Mendota Fire Tower
Mendota, VA, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 23, 2015
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 1 13 13
Bald Eagle 0 5 5
Northern Harrier 0 2 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 2 2
Cooper's Hawk 0 5 5
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 1 1
Broad-winged Hawk 119 2109 2109
Red-tailed Hawk 1 4 4
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 0 2 2
Merlin 1 2 2
Peregrine Falcon 0 3 3
Unknown Accipiter 0 2 2
Unknown Buteo 0 2 2
Unknown Falcon 0 2 2
Unknown Eagle 0 1 1
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 122 2155 2155
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Ron Harrington
Observers: George Larkin, Jennifer Meade, John Clonce, Mike Hagy
Visitors:
Visitors today included about 19 students from April Addington's
Environmental Science Class, Twin Springs High School; Missy, Annaleis,
and Stephen Johnson and Elizabeth Fulton from Johnson City ( A home-school
class); Tom Dye; and Leo McCallep from Michigan.
Weather:
The weather was sunny and warm, with a high sky most of the day. A few thin
clouds here and there late in the day. Wind, which had a cool touch, was
from the Southeast most of the day, changing to the East, Northeast late in
the day. Overall a beautiful day with great visibility, and little haze or
smog.
Raptor Observations:
We had another relatively slow day, with the BWH numbers down from our
expectations after the weak front moved out. The best hour was 10-11, with
35. And we had 29 in the 4-5 hour. The largest kettle was 9 birds, and most
counted were in small groups or alone. We saw two local Red-tailed hawks
flying back and forth, kitting and diving into the woods. Also saw two
local Sharp-shinned hawks as well. The best find of the day was a female
Merlin. She had caught a bird and was plucking it as she flew by, with
feathers falling down on George Larkin!
Non-raptor Observations:
We saw a few Monarchs, several Black and Turkey Vultureswhich the students
enjoyed, but no Ravens.
Predictions:
Conditions for tomorrow should be suitable for hawk watching.
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Report submitted by John D Whinery (Fall.Branch.Tn.Bird@xxxxxxxxx)
