Mendota Fire Tower
Mendota, VA, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 19, 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 3 5 5
Bald Eagle 0 0 0
Northern Harrier 0 0 0
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 5 5
Cooper's Hawk 1 4 4
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 423 445 445
Red-tailed Hawk 1 4 4
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 2 3 3
Merlin 0 0 0
Peregrine Falcon 1 1 1
Unknown Accipiter 3 5 5
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 1 1
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 436 473 473
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Observation start time: 08:30:00
Observation end time: 17:30:00
Total observation time: 9 hours
Official Counter: Ron Harrington
Observers: Jennifer Meade, Sam Evans
Visitors:
Twin Springs High School Environmental Science Class: April Addington,
Teacher, Tracy Garrett, Assistant Principal and students: Corey Blodgett,
Caleb Peters, Cheyenne Glymp, John Lane, and Juan Matias.
Scott County Career and Tech Center-Outdoor Recreation Class:
Lowell Fowler, Instructor, and students: Cameron Poole, Chase Mullins,
Tamara Smith, Amber Finch, Hailee Fields, Cody Taylor, Jacob Hammon, Hunter
Hepper, and Desinea Vance.
Scott County Career and Tech Center-Small Animal Care/Vet Science:Dr. Nancy
Johnson, Instructor, and students: Madison Dillard, Dacey Falin, Cierra
Fields, Rachel France, Breaunna Hasting, Cameron Mullins, Myranda Brown,
Andrew Jesse, Trista Snow, Kassie Begley, Haley McConnell, Alyssa
McCracken,& Savanna Rhoton. Vet Science Students: Cheyann Bellamy, Hollie
Estep, Hannah Kelliher, Makenna Simpson, Abigail Wells, and Sara Elliott.
Also visiting were John and Pasty Hart of Piny Flats, TN.
Weather:
Mostly sunny with scattered clouds throughout the day. Low valley fog in
the am. Little hazy in the am but visibility was good (15 miles plus). The
wind was light and variable, out of the SE in the am and out of the West/NW
by noon. Low temperature was 68 degrees F, high was 78 F.
Raptor Observations:
The first Broad-winged hawks were seen during the 9:00 am hour, and we had
a fair, but steady flow most of the day. They were using thermals for
travel and most could be seen with the naked eye until mid-afternoon, then,
with some exceptions, we had to find them with binoculars.They started
coming down both sides of the mountain range and were often hard to find.
Saw several "local" Red-tailed hawks flying here and there; and the usual
array of Black and Turkey vultures.
Non-raptor Observations:
Monarch butterflies: 22
Red-headed woodpeckers: 2
Predictions:
Should be another good day for hawk watching. More hawks are in the
"pipeline" and our daily numbers should continue to increase.
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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
