Mendota Fire Tower
Mendota, VA, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 07, 2013
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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 6 10 10
Bald Eagle 0 3 3
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 0
Cooper's Hawk 0 2 2
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 1 1
Broad-winged Hawk 35 52 52
Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 1 1 1
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 1 1 1
Total: 43 70 70
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 17:30:00
Total observation time: 8.5 hours
Official Counter: Thomas O. Hunter
Observers: Jennifer Meade
Visitors:
Blake Logan, Adam Alley, Josh Alley, Jacob Miller and Caleb Miller. These
young men are students at local schools(Abingdon High, John Battle High and
Emory and Henry College). Adam and Josh are new members of the Bristol Bird
Club and I had invited them to come and help on the hawkcount. Along with
their birding friends they decided they would hike to the tower to help
count hawks. They are polite, courteous, cooperative, inquisitive and well
on their way to becoming excellent birders. I certainly enjoyed working
with them and hope they come back again.
Weather:
There were clear skies early with more cloud cover later in the afternoon.
Very warm with the winds shifting during the day from west to north and
northwest.
Raptor Observations:
Raptor traffic increased somewhat today. The hawks were very high and with
clear skies they were difficult to spot. For example, 2 Ospreys were
observed above the ridge line to the northeast. They gained altitude until
we lost sight of them in the haze and we never did see them pass the tower.
Non-raptor Observations:
4 Red-headed Woodpeckers, 10 plus Common Nighthawks, Eastern Wood Peewee,
Tennessee Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk.
There were 2 Common Ravens performing aerial acrobatics.
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Report submitted by Thomas O. Hunter (opiehunter@xxxxxxxxx)
