Harvey's Knob
Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 08, 2010
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 7 25 34
Bald Eagle 3 12 20
Northern Harrier 0 1 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 8 10
Cooper's Hawk 0 2 3
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 1 22 25
Red-tailed Hawk 5 13 24
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 0 3 3
Merlin 0 0 1
Peregrine Falcon 0 1 2
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: 19 87 125
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Observation start time: 07:30:00
Observation end time: 16:30:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Bill Grant
Observers:
Visitors:
Lots of motorcycles again although not as many as the past two weeks.
Cars and motorcycles today from California, Connecticut, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Ontario,
Canada
Weather:
Temps were very variable starting at 23.8C dropping to 22.7Cby 9:00 EST to
26.1C at 10:00 then dropping steadily each hour until the end of the watch.
Winds were constant out of the west all day long with speeds from 2-4
Beaufort and between 2:00-4:00 gusting into B5 at times. Absolutely no wind
at all on the east side of Harvey's which brought all birds down the west
side.
There was a light drizzle from starting right at 10:00 and ending just
before 11:00.
Visibility was poor due to lots of haze but improved rapidly around noon.
Sky was completely cloudy and also began to improve rapidly at the 12:00
hour. Clouds were moving very fast from west to east.
Raptor Observations:
Surprisingly the first bird an Osprey appeared at 7:42 EST followed by 6
more Osprey over the next 4 hours. Then the Eagles began at 12:35 a
fully mature followed by another at 12:47. See the note on the 2:00-3:00
hourly report.
Non-raptor Observations:
The Ravens appeared at 8:03, 4 Chimney Swifts at 9:58 which eventually
became a group of 10 that flew around the site all day. A total of 5 TV's
and 6 BV's were also observed during the day (I guess the 3 Amigos invited
several of their friends to join them today).
A number of Blue Jays were observed along with quite a few Goldfinches. A
Woodpecker was busy for about 30 minutes on a tree somewhere on the
southern end of the Knob.
The Bear Hunters were present for quite a wile today with three different
trucks at the site off and on.
Butterflies were not near as numerous as the past two weeks possibly due
to the persistent rather high winds. A total of 8 Monarchs passed through.
Predictions:
Should be a good day ladies, forecast high at 80F with NW winds should
produce some good birds. Maybe the Broadwings will get started in earnest
since I had one late one today,
Thanks in advance to whomever is going to cover for me next Wednesay as I
will be in Boston preparing for my daughter's wedding. By the way a year
ago next Wednesday we had over 4000 birds - so good luck.
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Report submitted by Bill Grant (clarinetman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Harvey's Knob Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://bijame.googlepages.com/home
