Mendota Fire Tower
Mendota, VA, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 18, 2018
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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 2 2 2
Bald Eagle 0 0 0
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 3 3
Cooper's Hawk 2 3 3
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 14 22 22
Red-tailed Hawk 3 3 3
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 1 1 1
Merlin 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 1 2 2
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 1 1 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 25 37 37
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Observation start time: 10:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 6 hours
Official Counter: Ron Harrington
Observers: Sam Evans, Scott Turner
Visitors:
None
Weather:
Overall a nice day for hawk watching. It was mostly cloudy and 73 degrees
when we started but the clouds gradually dissipated by the mid-afternoon
and we lost our "backdrop", making it hard to see the hawks. Winds were out
of the North, Northwest, at speeds ranging from 12 to 15 mph most of the
day. Visibility was good (>20 miles) and there was very little haze.
Temperature never got much above 75 degrees.
Raptor Observations:
First Broad-winged hawks were spotted in the 12:00 o'clock hour (10). They
were riding the wind and glided past on the East side of the ridge. Most
could be seen with the naked eye but it was harder to find them as the sky
cleared up. We watched a Cooper's hawk and Sharp-shinned engaged in a brief
dispute. One Sharp-shinned hawk was harassing a Black vulture. Several
black and turkey vultures were hanging around. Two blacks put on a great
show as the flew in formation and "played tag" with each other around and
around the tower. You could hear the wind whistling through their feathers
as they flew just over our heads.
Non-raptor Observations:
Usual array of warblers including Yellow and Black-throated blues. Saw 4
Ravens. Counted two Monarch butterflies.
Predictions:
Good weather is predicted. Hopefully the hawks will start arriving in good
numbers. Still speculating about the effects of Florence on the flight
paths.
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Report submitted by Ronald Eugene Harrington (roneharrin@xxxxxxx)
More site information at hawkcount.org:
http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=706
