Last hawkwatch was this past Saturday. It was REALLY slow towards the end, but worth the wait when a bald eagle wheeled in from around the headlands to the southwest, soared up through the east quadrant, and finally disappeared to the north near Mount Tamalpais.

Terrie was first to spot it; we happened to be together in the south quadrant. As soon as I got it in my binoculars, I knew it was something different - a HUGE bird with big slow flappings of the wings. At first I thought it might be an Osprey, but by then one of the more expert hawkwatchers came over and yelled "Bald Eagle." Awesome. We couldn't have asked for a better finish.

We also got a good look at another golden eagle.

Today I saw a pair of adult red-shouldered hawks - and ID'd the first one by its head-on cupped-wings profile.

We learned a lot in these nine Saturdays, and we saw all but two of the 19 species (Northern Goshawk and Rough-Legged Hawk). We may yet see those two this winter, though, when we go up by the Oregon state line in Feb.

I am a lot more comfortable with my ID skills; if I get a good enough look at a close-up raptor, I can probably tell you what it is -- or at least what it isn't.

We'll volunteer again next year, definitely.