Finch flew past, in September. October brought late Nighthawks, a good flight of nuthatches, woodpeckers (including a Red-Headed on 10/10), Siskins and Purple Finch as well as those ubiquitous Blue Jays. A Sandhill Crane was seen on 10/11, 2 more were spotted on 11/2, and an amazing 23 were seen on 11/28! November brings Robins, Bluebirds and Grackles – a lot of Grackles. On 11/8, an estimated 3-5 million blackbirds flew over in clouds that lasted for minutes. This far surpasses the previous record estimate of 1.5 million on 11/9/2013.

Additional information including detailed daily notes and trend analysis can be found on Hawkcount.org.