Harvey's Knob
Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 17, 2007
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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 0 0 189
Bald Eagle 0 2 70
Northern Harrier 0 6 51
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 40 797
Cooper's Hawk 0 12 142
Northern Goshawk 0 1 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 8 27
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 9633
Red-tailed Hawk 18 384 801
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 3 9
American Kestrel 0 1 102
Merlin 0 1 21
Peregrine Falcon 0 1 23
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 2
Unknown Buteo 0 1 11
Unknown Falcon 0 1 3
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 1 20
Mississippi Kite 0 0 1
Total: 19 462 11904
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Observation start time: 08:30:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 6.5 hours
Official Counter: Mike Purdy, Tad Finnell
Observers: Baron Gibson, Bill Adams, Bill James, Dillard Childress,
Katie James, Mike Purdy, Tad Finnell
Visitors:
Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert stopped for awhile.
Weather:
Chilly, overcast day. A light breeze started from the SW, shifted to SE,
then E for the remainder of the count day. Upper level winds were from the
SW all day. Temperature 42 -46 F. Mostly cloudy with the sun breaking
through occasionally. Visibility was excellent.
Raptor Observations:
Today we broke the all time record of raptors seen in a season in 30 years
of counting here. The old record was 11,893, set in 1996. At 12:59 a
Red-tailed Hawk sailed by tying the record, and at 1:13 another Red-tailed
Hawk made it's way past the hawkwatch breaking the record.
Our sights are now set on hitting the 12,000 mark. For the rest of the
season each additional hawk counted represents a new high count.
Non-raptor Observations:
Several flocks of Robins were observed flying over, all heading SW. Other
birds seen at the hawkwatch included Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,
Golden-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped Chickadee, Carolina Chickadee, Hairy
Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebirds, Pileated Woodpecker, Juncos, White-breasted
Nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, American Goldfinches, Ravens, a crow, and both
vultures.
Predictions:
Forecast is for light West winds, partly cloudy, and temps in the low 60's
in the valleys.
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Report submitted by Mike Purdy (MikeLPurdy@xxxxxxx)
Harvey's Knob Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://bijame.googlepages.com/home
