Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, VA, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 19, 2002
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 17 120 133
Bald Eagle 0 45 50
Northern Harrier 4 26 29
Sharp-shinned Hawk 26 167 175
Cooper's Hawk 3 33 35
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 2 10 10
Broad-winged Hawk 718 2000 2020
Red-tailed Hawk 1 41 42
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 1 2 3
American Kestrel 0 33 36
Merlin 2 4 4
Peregrine Falcon 0 5 5
Unknown 2 31 31
Total: 776 2517 2573
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Site Coordinator: Linda Millington
Observers: Dorothy Tella, Ian Topolsky, Sam Young, Todd Day
Visitors:
A whole bunch. To name a few, Lad Topolsky, Allan Hart, Joe Coleman, Jon
Little, BJ Westervelt, Jennifer Koenig, Mandy Neet, and William Leigh.
There were perhaps another half dozen others.
Weather:
Southeast winds blowing about ten MPH, which can be good for us; we were
socked in clouds until about noon when things started to open up. We
immediately picked up a couple hundred birds in the first ninety minutes.
Many reports from the Piedmont of kettles of Broad-wingeds made there way
to us today. Birds were certainly around, but we were unable to see them
before noon. After noon we had good skies with cumulous and cirrus
clouds, and a fair amount of blue, with some haze. The birds often looked
to be materializing rom the haze. Temp ranged from 68-82F.
Observations:
Good conditions, and considering how the other sites I've read today did
(aside from Hawk Mountain and Bake Oven Knob), I guess we did had a decent
day. Still feels like we missed some birds. I'm not convinced that the
birds from Massachusetts are staying put awaiting another front. I think
they're slipping through.
For reasons that will have me scratching my head long after the
Broad-wingeds have passed, we got our third Golden Eagle today. Another
adult. Are they out of food and coming early? Are there more breeding in
the east than we think? Perhaps it's just a fluke.
A steady stream of Monarchs coming through. Good numbers of swifts, maybe
300, flying through the gap into the wind. A dozen or so hummingbirds
passed. A praying mantis catching and eating a Pipevine Swallowtail was a
rare treat.
Predictions:
Who knows? Winds seem to be a bit too south for conventional Snickers
wisdom. Not many birds northeast of us were reported from the places I
like would hope to see them at. Probably means we'll get slammed on
Friday.
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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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