Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 03, 2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 6 8 212
Bald Eagle 3 8 88
Northern Harrier 5 6 65
Sharp-shinned Hawk 8 32 564
Cooper's Hawk 1 4 77
Northern Goshawk 0 0 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2 3 25
Broad-winged Hawk 15 19 11591
Red-tailed Hawk 3 10 114
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 3
American Kestrel 6 9 140
Merlin 0 0 14
Peregrine Falcon 9 9 37
Unknown 2 4 30
Total: 60 112 12961
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 17:15:00
Total observation time: 8.25 hours
Official Counter: Ian Topolsky
Observers:
Visitors:
(1)Joseph Gantt- back for the 3rd day in a row, hit the motherload today.
(2)Laddy Topolsky- on a few hours of sleep and, for some reason, at the
top of his game. After today's showing, he might be done with boot camp
and ready for some specialized training. (3&4, a team effort)Dick Homan &
Joe Sedransk were on site for an hour or so before myself, and stuck it
out through the thinnest. Last, but certainly not least, (4)Chin Shoon
(C.S.-to his pals) made the scene late afternoon with his 600X Meade
reflector. He had decided to leave his bins behind, opting for a bit more
power today... Sensing his struggle, I lowered my scope and set him up
with a close Peregrine or two and he enjoyed it, a lot. I set him up with
one of the Balds and he left... grinning from ear to ear. You're probably
not reading this, but I'll never forget you, buddy.
Weather:
Skies, while not the best for finding hawks, were cloudless, crystal
clear and just a beautiful, electric autumn-blue. Some high cirrus did
eventually roll in, but that wasn't until mid-afternoon. After last
night's below-freezing nighttime low of 30F (in Hamilton, VA), Temps
topped off at a balmy 51F. Winds were primarily out of the E at 1-2, but
quite variable at times. Our desired Easterly became a little more solid
in the afternoon, resulting in much more action in the sky.
Observations:
Once the Easterly wind began to kick in (1-2 EST), we started getting
some birds (up until then we had only a sprinkling of Sharpies and a few
Broadwingeds).
With the exception of one Harrier and the odd Sharpie or two, all the
real action took place from NNE-S, down the center of the ridge or
slightly towards the Eastside.
Every passing raptor today payed us back for the past few days. They
lollygagged. They played. The PG looks alone were priceless. Highlight of
the day- an adult male that played tag with a Raven for over ten minutes,
naked eye. When the PG finally tired of the game, it merely tucked in a
bit and never looked back. Might be the first time I've seen a Raven that
appeared to look confused...
BEs: 1- adult, 2- 2nd year (together).
Not many "little birds" filled our skies today and Monarchs were counted
using only one hand.
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Yellow-shafted Flicker 2
Blue Jay 17
Chimney Swift 21
Tree Swallow 1
Monarch 5
Predictions:
...
========================================================================
Report submitted by Ian Topolsky (ict_earth@xxxxxxxxx)
Snickers Gap Hawkwatch was established in 1990. It is located in northern
Virginia, on the Clarke and Loudoun County line. It is reached by taking VA
Route 7 to the county line, which runs atop the ridge at Snickers Gap. On the
south side of Route 7 is a commuter parking lot. The count is conducted from
there. It is a volunteer site, and is counted in fall only, from late August
until late November or early December. There are no facilities at the site, so
bring a snack, drinks, and a chair. Many of the birds can be distant, and a
scope is helpful.
As a volunteer site, we are always looking to increase our pool of
counters. We are eager to train those who have never counted, but are skilled
with hawk identification. We are also willing to pair inexperienced observers
with experienced counters. Please contact the compiler, Todd Day, at
blkvulture@xxxxxxx with any questions or if you are interested in participating
in the count.
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
