Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 09, 2003
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 27 44 57
Bald Eagle 4 24 30
Northern Harrier 1 4 9
Sharp-shinned Hawk 20 36 38
Cooper's Hawk 2 7 8
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 2 2
Broad-winged Hawk 705 857 885
Red-tailed Hawk 6 26 26
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 1 1
American Kestrel 1 6 6
Merlin 2 3 4
Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1
Unknown 2 4 4
Total: 770 1015 1071
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 6.25 hours
Official Counter: Bev Leeuwenburg
Observers: Ian Topolsky
Visitors:
Jen Folts, Bev's right-hand woman, was the co-pilot for much of today's
flight. Joe Coleman & Jura arrived as things started heating up, netting
us a number of BWs and our Harrier. Also present for an hour or so, Judy
Palladinetti (who picked up a few birds while we were blabbering on
amongst ourselves with joy).
Weather:
Relatively heavy overcast for the major portion of the day. The clouds
started to break up slightly towards late afternoon but even upon leaving,
skies were mostly cloudy. The winds were in our favor though, with a nice
Easterly prevailing. High Temp was 26C.
Observations:
Extremely slow up until the noon hour and then WOW...the Ride of the
Valkeries was heard playing softly off in the distance...
Broad-wingeds began dropping out of the clouds, literally AND in
numbers, around 12:30. 9 species were observed when all was said and done,
with the 2 o'clock and 3 o'clock hours being the most productive (283, 339
BWs respectively).
3 Common Nighthawks in the last hour, not much beforehand except a few
Ruby-throated Hummers.
Predictions:
For what it's worth- all signs point to YES...
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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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