Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 05, 2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 1 282
Bald Eagle 0 5 148
Northern Harrier 4 12 217
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 68 1747
Cooper's Hawk 0 18 288
Northern Goshawk 0 1 9
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 16 102
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 11647
Red-tailed Hawk 1 65 475
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 7
American Kestrel 0 1 206
Merlin 0 1 37
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 45
Unknown 0 4 113
Total: 8 192 15323
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 09:30:00
Observation end time: 14:15:00
Total observation time: 4.75 hours
Official Counter: Ian Topolsky
Observers:
Visitors:
Only a couple of pop-ins and the expected inqueries from passersby.
Weather:
The day was, in one word, abysmal... Southeasterly winds prevailed today
at 1-2 Beaufort, 0-1 for the last hour. Cloudcover flopped back and forth
from decent to ominous several times throughout the observation period
(85-100%, with brief sprinkles). At 2:00, summer-like storms rolled in.
Temp topped off at 70F, just simply not right if you ask me...
Observations:
Steady and sure like the tortoise, Harriers. All 4 of them that passed
through brought tears to my eyes...
2 Monarchs, 39 Robins, 14 Blue Jay, 15+ Cedar Waxwing and 1 Hermit Thrush
and numerous White-throated Sparrows at the entrance to the trail for
Bear's Den.
Predictions:
Come on now, we want Red-taileds. How 'bout tomorrow?
"ALL SIGNS POINT TO MAYBE"
========================================================================
Report submitted by Ian Topolsky (ict_earth@xxxxxxxxx)
Snickers Gap Hawkwatch was established in 1990. It is located in northern
Virginia, on the Clarke and Loudoun County line. It is reached by taking VA
Route 7 to the county line, which runs atop the ridge at Snickers Gap. On the
south side of Route 7 is a commuter parking lot. The count is conducted from
there. It is a volunteer site, and is counted in fall only, from late August
until late November or early December. There are no facilities at the site, so
bring a snack, drinks, and a chair. Many of the birds can be distant, and a
scope is helpful.
As a volunteer site, we are always looking to increase our pool of
counters. We are eager to train those who have never counted, but are skilled
with hawk identification. We are also willing to pair inexperienced observers
with experienced counters. Please contact the compiler, Todd Day, at
blkvulture@xxxxxxx with any questions or if you are interested in participating
in the count.
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
