The big excitement on the hill was a massive dragonfly hatch somewhere east of Brockway. There were about 25-50 flying west per second for nearly two straight hours! None stopped, but the one I was able to catch was a FOUR-SPOTTED SKIMMER, though from what I could see, the majority of the dragonflies appeared to be another species.
Is raptor migration slowing down? Conditions early today seemed to be right for a decent flight, but the morning only yielded 8 BALD EAGLES, 5 RED-TAILS and 51 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS. As the day progressed however, the winds switched from the S to the NW, and the temp dropped from a high of 21C around noon to 14C at count’s end. With two weeks left, we are sloowwwly approaching 10K eastbound birds on the year. I hope we make it!
Max
Big Dragonfly thing going on at Seney NWR today as well. I only saw 1-2 4-spotted Skimmers, the majority appeared to be chalk-fronted corporals, and a few different kinds of darners.
Be patient- I still think you will get a kite before the season is out.
I saw lots of dragonflies at the Peshekee Grade on Sunday, including one I photographed that turned out to be a Harlequin Darner–a rare species, apparently. I’ve seen nothing like the amazing dragonfly flight you had at Brockway though. It’s neat to read about some of these quirky little things that happen on the mountain.