Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 27, 2004
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 2 282
Bald Eagle 0 31 175
Northern Harrier 0 43 156
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 78 1698
Cooper's Hawk 0 35 407
Northern Goshawk 0 1 10
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 64 177
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 3701
Red-tailed Hawk 5 771 1656
Rough-legged Hawk 0 1 1
Golden Eagle 0 13 19
American Kestrel 0 1 88
Merlin 0 1 24
Peregrine Falcon 0 2 32
Unknown 0 12 84
Total: 6 1055 8510
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Observation start time: 10:00:00
Observation end time: 14:00:00
Total observation time: 4 hours
Official Counter: Ian Topolsky
Observers: Duane Schilling
Weather:
Winds were disappointingly out of the SE today, at 2-3 Beaufort. Skies
were quite fetching though, 80% Cloudcover increasing to 100%, and that
cold, steel-grey color of late fall (it sounds grayer with an e, I think).
Light drizzle began falling at roughly 2:30. High Temp 45F.
Observations:
More migrant Red-taileds than I expected to see, considering the solid
Southerly that was blowing.
Non-raptor notes:
No loons, and still no swans (though I didn't expect that to change
today).
Canada Goose- 90, Red-bellied Woodpecker- 1, Yellow-shafted Flicker- 1,
Pileated Woodpecker- 1, Eastern Bluebird- 2, Hermit Thrush- 2, Common
Raven- 2, Carolina Chickadee- 3, White-throated Sparrow- 10, American
Goldfinch- 5.
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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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