Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 17, 2003
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 20 89 102
Bald Eagle 7 40 46
Northern Harrier 4 15 20
Sharp-shinned Hawk 48 156 158
Cooper's Hawk 9 30 31
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 3 9 9
Broad-winged Hawk 1073 3177 3205
Red-tailed Hawk 7 66 66
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 3 3
American Kestrel 9 36 36
Merlin 2 6 7
Peregrine Falcon 1 4 4
Unknown 2 14 14
Total: 1185 3645 3701
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 17:30:00
Total observation time: 9.5 hours
Official Counter: Jesse Fulton
Observers: BJ Westervelt, Ian Topolsky, Joan Boudreau and Bob Abrams,
Todd Day
Visitors:
Laddy Topolsky picked up 3 of our BEs (guess I owe you 3 dinners), George
Wheaton & Ralph Wall stuck it out for most of the day. Also dropping by-
William Leigh, Joe Coleman & my girl Jura, Tyler Kulenguki.
*Also, if your kids are looking for a bucket with numerous devices made
for playing in sand- we saved it...and will gladly return it on your next
visit (when I'm done playing with it).
Weather:
We started out with winds out of the NW and 0% Cloudcover for the morning
hours. The winds eventually wrapped around to our desired Easterly in the
early afternoon, tapering off slightly as the day progressed. We also
ended up with favorable Cloudcover from midafternoon on...Temp topped off
at 72F.
Observations:
The early flight was primarily on the West side of the ridge, but as the
day went on we were picking up birds (and kettles) in every direction. So
far our best day number-wise... Joan picked up on our last large kettle of
the day, 194 BWs trying to sneak out overhead.
3 Red-headed Woodpecker, numerous un-id'd warblers, 1 male Wood Duck, 1
Common Nighthawk- uncounted flocks of Cedar Waxwing and Chimney Swift,
etc.
Predictions:
???
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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.
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