Snickers Gap
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 06, 2010
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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 19 30
Bald Eagle 4 14 22
Northern Harrier 0 1 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 11 17
Cooper's Hawk 0 0 2
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 2 2 3
Broad-winged Hawk 0 8 32
Red-tailed Hawk 0 3 5
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 0 5 9
Merlin 0 1 1
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Accipiter 1 1 1
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 2 2
Total: 13 67 127
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Wes Hetrick
Observers: Doug Graham, Larry Cartwright, Peter Deahl
Visitors:
Andy Martin, Carol Miller, Larry & Ann Cartwright (of butterfly fame),
Peter Deahl & family (tree expert and bird bander of note).
Weather:
Cool, 59-76 Deg F, cloudless sky, breeze light from all directions, a
beautiful day for hikers (probably 100).
Raptor Observations:
Redtails were always visible from 10AM on and vultures were ever-present.
The first Broad-winged Hawk of the day, an immature, appeared on the dead
Locust tree ... & flew across Rt. 7 to trees on the North side. The only
other BW looked promising as a migrant, playing in thermals for a half hour
before ending his day in Mae's bosom. So no BW migrants for the day.
Our star performer was clearly the Osprey, six altogether ... really
beautiful birds. Check out web site http://bit.ly/ospreytrack. They
currently have 2 birds heading south, one going north, and 6 on the runway
waiting to take off.
Non-raptor Observations:
Lots of hikers and dog walkers. Jenny was in training, planning to cover
twenty miles by sundown. Several others claimed to be training for future
attempts at the AT. Dog types recorded (for Bob's benefit) were: Boxer,
Chocolate Lab, German Shepherd, Dachshund, and a hugh 120 lb. Great
Pyrenees named Chester.
Predictions:
Pray for a little cloud cover.
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Report submitted by Wes Hetrick (weshetrick@xxxxxxxx)
