Snickers Gap
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 23, 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 4 51 196
Northern Harrier 0 25 104
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 68 1399
Cooper's Hawk 1 10 189
Northern Goshawk 1 2 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 86 132
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 37520
Red-tailed Hawk 18 378 596
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 1 9 11
American Kestrel 0 1 118
Merlin 0 0 19
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 26
Unknown Accipiter 0 1 12
Unknown Buteo 0 3 12
Unknown Falcon 0 0 4
Unknown Eagle 0 1 2
Unknown Raptor 0 0 22
Total: 26 636 40606
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Observation start time: 10:15:00
Observation end time: 13:15:00
Total observation time: 3 hours
Official Counter: Todd M. Day
Observers:
Visitors:
That weird guy that wears a blazer with a bottle of water tucked into his
breast pocket for his hike up to Bear's Den. He arrived, set off on the
trail, and was back in less than a minute. I guess that coat didn't help
with the wind. Other than that, I didn't see another human being.
Weather:
Couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. Great clouds, 20-25 mph steady
WNW wind, late November. The weather reminded me of a 300 Red-tailed day
the way a hangover reminds me of what I did the night before.
Raptor Observations:
The first ten minutes were great. Seven Red-taileds and an adult Goshawk.
The rest of the day was like the rest of the month.
Non-raptor Observations:
You want to have your pulse quickened at a ridge site? Get an up-the-wing
look at an immature Herring Gull as it slices down the ridge on the same
line as all the hawks, never wavering in wind that was knocking eagles
around. I don't even want to admit the birds I was considering for this
thing for the first ten or fifteen seconds I was watching it.
Predictions:
Too much eating.
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Report submitted by Todd Day (blkvulture@xxxxxxx)
