We counted an amazing 17,294 Turkey Vultures! Our highest day was 2,343 birds on Sep. 30th, while our lowest day was a sad 6 birds on Oct. 6th. Seven daily totals were above the historical daily average, while 14 days were below average (Figure 1). The hot temperatures caused by the high pressure system that settled in on Oct. 1st really slowed down migration and probably contributed to our below average total count.
Special thanks go out to Aaron Yappert who coordinated the count and was out there almost every day of the count. Over the 3 weeks, 24 people contributed to the count, and collectively, you all donated over 290 hours!
In terms of other migrants, we had an excellent raptor year! (Figure 2) We counted 270 individuals of 13 species. The most abundant migrant was Cooper’s Hawk, with 107 passing through, a new high count surpassing the 1994 high of 105 individuals. We also documented record high counts of Swainson’s Hawk (15), Northern Harrier (16), Ferruginous Hawk (8), and Broad-winged Hawk (6). The Broad-winged Hawk show during the first week was quite something, with migrants passing through on four consecutive days! While a non-migrant, we documented Clark’s Nutcrackers on 4 count days – it seems their irruptive behavior this year has brought them to the Kern River Valley.
Again, thank you to all the volunteers and to Aaron for your time and contributions this year!
