Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 08, 2003
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 17 30
Bald Eagle 1 20 26
Northern Harrier 0 3 8
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 16 18
Cooper's Hawk 0 5 6
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 1 2 2
Broad-winged Hawk 15 152 180
Red-tailed Hawk 0 20 20
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 1 1
American Kestrel 1 5 5
Merlin 0 1 2
Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1
Unknown 2 2 2
Total: 21 245 301
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Observation start time: 07:30:00
Observation end time: 15:45:00
Total observation time: 8.25 hours
Official Counter: Sam Young
Observers: Ian Topolsky, Jon Little, William Leigh
Visitors:
Therese Leigh, Judy Palladinetti.
Weather:
The day started with promising skies and a light Westerly wind. Heavy
overcast rolled in around midday
and continued to blanket the sky for the rest of the observation period,
despite the winds changing over to a Northerly direction. Temp ranged from
64-72F. Heavier overcast rolled in at 4:15.
Observations:
It was just one of those S-L-O-W days. The single BE was an adult.
1 Raven, 1 Ruby-throated Hummer and various passerines passing over very
high making ID difficult.
Predictions:
Since this report is a day late, due to technical difficulties, I can
safely say that tomorrow (today) will bring us a spectacular early
Broad-winged flight. Trust me...
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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.
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