Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, VA, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 18, 2002
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 30 103 116
Bald Eagle 7 45 50
Northern Harrier 8 22 25
Sharp-shinned Hawk 37 141 149
Cooper's Hawk 4 30 32
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 3 8 8
Broad-winged Hawk 681 1282 1302
Red-tailed Hawk 1 40 41
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 1 1 2
American Kestrel 11 33 36
Merlin 2 2 2
Peregrine Falcon 0 5 5
Unknown 0 29 29
Total: 785 1741 1797
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Observation start time: 07:00:00
Observation end time: 19:00:00
Total observation time: 12 hours
Site Coordinator: Todd M. Day
Observers: Bob Abrams, Ian Topolsky, Joan Boudreau, Mike Reyman
Visitors:
Jesse Fulton, Bev Leeuwenburg, Sue Heath, BJ Westervelt, William Leigh, Jon
Little, Heidi Herd, Bob Cosgriff, Mandy Neet, Doran, and a few others I am
missing.
Weather:
Ideal. Couldn't have drawn it up much better for us. Good winds, easterly
all day, maybe a bit too much south, but seemed fine. Great skies,
comfortable, couldn't ask for better weather.
Observations:
Everything was in place, or so we thought. Broad-wingeds were evenly
distributed for the most part, with 235 coming though between 2-3 EDT.
First of year Merlins, and second Golden Eagle of the year, an adult.
Bald Eagles were three adults, one 4th year, and two subadults.
Olive-sided Flycatcher, 8 Red-headed Woodpeckers, Rose-breasted Grosbeak,
at least 15 hummingbirds, two Common Nighthawks in the morning and two in
the evening, and our familiar flock of starlings (at least 15,000) going
northwest at six-fifteen.
Predictions:
Who knows. It could be big, but we thought that about today. Who knows.
========================================================================
Report submitted by Todd Day(blkvulture@xxxxxxx)
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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