Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 10, 2005
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 0 241
Bald Eagle 0 22 181
Northern Harrier 5 31 126
Sharp-shinned Hawk 13 83 1810
Cooper's Hawk 9 38 348
Northern Goshawk 0 1 6
Red-shouldered Hawk 13 40 133
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 6825
Red-tailed Hawk 134 437 1481
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 1 3 11
American Kestrel 0 0 139
Merlin 0 0 40
Peregrine Falcon 0 1 17
Unknown 4 7 85
Total: 179 663 11443
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:15:00
Total observation time: 7.25 hours
Official Counter: Todd M. Day, Yusuf Gantt
Observers: Bart Frazier, Bob Blakney, Jamie Gregory, Yusuf Gantt
Visitors:
The man, the myth, the legend, the willet: Jackson Barton Frazier.
Weather:
Wind was the word of the day, and it came at a good clip ripping out of the
northwest. 16-20 MPH all day, gusts over 40 MPH. Temperature started at
41, topped out at 51. Lots of big puffy white ones, all mushed together
to give a gray cast to the day, except when some big splotches of blue
muscled in. Oh, and a few rain drops. A perfect November day after a
cold front. A great day to string several hundred Red-taileds.
Raptor Observations:
The Golden arrived on the shoulder of Mr. Frazier. It was a juvenile, at
the very classic 2:13PM.
Non-raptor Observations:
First of the denizens of Mattamuskeet's to grace our site this season: 26
Tundra Swans at 1:05 in a perfect V. They make all other waterfowl that
passes our ridge look like chumps. A jailbreak of loons, all between
about noon and two: 151 talled, those identfied were Common, but as
Catthumper Stinson warns, "all IDs are tentative." 35 Gulls, likely all
were Ring-billeds (at least there were identified as such). About 55
Canada Geese. One Evening Grosbeak that I didn't get on well enough to
put in the daily report. Hundreds of Waxwings (400 or so), and maybe 200
finches that were mostly Goldfinches.
Predictions:
This business of predicting is serious stuff, and I'm just now realizing
that. It should be left to the experts and scientists, and clearly we
don't fit that bill. We've made a mockery out of this for far too long,
and it should cease.
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Report submitted by Todd Day (blkvulture@xxxxxxx)
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