[va-bird] HSR: Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch (23 Sep 2006) 3105 Raptors

[reports@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch
Waynesboro, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 23, 2006
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
BV                           0              0              0
TV                           0              0              0
OS                          17            104            110
BE                           2             44             44
NH                           2             12             14
SS                          58            245            251
CH                          11             40             42
NG                           0              0              0
RS                           1              2              2
BW                        2993          11142          11173
RT                           6             30             35
RL                           0              0              0
GE                           0              1              1
AK                           8             41             42
ML                           0              3              3
PG                           5             14             14
UA                           0              1              1
UB                           0              4              4
UF                           0              0              0
UE                           0              1              1
UR                           2              8              8

Total:                    3105          11692          11745
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 08:45:00 
Observation end   time: 17:00:00 
Total observation time: 8.25 hours

Official Counter: Brenda Tekin

Observers:        

Visitors:
MANY!  And "THANKS" to the many observers and to the counters, too many to
list here, for helping out during the morning flight.  And a very special
"THANK YOU" to Tom Pendleton who managed to keep up with recording all of
those numbers.

Gordy Adamski, Pat Alther, Pat Brown, Robert Butler, Robert Capon, Marlene
Condon, Jennifer Gaden, Bruce Grimes, Allen Hale, Mozelle Henkel (original
RGHW raptorian visiting from Costa Rica), Dave Hunter, Clyde and Allen
Kessler, Alan Larner,  Vic Laubach, Ed and Donna Lewis, Larry Lynch, Tom
Pendleton, Rose Thomas, J. Tyler Turpin, Carole Vance, our special friends
from North Carolina - Harold Dunning and Wade and Lisa Hildredth and many,
many more.

And a special word of thanks to Jimmy and Debbie Ballowe of D&J
Woodcrafts, Birds-I-View, Buteo Books, The Virginia Museum of Natual
History and the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, as well as
to our host, The Inn at Afton.


Weather:
Mostly cloudly throughout the day with thin veil of clouds early morning
rising up and over the higher elevations.  By 2:30 pm EST there were
breaks in clouds with bright blue showing. Thick haze over valley floor to
east and west side of ridge prevailed throughout the day.   It really
heated up and rising humidity made it feel more like August.  20c
increasing to 31c and slight breeze varying between S to SSE throughout
the day.
Bar.Pressure:  1018 dropping to 16.

Raptor Observations:
As we traveled west on Interstate 64 toward the mountain early that
morning, the van loaded with equipment for the all day Holiday for Hawks
event, we could not help but note the low thin veil of clouds passing over
the distant Blue Ridge Mountains under a widespread dome of clouds with a
few breaks to the east where the sun?s rays filtered through lighting up
the east side of the ridge.  By now we should have become accustomed to
the ever changing weather patterns inconsistent with the latest weather
forecasts. Our hopes for a sunnier day dimmed.  All we could do was hope
the low clouds would lift and any threat of rain be kept at bay.

Quite a few folk had arrived early and had noted a few migrating birds. 
As the morning progressed, the flow of observers and visitors increased to
fill the patio and walkways. At approximately 10:15 a.m. (EDST) I was in
the midst of setting up the equipment for the 10:30 start of the basic
hawks in flight ID workshop when I was summoned outside.  Birds were
coming!  (The in-class portion of the basic hawks in flight workshop was
postponed until early afternoon.) 


After it was all said and done, we reviewed, discussed and speculated on
the morning?s event.  For nearly 1.5 hours, there was shear excitement and
organized pandemonium as approximately 75-100 individuals witnessed an
extraordinary and spectacular flight of Broad-winged Hawk.  

First, to set the record straight, no one associated with the Rockfish Gap
Hawk Watch was responsible with the events that unfolded.  This was solely
at the hands of Mother Nature!

There is no way to adequately describe the event.  There was a thick haze
carpeting the valleys to the east and west with a light S to SSE wind
blowing.   With the high dome of cloud cover with few breaks, the birds
would be dependent on updrafts to get them up and over and down the
ridges.  The first groups of birds were spotted out over Waynesboro to the
west, coming in low and at times lost in the thick haze.  Then another
loose kettle was spotted a short distance and above the first one.  In
between the kettles, more birds were streaming through, flapping hard, and
then funneling into another forming kettle.  There were kettles over
kettles, with streaming birds in between and more nearby kettles, and
birds rising up from the valley floor below. This remained consistent for
most of the flight with some streaming along on the east side of the gap
and several small kettles.  Counters were positioned to keep separate
counts ? the birds going to the left and those going directly overhead and
to the right.

Adults and young children alike were caught up in the excitement. 
Although many of the birds were distant and lost in bright light and haze,
there were sufficient number of birds coming in close to the delight of
all, including the Cooper?s Hawk flying in low, putting on quite a show as
she herded up a flock of pigeons, coming in close for lots of oooohs and
ahhhhs.  

I can only surmise the bulk of the Broad-wing were in the pipeline and had
settled down Friday night not far to the north of Rockfish Gap and we
witnessed their not-so-early morning lift off.

The hourly count for Broad-winged Hawk: (EST)
9-10am: 1959 (with bulk after 9:15); 10-11: 882; 11-12pm: 13; 12-1pm: 54;
1-2pm: 111; 2-3pm: 3; 3-4pm: 1




Non-raptor Observations:
At most, only 3 Monarch Butterfly.  The overcast conditions pretty much
squashed the outdoor portion of the butterfly and dragonfly id workshop
presented by Bruce Grimes and Clyde Kessler.

A few Northern Flicker and one hummingbird were noted.  Lots of
unidentified warblers.
========================================================================
Report submitted by Brenda Tekin (bt8x@xxxxxxxxxxxx)
Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch, VA information may be found at:
http://home.ntelos.net/~btkin/rockfish_gap_hawk_watch


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[va-bird] HSR: Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch (23 Sep 2006) 3105 Raptors