Snickers Gap
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 08, 2011
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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 0 1 242
Bald Eagle 1 25 170
Northern Harrier 3 9 88
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 50 1381
Cooper's Hawk 0 7 186
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 76 122
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 37520
Red-tailed Hawk 15 254 472
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 1 5 7
American Kestrel 0 0 117
Merlin 0 0 19
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 26
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 11
Unknown Buteo 0 3 12
Unknown Falcon 0 0 4
Unknown Eagle 0 1 2
Unknown Raptor 0 0 22
Total: 22 431 40401
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Observation start time: 08:30:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter: Larry Brindza
Observers: Bob Blakney
Visitors:
66 hikers
Weather:
Clear blue skies with maximum visibility and no clouds.
Light winds started from the west. At 11:10 the winds suddenly became
light from the east. At Snickers Gap east is good!
Raptor Observations:
With the light winds from the west, there were no raptors. With the light
winds from the east, the raptors started to fly. An adult Golden Eagle flew
by at 1:34 p.m. An adult Bald Eagle flew by at 3:28 p.m. Twenty of today's
22 raptors flew by on the east side of the ridge.
Non-raptor Observations:
Other than two Mockingbirds, two Ravens, two Blue Jays, a vocal
White-throated Sparrow and nine pigeons there was a noticable lack of small
birds.
Predictions:
Tomorrow should be another "too nice" of a day. Good luck on seeing as
least some raptors!
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Report submitted by Larry Brindza (ljbrindza@xxxxxxx)
Site Description:
The 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.
