[SBB] Raptors in Sunnyvale

[[[email protected]] (Bill Maney)]

Hi all,
I saw no rarities but had a rare day today, spotting 6 raptor species.
On my weekly 2 hour lunchtime bike ride around the backside of Sunnyvale
Baylands Park and the softball park I spotted the following raptor
species:
RED TAILED HAWK (3)
TURKEY VULTURE (2)
AMERICAN KESTRAL beautiful male in the dry wetlands behind Baylands.
PEREGRINE FALCON on a power tower near the pumping station.  At first I
got a distant view of this bird being dive bombed by a smaller raptor
that I was not able to ID (kestral?).  Then the perigrine flew to the
tower right near me and I got great views.
NORTHERN HARRIER in the marsh in the same area.  I could almost see the
harrier and the peregrine in the same binocular view.
I think I saw the famous Baylands Merlin but I was not sure of the ID
and I lost the bird while looking in my guide.  It was at the far end of
the wave walk.  The bird I saw was about the right size and had bold
dark vertical streaks on the breast that were quite obvious before it
took off.  
A LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE in the same area get's honorable mention as a
wannabe raptor.
As a bonus, a COOPER'S HAWK was perched on a tower above Fair Oaks Park
with it's long rounded tail obvious.

Had to share my good fortune.

Bill Maney
Sunnyvale.

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