Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 31, 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 35 241
Bald Eagle 0 68 159
Northern Harrier 0 47 95
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 1031 1727
Cooper's Hawk 0 214 310
Northern Goshawk 1 5 5
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 65 93
Broad-winged Hawk 0 30 6825
Red-tailed Hawk 1 945 1044
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 8 8
American Kestrel 0 41 139
Merlin 0 25 40
Peregrine Falcon 0 6 16
Unknown 0 33 78
Total: 4 2553 10780
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Observation start time: 08:15:00
Observation end time: 12:45:00
Total observation time: 4.5 hours
Official Counter: Mike Reyman
Observers:
Weather:
A cold 8 deg C warming to 15 deg C by count stop. Light cloud cover
evaporated to clear skies over first 2-1/2 hours. Winds westerly, at 1,
occasionally to 2, Beaufort.
Raptor Observations:
What evil witch's brew is this? A perfect late October day and a sky
practically void of raptors. A nasty "trick" by Mother Nature with few
(raptor) treats. (The one exception being the close, circling Juvi Gos at
11:44AM.) For most of the day it felt like re-living the Redskins v.
Giants game -- zero, zilch, nada..... Even the always reliable TVs and BVs
were boycotting the gap today. Who shut down the Red-tail express today?
Non-raptor Observations:
Predictions:
With (more than) a little luck, the 'Skins might finish 6-10 again this
year. Wretched....
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Report submitted by Mike Reyman (dreyman@xxxxxxxxxxx)
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.
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