Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, VA, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 13, 2002
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 0 2 254
Bald Eagle 3 13 142
Northern Harrier 2 20 155
Sharp-shinned Hawk 3 99 1355
Cooper's Hawk 4 18 191
Northern Goshawk 1 2 4
Red-shouldered Hawk 5 37 99
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 3365
Red-tailed Hawk 74 682 1241
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 4 7 21
American Kestrel 0 0 152
Merlin 0 0 29
Peregrine Falcon 0 2 57
Unknown 0 9 95
Total: 96 891 7160
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Observation start time: 10:30:00
Observation end time: 16:30:00
Total observation time: 6 hours
Site Coordinator: Ian Topolsky
Observers:
Visitors:
John Foley, Ray Miller, Bill Cross and a gentleman named Bengt Grandin,
who counts hawks at the SWestern most point of Sweden, visited the gap
today.
Weather:
Winds were out of the WNW and a steady 4 on the Beaufort scale
accompanied by 100% Cloudcover until 2:00, after which the winds
diminished as the sky opened up. Temps topped off at 48F.
Observations:
At least 75% of the birds that came through today had full crops, I guess
they had some extra time on their hands over the past few days of rain.
Today also brought us our 4th NG (imm @ 11:50; I'm still waiting for a
booming adult) and 4 GEs (1 imm @ 11:32, 2 adults @ 1:09 and 1 adult @
1:42).
The CEWAs really took over the skies after 3:00. 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch
was heard calling from the woods behind the lot but was not seen.
Predictions:
Could be tasty...
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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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