Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 10, 2003
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 10 54 67
Bald Eagle 3 27 33
Northern Harrier 0 4 9
Sharp-shinned Hawk 23 59 61
Cooper's Hawk 4 11 12
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 2 2
Broad-winged Hawk 275 1132 1160
Red-tailed Hawk 10 36 36
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 1 1
American Kestrel 2 8 8
Merlin 0 3 4
Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1
Unknown 2 6 6
Total: 329 1344 1400
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 17:30:00
Total observation time: 8.5 hours
Official Counter: Jesse Fulton
Observers: BJ Westervelt, Bev Leeuwenburg, Ian Topolsky, Mike Reyman
Visitors:
George Wheaton & Ralph Wall stuck it out for the majority of the day (
spotting a number of the pesky high-flyers), Laddy-boy Topolsky made the
scene midday, as did Dick Homan. William Leigh, who stuck it out with me
until 6:30, arrived late afternoon and is responsible for catching the
largest kettle of BWs for the day (and then some...). Also- Judy
Palladinetti, who has made appearances for 3 consecutive days.
Weather:
Once again, East winds prevailed today. Cloudcover was decent and quite
usefull up until the 3 o'clock hour, then retina-burning blue skies took
over.
Observations:
Over 90% of the birds that passed through today were extremely high, many
times materializing & dematerializing in and out of view. The last hour
and a half of observation (5-6:30 EDT), when the birds appeared to have
slightly dropped in altitude, more than doubled our BW numbers for the
day. I have a sneaking suspicion that some decent numbers may have passed
through earlier on, but we just had no chance of seeing them.
A single flock of approximately 17 Cedar Waxwings was seen late; also, 7
Ruby-throated Hummers throughout the day.
Predictions:
When asked whether tomorrow will bring us some another decent flight, the
magic 8-ball (www.shuchow.com/eightball) amusingly replied "Cannot predict
now". So true, so true...
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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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