Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch, VA
Waynesboro, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 05, 2005
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
BV 0 0 0
TV 0 0 0
OS 2 10 27
BE 0 2 16
NH 3 4 6
SS 1 12 27
CH 0 0 4
NG 0 0 0
RS 0 0 0
BW 40 103 287
RT 3 16 51
RL 0 0 0
GE 0 0 0
AK 0 8 11
ML 0 0 0
PG 0 0 0
UA 0 0 2
UB 0 0 7
UF 0 0 0
UE 0 0 0
UR 1 2 2
Total: 50 157 440
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 15:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Official Counter: Wm (Bill) Gallagher
Observers: Brenda Tekin, Gordy Adamski, Robert Plank,
Wm. (Bill) Gallagher
Visitors:
Lois Gebhardt, Angela Noebel
Weather:
A day with wind changing directions on a continual basis thoughout the day.
Just when we thought we figured out flight path of the few raptors
inbetween heavy cloud cover, we would pick them up somewhere else due to
shift in wind.
Initially out of the north at 1-5 km/h, it would change to East with
immediate drop off of anything flying and more cloud cover to northerly
flavor between N to NE and few birds would trickle through.
Temp: 20c increasing to 26.5 c;
Humidity: 61% < 45% then up to 53%;
Bar.Pressure: Not sure if guage is malfunctioning but we've noted
unexplained sharp rise or fall in pressure. Started at 1017millibars
increasing to 1026 where it remained steady for several hours before
dropping down to 1025. This seems too high and we'll have to monitor.
Cloud Cover - There were times where it was the perfect crystal blue sky
with just the right amount of white puffy clouds. Then it would become
mostly cloudy to completly overcast that seemed to limited only at the
higher elevation above the gap. When clouds would diminish we would spot
raptors migrating through so we suspect they were going over, above the
clouds.
Raptor Observations:
A slow morning and afternoon. When winds seemed to shift back to the NW,
overcast skies gave way to patches of blue overhead and we were able to
quickly pick up high sailing birds. The peak push, or better put, when
skies cleared a bit, it was between 12-1 p.m. EST and we managed to pick
up 22 BW that including several small kettles high in the sky.
Northern Harrier: 1 juvenile @ 9:35 EST; 1 adult female and 3rd not id'd.
Osprey: 1 @ 12:24; 1 @ 1:15
Non-raptor Observations:
Several of us were serenaded by a nearby White-eyed Vireo throughout the
day.
Small waves of Chimney Swift pushing through and increasing numbers of
American Tree Swallow
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 11 including several that flew in to sip on
the freshly made sugar water at nearby feeder.
Predictions:
sunny
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Report submitted by Brenda Tekin (bt8x@xxxxxxxxxxxx)
Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch, VA information may be found at:
http://home.ntelos.net/~btkin/rockfish_gap_hawk_watch
Site Description:
***Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch, VA - Established 1976***
The Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch is held on the grounds of the Inn at Afton,
located on the southern side of Rockfish Gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains,
just above where I-64 (exit 99) intersects with the southern end of the
Skyline Drive and the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway, just east of
Waynesboro, VA and approximately 22 miles west of Charlottesville, VA.
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