SMHW
Hamilton Co. near Soddy Daisy, TN
After 3 days of steady rain, I was anxious to get back up on the lookout. As I
arrived at
10 AM I wasn't to sure that I hadn't made a mistake. It was 66 degrees with
the wind blowing
in gusts to 18 MPH and 85% cloud cover. However the skies below were washed
clean and it
was possible to see Kingston Steam Plant without the aid of binoculars, 60
miles away.
My first bird was a "local" Red-tail with an almost completely full crop. I
thought of my own
breakfast of gravy and biscuit and began to wonder if the hawk enjoyed his meal
as much as I
had. It wasn't hard to see that it was just as full as I was! At 11:13 (2)
Double Crested
Cormorants flew high up from the NW to ESE. Even though these birds are not
countable raptors,
the count day had begun. Bill and I ended the day with a Red-shouldered Hawk
perched on a thick
black bottom wire in the gap between the house and the pole, facing away from
us. In just a
minute the first hawk had another Red-shouldered fly by and draw him away from
his perch. This
was an unusual sight for us, in that, except for a local American Kestrel a few
years ago, no
other raptor has perched on an electric wire for us.
Todays totals:
3 Osprey
6 Bald Eagles (3 Ad/3 Im)
34 Sharp-shinned Hawks
5 Cooper's Hawks
60 Broad-winged Hawks (most probably our best October BW single day count)
1 American Kestrel
*7 Peregrine Falcons (our highest single days count ever)--were they blown in
from the east?
Year to date totals:
15 Osprey
20 Bald Eagles (14 Ad/6 Im)
13 Northern Harrier
71 Sharp-shinned Hawks
23 Cooper's Hawk
1 Red-shouldered Hawk
8123 Broad-winged Hawks
2 Red-tailed Hawks
9 American Kestrel
1 Merlin
*15 Peregrine Falcons (highest year count)
1 Unknown Buteo
2 Unknown Raptors
Recently I received an email from Shane Williams, his brother, in Lafollette,
saw ~150 Broad-
winged Hawks today in four groups between 5:30 and 6:20. This still gives me
hope and encouragement
for tomorrow. Quite possible Broad-wing season isn't over just yet!
A big thank you to Lora & Craig McBride who came up for 3 hours this afternoon
to help Bill Haley
and myself count the hawks.
Jimmy Wilkerson
Hixson, Hamilton Co., TN
http://soddymountainhawkwatch.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/Soddy-Mountain-Hawk-Watch-1608121316117914/timeline
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