Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch
Waynesboro, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 25, 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 6 157 206
Bald Eagle 2 150 159
Northern Harrier 3 22 24
Sharp-shinned Hawk 64 468 476
Cooper's Hawk 16 124 136
Northern Goshawk 0 1 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 17 20
Broad-winged Hawk 300 22202 22300
Red-tailed Hawk 4 48 65
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 2 2
American Kestrel 6 93 96
Merlin 3 26 26
Peregrine Falcon 1 9 10
Unknown Accipiter 0 11 11
Unknown Buteo 0 2 7
Unknown Falcon 0 2 2
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 10 14
Mississippi Kite 0 2 3
Total: 406 23346 23558
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Observation start time: 07:15:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 9.75 hours
Official Counter: Gabriel Mapel
Observers: Dave Hunter
Visitors:
Celeste McKnight (Durahm, NC), Mary Mapel, Jennifer Jowdy, Ken Molidor
(Luray), Peter Clark, Ellen Wertheimer (Silver Spring, MD), Fred Haar,
Kelley Lipphard.
Weather:
Pleasant but hot (18.7-28.8C). Moderate NW Breezes this morning then
moderate ESE Breezes this afternoon. Mostly cloudy with high clouds
throughout the day (perfect!). Haze in the distance.
Raptor Observations:
A good raptor flight with pretty steady action for most of the day. A nice
BW liftoff this morning with many small-mid size kettles out to the west.
Hourly BW Count: 0 (7:15-9), 187 (9-10), 47 (10-11), 4 (11-12), 31 (12-1),
23 (1-2), 8 (2-3), 0 (3-5). Adult BE 11:52, 3:00. Three NH: 11:58 adult
male, 2:30 unaged, 3:21 IMM. Three Merlin: 2:28 unaged, 4:03 adult male,
4:21 unaged. One unaged Peregrine distant to the west at 9:51. A second
Peregrine appeared late in the day (4:45pm) heading south over the ridge to
our north but I believe it spotted dinner because it stooped straight down,
never to be seen again to migrate and get counted. First Raptor: 8:40 SS,
Last Raptor: 4:25 OS.
Non-raptor Observations:
76 Chimney Swifts, 5 Red-headed Woodpeckers, 11 Flickers, 65 Blue Jays, 58
Tree Swallows, 15 Robins, 72 Waxwings, warblers (many unidentified plus 4
Cape May, 1 N. Parula, 1 BT Green, 1 Wilson's), 3 Indigo Buntings, 185 RW
Blackbirds, 30 Grackles, and 114 Monarch Butterflies.
Predictions:
Sunny, warm, light NE Winds
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Report submitted by Gabriel Mapel (birdmangabriel@xxxxxxxxx)
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
