Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch
Waynesboro, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 17, 2017
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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 7 92 141
Bald Eagle 8 113 122
Northern Harrier 1 6 8
Sharp-shinned Hawk 36 95 103
Cooper's Hawk 2 32 44
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 11 14
Broad-winged Hawk 7045 12541 12639
Red-tailed Hawk 1 32 49
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 2 2
American Kestrel 7 45 48
Merlin 2 9 9
Peregrine Falcon 0 3 4
Unknown Accipiter 1 4 4
Unknown Buteo 0 1 6
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 2 6
Mississippi Kite 0 2 3
Total: 7110 12990 13202
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Observation start time: 06:30:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 10.5 hours
Official Counter: Vic Laubach
Observers: Brenda Tekin, Dave Hunter, Gabriel Mapel, Josh Laubach,
Mark Johnson, Rose Thomas
Visitors:
Lots of visitors including: Wade Hildreth, Chris Updike, William Leigh,
Blyrne and Fianna Wilde (Los Osos, CA), Randy Cline, Jennifer Jowdy,
Marshall Faintich, Elizabeth Hunter, Dave Fisher (Cary, NC), Daniel Mapel,
Bill Nettlehorst (Fond Du Lac, WI), Robert Butler.
Weather:
Warm day with 18-27.2C temps. Very light NE breezes. The morning started
out with some fog in the lower elevations, but the big problem was with the
big, very low, fog-like clouds that were just above the ridge that provided
plenty of hiding places for birds. Many many raptors would enter these low
clouds and then we'd never see them again. These low clouds finally cleared
out after noon. Cloud cover was 100% through 11am, then gradually reduced
to 70% by 4pm. The numerous high clouds in the afternoon provided great
backdrops for birds.
Raptor Observations:
Starting around 8:30am we watched several hundred BW arise from their
overnight slumber in the valley to our northeast. A pretty constant supply
of raptors throughout the day, mostly moving from NE to SW. Many kettles
spotted distant and we witnessed thousands of BWs streaming fast directly
overhead! Hourly BW count: 103 (8-9), 546 (9-10), 2078 (10-11), 363
(11-12), 2372 (12-1), 478 (1-2), 45 (2-3), 934 (3-4), 126 (4-5).
Eight BE: 7 adults (11:45, 12:16, 12:50, 1:11, 1:15, 2:05, 3:35) and 1
immature (11:58 1st-YR).
Non-raptor Observations:
126 Monarchs. 2 DC Cormorant, 8 Nighthawk, 214 Chimney Swift, 3
Hummingbird, 13 Red-headed Woodpecker.
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Report submitted by Vic Laubach (laubach@xxxxxxxxxxxx)
Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch information may be found at:
http://www.rockfishgaphawkwatch.org
More site information at hawkcount.org:
http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=491
