Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 03, 2004
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 3 4 22
Bald Eagle 1 7 14
Northern Harrier 0 1 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 9 15 20
Cooper's Hawk 2 5 17
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 18 57 167
Red-tailed Hawk 2 4 18
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 1 4 8
Merlin 0 1 1
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown 0 1 1
Total: 36 99 271
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 14:00:00
Total observation time: 5 hours
Official Counter: Ian Topolsky
Observers: Mike Reyman
Visitors:
Dave Young stopped by briefly, en route to somewhere. Nice to meet you,
come on back when you can.
Weather:
We couldn't have asked for better hawkwatching skies today. Robust
cumulus were stacked high in every direction, giving us 50 to 60%
Cloudcover all day.
Wind was out of the East, though relatively light (1 Beaufort), until
the last hour of observation, becoming quite variable and with periods of
dead calm.
High Temp was 78F. Humidity lingered around 60% after the first hour.
Observations:
Flight conditions may have actually been too good (??) for hawkwatching,
as Mike put it... the first birds of the day were already coming in at
extremely high altitudes- it was clear that the secret weapon in my
hawkwatching arsenal would need to be broken out for the first time this
season.
The technology behind this bird-finding instrument is still in the
developmental stages, even after 3 years of intense laboratory/field
research (yes, animals were used in the testing). I am one of the lucky
few to have a handcrafted prototype in my possession. And though some may
say it's just a folding camp chair that I have ruined by repeatedly
bending and wrenching it over my knees and/or car bumpers (fine tuning),
it makes "straight up" just a little less painful.
Regardless, it didn't help much. If we had been able to stay later, we
probably could've added a handfull of birds as height-of-flight dropped...
No Osprey "packing a lunch" and the single BE was a 1st yr bird.
Sharp-shinneds almost broke into double-digits for the first time this
season.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird- 1, Hummer sp- 3, Red-headed Woodpecker- 1,
Red-bellied- 1, Chimney Swift- 68, Swallow sp- 4, N. Cardinal- 1, Gray
Catbird- 1, Blue Jay- 5, American Crow- 3, Common Raven- 6, Yellow
Warbler- 1, American Golfinch- 7.
Predictions:
Will Todd look dashing while at the helm tomorrow?
The Eightball replies, "without a doubt" (and I think it winked...)
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Report submitted by Ian Topolsky (ict_earth@xxxxxxxxx)
Snickers Gap Hawkwatch was established in 1990. It is located in
northern Virginia, on the Clarke and Loudoun County line. It is reached
by taking VA Route 7 to the county line, which runs atop the ridge at
Snickers Gap. On the south side of Route 7 is a commuter parking lot.
The count is conducted from there. It is a volunteer site, and is counted
in fall only, from late August until late November or early December.
There are no facilities at the site, so bring a snack, drinks, and a
chair. Many of the birds can be distant, and a scope is helpful.
As a volunteer site, we are always looking to increase our pool of
counters. We are eager to train those who have never counted, but are
skilled with hawk identification. We are also willing to pair
inexperienced observers with experienced counters. Please contact the
compiler, Todd Day, at blkvulture@xxxxxxx with any questions or if you are
interested in participating in the count.
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