Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 28, 2003
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 77 281
Bald Eagle 3 51 131
Northern Harrier 21 137 196
Sharp-shinned Hawk 88 1097 1629
Cooper's Hawk 26 185 258
Northern Goshawk 0 7 8
Red-shouldered Hawk 13 57 79
Broad-winged Hawk 0 75 11647
Red-tailed Hawk 76 277 381
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 3 4 7
American Kestrel 0 69 200
Merlin 1 19 33
Peregrine Falcon 0 17 45
Unknown 10 75 101
Total: 241 2147 14996
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Bev Leeuwenburg
Observers: BJ Westervelt, Ian Topolsky
Visitors:
Jen Folts, always prepared and with Bevvy Baby, as usual.
Joseph Gantt, already using up one of his daily passes for the week.
Ralph Wall also heard the call of the E winds and was
uncontrollably drawn to the Gap.
Plus, a Ms. Boyce joined us briefly before heading up the trail.
Weather:
A perfect mix of clouds and blue sky today, with a dash of E/SE winds
thrown in to kick the recipe up a notch (BAM!).
Cloudcover was ideal, 40-80% all day. The E/SE winds were mostly between
2 and 3 on the Beaufort scale, with brief periods of 1 or 0. Temps in the
50s.
Observations:
Not too shabby a day. Red-taileds were streaming into the mix nicely and
a decent number of accipiters and Harriers were present to stir everything
up. The 3 juv Goldens were the perfect garnish...
Predictions:
Today is now gone forever and time marches on yet.
As we sit tonight, trying to remember the fading mental images of the
birds that graced us with their presence for this brief moment in time, we
are once again forced to ask the very question that will never stop being
asked.
What will tomorrow bring?
"CONCENTRATE AND ASK AGAIN" -Ah, nevermind.
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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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