July Summary
Top 5 Species:
- Osprey -- 38 observations (+1 from last year)
- Turkey Vulture -- 24 obs (+3 from last year)
- Red-tailed Hawk -- 21 obs (-2 from last year)
- Bald Eagle -- 17 obs (new to August Top 5)
- Great Horned Owl -- 15 obs (new to August Top 5)
Total Species: 18
Top 5 Observers (Observations):
- birdwhisperer -- 36 obs
- @draginous -- 15 obs
- @danithedeer -- 14 obs
- @davedrum -- 7 obs
- @ca_photo_hobbyist -- 6 obs
Top 5 Observers (Species):
- birdwhisperer -- 7 species
- danithedeer -- 6 species
- draginous -- 5 species
- @markrobinson -- 5 species
- ca_photo_hobbyist -- 4 species
Species Still Not Observed: White-tailed Kite, Northern Goshawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Barn Owl, Flammulated Owl, Western Screech-Owl, Snowy Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, Spotted Owl, Barred Owl, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Boreal Owl, Merlin, Gyrfalcon
Counties Needing Observations: WA (9) -- Ferry, Douglas, Yakima, Lincoln, Franklin, Benton, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin -- OR (5) -- Sherman, Gilliam, Umatilla, Grant and Malheur
News and Updates:
A very delayed post, but in the month of July, the project acclimated 167 observations. Let's compare those numbers to the end of July in previous years:
2019: 63 obs
2020: 113 obs (79% gain)
2021: 152 obs (34% gain)
2022: 167 obs (9% gain)
And as you see with the stats below, this growth in the project is consistent with the growth of iNaturalist as a whole in July:
2019: 1,707,093 obs
2020: 3,009,661 obs (76% gain)
2021: 3,769,551 obs (25% gain)
2022: 4,322,685 obs (14% gain)
If we continue submitting the same amount of observations per month, this project will end with 835 observations, well below our record low. If we maintain a 14% observation gain throughout the year, we will end with 1443. Goes to show how much a few people can do. So keep up the good work.
Week 5
Week five spanned from July 29-August 4th and we got a record breaking 53 observations from 12 species. We added the Western Screech-Owl to the list that week. Observation of the week goes to @cgates326 for a Lake County, Oregon Ferruginous Hawk. Adults of this species can be identified from other Buteos by the reddish, fully feathered legs.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/128947509
Week 6
39 observations were added to the project to the last week of events, from 11 species of raptor. A Northern Goshawk was added during this. The observation of the week goes to @philkahler for a photo of a screaming Swainson's Hawk in Walla Walla, Washington. Look for the white bib, dark breast and long wings when identifying this one.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130308216
August is the start of migration season, so keep a lookout for Broad-winged and Red-shouldered Hawks. Summer birds like Flammulated Owls and Swainson's Hawks are leaving soon. Get some Osprey observations while they're still here. And of course, good luck to all of you.