With constant mild to moderate south-east winds yesterday raptor migration really kicked into high gear. I ad close to 1500 Sharp-shinned Hawks, and several hundred other raptors. Additionally Sandhill Cranes really started migration with over 1000 passing overhead. Things were so busy that I never took a photo. So, all of the photos today were taken at Whitefish Point in the past.
Sharp-shinned Hawks are the main raptor through the season here, it’s only later in April and early May that Buteos will start to outnumber them.
Red-tailed Hawks are a standard raptor at all hawk watches. Here they are as well, but won’t peak for a while. Recently there have been dark Red-tailed Hawks almost daily here.
A leucistic (partial albino) Red-tailed Hawk. Yesterday there was an adult that spent the afternoon here.
Northern Harriers (this one is a male), passed in reasonable numbers yesterday. They’re typically more numerous earlier and later in the day.
Rough-legged Hawks come in two color-morphs. The bird on the left is a light-morph bird. The one on the right is a dark-morph bird.
Sandhill Cranes nest locally, but also migrate by the tens of thousands here.
There birds pass in large strings, often numbering in the hundreds. You can tell that they are coming by their raucous, primitive-sounding calls.
More later…
Michael's Place 
Raptors, especially hawks, falcons, eagles and owls, are my favorite, so thank you for sending out your observations and beautiful photos!! I love the hawk watch at WPBO!
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