Candler Mountain
Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 18, 2008
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 4 9 9
Bald Eagle 2 2 2
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 7 10 10
Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 1 1
Broad-winged Hawk 4856 5013 5013
Red-tailed Hawk 2 4 4
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 4 6 6
Merlin 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 4876 5045 5045
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Dale Miller, Gene Sattler
Observers: Dale Miller
Weather:
Cloud cover went from 0% to 15% by 1:00 EST, peaked at 50% at 3:00 PM, and
returned to nearly 0% by 5:00 PM. Winds NE at 2 all day, temperature 72-75
degrees F.
Raptor Observations:
Hourly totals (EST) for BW were 9(0), 10(0), 11(29), 12(94), 1(606), 2(1149),
3(2941), and 4(37). Largest kettles/streams were 600 at 2:55, 1500 at 3:40,
and 1400 at 3:55. Birds were very high at a 4 initially, then a three
after we started getting some decent cloud cover, when the larger kettles
started coming through. Fortunately these large numbers of birds were
relatively close on either side of and above our small ridge (1136'),
because the sky and birds' altitude made spotting birds any distance away
difficult. We could and probably did miss a significant number of birds
that were more than a quarter of a mile away.
Non-raptor Observations:
Monarchs - 50
Dragonflies - 2
Nighthawk - 1 at 5:07 EST
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Report submitted by Gene Sattler (edsattle@xxxxxxxxxxx)
Site Description:
Candler Mountain is located on the southeast edge of Lynchburg, VA, in
Virginia's Inner Piedmont. It is 45 miles SSE of Rockfish Gap and 32 miles
E of Harvey's Knob. The primary site is a bare knob known locally as the
"Bald Spot". It is part of a minor ridge that parallels the Blue Ridge
Parkway, which is 16 miles to the NW. The bare knob offers a 360 degree
view from an elevation of 1336 feet. The Candler Mountain count is in its
twelfth year, and is sponsored by the Liberty University Department of
Biology and the Lynchburg Bird Club. The count is currently conducted only
from early September to the end of the month because of a shortage of
counters.
For directions to the lookout visit "virtual birder.com" and take the
"Backgrounder" link. Next choose "Hawk Watch", then "Find A Watch", and
scroll down to Virginia, or contact me.
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