May 10 [Day 77] (Valley View site) It was a beautiful morning with a temperature of -4C at 0700, almost cloudless and calm, but at 0830 cumulus cloud started to spill over the Piitaistakis Ridge from the east and by 1000 all ridges were obscured with 100% stratocumulus cloud cover. The ridges began to clear around 1230 and were more or less clear by 1300. In the afternoon the temperature rose to 8.5C at 1600 with a cumulus cloud cover ranging from 60-80% allowing periods of sunshine, ground winds were light and variable while ridge winds were light to moderate ENE to ESE. The first migrant raptor, a subadult Golden Eagle disappeared into cloud at 1216 and by 1600 only 7 birds had been seen including the season’s first Broad-winged Hawk (an adult light morph) at 1343 [species #73] and the season’s second adult tundrius Peregrine Falcon at 1555. Between 1607 and 1654, however, there was a sudden spate of migrant raptors and the 17 birds seen was the highest hourly count since April 17, comprising 1 Osprey, 5 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 1 Cooper’s Hawk, 4 Broad-winged Hawks, 1 Red-tailed Hawk and 5 Golden Eagles. Subsequently only 4 more birds went north as hail and light rain showers developed, with the last bird being a juvenile Northern Harrier at 1851. The 8 Golden Eagles comprised 4 subadults and 4 juveniles, while the 5 Broad-winged Hawks was the highest spring single-day count for the site and included 2 dark-morph adult birds soaring together with an unaged light morph bird at 1640. 12.25 hours (978.2) OSPR 1 (15), BAEA 1 (386), NOHA 1 (15), SSHA 8 (59), COHA 1 (13), BWHA 5 (5), RTHA 1 (106), GOEA 8 (2152), AMKE 1 (2), PEFA 1 (2) TOTAL 28 (2920)