Raptor Count 2015. Day 19. Back to the future, Egyptian Vulture and a lot of birds.
At last, the electrical problems on the island have been fixed and we are back in the present times, with electrical power and internet connection.
Many thanks to Fotini, the doctor of the island, who let us cook at her place!
The first day with no electricity has been a good day for the eyes of the birders on Antikythira, with more than one hundred Honey Buzzards and several Black Kites swarming in the evening sky before roosting on the island. A nice goodbye to the volunteers Silvia, Petros and Nicoleta.
Happy birders enjoying the dance of the Honey Buzzards
The new month began with a nice sighting: a juvenile Egyptian Vulture at it first migratory travel! Best wishes for a safe journey.
Juvenile Egyptian Vulture flying over our heads on September 1st
In the same day, More than 160 Honey Buzzards were flying like crazy in the wind. They couldn’t make up their mind on whether to leave or not, in the strong easterly wind, and flock by flock merged into a bigger one that finally spent the night here.
The best day for the count so far has been yesterday, 2 September: 577 Honey Buzzards, plus 8 Black Kites, 17 Marsh Harriers and 3 Hobbies.
The wind had dropped to a mild breeze and changed to westerly directions, being more favourable for the flight of the migrants.
Today the wind had been strong again, but kept blowing from west and north-west. Many birds have been counted also today, and a juvenile Montagu’s Harrier appeared in a flock of Honey Buzzards.
Today’s count:
| Pernis apivorus | 254 |
| Milvus migrans | 12 |
| Circus aeruginosus | 11 |
| Circus pygargus | 1 |
| Accipiter nisus | 2 |
| Falco subbuteo | 1 |
Posted: September 3rd, 2015 under migration, Raptor Migration Monitoring, raptors, Volunteering.
Comments: none