Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch
Waynesboro, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Aug 23, 2008
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
BV 0 0 0
TV 0 0 0
OS 1 1 1
BE 1 3 3
NH 0 0 0
SS 0 7 7
CH 1 1 1
NG 0 0 0
RS 0 0 0
BW 131 165 165
RT 0 0 0
RL 0 0 0
GE 0 0 0
AK 0 0 0
ML 0 0 0
PG 0 0 0
UA 0 0 0
UB 0 0 0
UF 0 0 0
UE 0 0 0
UR 0 0 0
Total: 134 177 177
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 16:30:00
Total observation time: 9.5 hours
Official Counter: Vic Laubach
Observers: Robert Plank, Rose Thomas
Weather:
Although the valleys to the east and west were sunny at 7am, the hawk watch
was totally fogged in for the first 2 hours. The sun then came out where
the rest of the day was partly cloudy and quite nice! The starting temp was
18.5*C and the high was 26.5*C. The sky was about 50% cloudy all day which
really helped with spotting birds. Light winds from the East at 12-19km/hr
all day. The humidity started out at 79% and ended at 43%.
Raptor Observations:
The only raptor observed before 11am was an Osprey. A few Broad-winged
hawks were observed between 11-12 and then they really started flying after
noon. An adult Bald Eagle was observed at 12:45pm. The hourly Broad-winged
hawk totals were: 6 (11-12), 33 (12-1), 38 (1-2), 33 (2-3), 20 (3-4), 1
(4-4:30). Every single raptor observed today was flying on the east side of
the mountain at a fairly high altitude due to the Easterly wind. Birds were
typically in loose groups of 3-8 flying lazily, sometimes circling
(soaring) and sometimes gliding and often flying back northward before
deciding to turn and eventually disappear to the south.
Non-raptor Observations:
One Monarch and two hummingbirds.
Predictions:
Very nice like today and slightly warmer
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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.
