11/9 - New Haven - Lighthouse Ponit Park Hawkwatch - 8 migrating raptors over six hours until rain began: 1 Juvenile Bale Eagle, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 Cooper's Hawk, 1 American Kestrel, 1 Merlin, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 1 Unidentified Buteo, 1 Unidentified Raptor. Early there were big rivers of Grackles and Blackbirds far to the north of the watch site, filling the horizon from east to west. Almost impossible to see in the haze, and certainly impossible to count. Based upon past experience an estimate would be between 5 and 10 thousand. Counted: 86 Canada Geese, 117 Eastern Bluebirds, 122 Red-winged Blackbirds, 1 Chimney Swift, 267 Grackles, 1 American Pipit, 108 American Robins, 11 American Goldfinches, 39 American Crows flying West over the harbor in two large groups, 114 Finch species, 2 Double-crested Cormorants. In the park: Flocks of Juncos, Savannah Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, Carolina Wren, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Northern Flicker, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, local Red-tailed Hawk juvenile, local Cooper's Hawk female. Thanks go to Mike Marsano. -- The Rev. Dana L. Campbell Interim Rector, Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Middletown CT dana.l.campbell@gmail.com “For a lack of attention a thousand forms of loveliness elude us everyday.” ―Evelyn Underhill, *Mysticism: a Study in the Nature & Development of Spiritual Consciousness*