The Fourth Annual Raptor Migration Festival fulfilled expectations this year with great
raptor viewing from Chelan Ridge to Harts
Pass. The North Cascades Basecamp was proud to be
involved with a booth at Pateros Memorial
Park. A crowd of 30 joined us at the Basecamp on
Saturday night for summer garden vegetable curry soup and emmer brownies with ice cream
dessert, followed by a great presentation by Andy Stepniewski of Yakima Audubon.
Andy and Ellen led 15+ participants up to Harts
Pass on Sunday morning to watch
more of the migration magic. The sunny
ridgeline was ideal on this day for migrating raptors; wings set back, head
thrust forward, and hardly a flap needed except for the balancing act to
overcompensate for gusts of wind reaching 20-30 mph. The highlight of the day was acrobatic
prairie falcons at the Slate Peak
parking area, numerous osprey riding the winds, and rocket-fast merlins chasing
pipets. We watched over 50 birds in
their migration south, catching those thermals and riding the gusty winds. Happy travels and we’ll see you next
year!
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