Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch
Waynesboro, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 16, 2008
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
BV 0 0 0
TV 0 0 0
OS 11 43 59
BE 3 10 20
NH 0 2 4
SS 19 105 123
CH 3 15 19
NG 0 0 0
RS 0 1 1
BW 1122 1801 2044
RT 1 10 10
RL 0 0 0
GE 0 1 1
AK 0 52 56
ML 0 1 1
PG 2 4 4
UA 0 0 0
UB 0 2 2
UF 0 0 0
UE 0 0 0
UR 0 1 2
Total: 1161 2048 2346
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Vic Laubach
Observers: Dave Hunter
Visitors:
Rock Moeslein, Alice Davis, Marrilyn Gillaspie, Marshal Faintich, Jim
Smith, Mo Gresshen, and Marlene & Steve
Weather:
Today was pretty much overcast all day except for the last couple of hours
where a little bit of blue sky and sun started showing (which coincided
with the big BW kettles). Very light breezes from the west in the morning
to no wind at all by 1pm, however the lower layer of clouds were moving to
the SE at a good pace in the afternoon. Temps 18.5-24.5C. Humidity ranged
from 44-67%.
Raptor Observations:
A big day for Broad-winged Hawks which were streaming in small groups
overhead from N to S until 3pm. Small kettles observed in early afternoon
and then the big kettles appeared in the last 2 hours of the day which
corresponded to some clearing in the sky. The big kettles all appeared to
the W over Waynesboro with many of them having 50-100 birds and one having
227 birds. These kettles of BW Hawks all streamed out to the SW rather than
due S. The hourly BW counts were: 0 (8-9am), 2 (9-10am), 9 (10-11am), 9
(11-12pm), 48 (12-1pm), 85 (1-2pm), 43 (2-3pm), 548 (3-4pm), 378 (4-5pm).
We also had 3 Bald Eagles (an adult and sub-adult traveling together at
12:20pm and another adult at 12:55pm).
Two Peregrine Falcons observed: one adult came in close at 10:50am and
circled slowly right overhead for several minutes and gave very close
views, and another (age unknown) flew high overhead at 3:24pm.
Non-raptor Observations:
Migrating Palm Warbler and Black & White Warbler.
2 Hummingbirds.
16 Monarchs
Predictions:
Should be a less cloudy day ... maybe even more BW Hawks??
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Report submitted by Brenda Tekin (bt8x@xxxxxxxxxxxx)
Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch, VA information may be found at:
http://home.ntelos.net/~btkin/rockfish_gap_hawk_watch
Directions to site:
The Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch is held on the grounds of the Inn at Afton,
located on the southern side of Rockfish Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains,
just above where I-64 (exit 99) intersects with the southern end of the
Skyline Drive and the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway, just east of
Waynesboro, VA and approximately 22 miles west of Charlottesville, VA.
