Mendota Fire Tower
Mendota, VA, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 15, 2018
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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 0 0 0
Bald Eagle 0 0 0
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 2 2
Cooper's Hawk 0 1 1
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 1 8 8
Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 0 0 0
Merlin 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Accipiter 0 1 1
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 1 12 12
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Observation start time: 08:30:00
Observation end time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Michele Sparks
Observers: Harry Norman
Visitors:
Jay Martin and Aaron Floyd from the Blue Ridge Discovery Center
(Konnarock, VA) brought up a few family members and other folks. Included
in that group was the Bischoff Family and Chris Mc Elraft, a teacher at
Highland View Elementary, Bristol VA.
Later in the afternoon, Scout Master Jay Singleton along with Debbie
Carrier brought 10 Boy Scouts from Troup 107 of Bristol, TN.
Weather:
Mostly cloudy and heavily overcast throughout the day. Very heavy, low
clouds came from the East and gradually encroached upon the tower with 100%
cloud coverage by early afternoon. Temperatures ranged from 72-76 degrees.
Wind gusts picked up (ENE) at 01:00:00 pm (EDT) and became more and more
frequent with sustained wind gusts ranging from 10- 20 mph. Ahead of
Tropical Depression Florence, the low clouds yielded little chance of
seeing any hawks if there were any migrating at all.
Raptor Observations:
The one and only Broad-winged Hawk appeared on the southern side of the
mountain at 12:45 pm (EDT). One local Red-tailed Hawk was seen on two
occasions. A kettle of 12 Turkey Vultures in the distance gave us false
hope that a few raptors were headed our way but after careful observation,
that was not the case.
Non-raptor Observations:
Dark-eyed Junco, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Ovenbird, Blue Jay,
Tufted Titmouse, American Crow, Downy Woodpecker, Scarlet Tanager (female)
Visitors Jay Martin and Aaron Floyd reported the following below the
parking lot before coming up to the tower: 3 Red-headed Woodpeckers, 1
Broad-winged Hawk (perched in a tree), a Black-throated Blue Warbler, a
Wood Thrush, a White-breasted Nuthatch, and several American Goldfinch.
Predictions:
Check tomorrow's forecast for Tropical Depression Florence for increasing
rain and wind. The hawks weren't moving today, but should be soon as this
moves out!
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Report submitted by Ronald Eugene Harrington (roneharrin@xxxxxxx)
More site information at hawkcount.org:
http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=706
