Sharp-shinned Hawks were everywhere! One morning they were passing through the dunes in groups of three every few minutes for over an hour. I can't imagine flying a helicopter through skies like that, and this Sharpie didn't seem thrilled to have the company.
Looking for a Palm Warbler and finding a Californian with a camera, a flick of her wings took her past me toward the beach.
The Great Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, and Laughing Gulls didn't even flinch as she flew past. They reserve their freak outs for the Bald Eagles and Peregrines.
Sharpie Alley is what I started calling the dune by the beach. The birds would peel off from the dune and head toward the hawk watch platform near the base of the lighthouse.
This scene was repeated hundred of times. Here it comes... there it goes. The flight is hyper directional.
Keeping an eye out for prey and predators while migrating.
A crowd gathered last Sunday to hear about the hawk banding program and see an accipiter up close.