Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 14, 2005
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 0 241
Bald Eagle 0 28 187
Northern Harrier 1 40 135
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 96 1823
Cooper's Hawk 1 43 353
Northern Goshawk 0 1 6
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 49 142
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 6825
Red-tailed Hawk 26 559 1603
Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1
Golden Eagle 1 5 13
American Kestrel 0 0 139
Merlin 0 0 40
Peregrine Falcon 0 1 17
Unknown 0 10 88
Total: 32 833 11613
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours
Official Counter: Larry Brindza
Observers: George Wheaton, Ralph Wall
Visitors:
2 visitors.
Weather:
The day started off sunny and clear. Cloud cover started at 5% and worked
up to 100% by the end of the day. Wind was from the west at 1
(Beaufort)for most of the day. Temperatures were from 12 to 14 degrees
Centigrade.
Raptor Observations:
All of the raptors with the exception of one Red-tailed were on the west
side of the ridge. The one adult Golden eagle was sighted at 3:38 p.m.
Non-raptor Observations:
10 Tundra Swans, 1 Cormorant sp., 3 Loon sp., 91 Cedar Waxwings, 6 Yellow
Rumps, 8 Evening Grosbeaks and
2 Cobra helicopters.
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Report submitted by Larry Brindza (ljbrindza@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Site Description:
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.
Directions to site:
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