Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 18, 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 4 27 272
Bald Eagle 0 49 121
Northern Harrier 3 27 72
Sharp-shinned Hawk 83 698 1289
Cooper's Hawk 10 145 301
Northern Goshawk 0 1 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2 31 57
Broad-winged Hawk 0 6 3701
Red-tailed Hawk 8 218 302
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 1 18 85
Merlin 0 11 21
Peregrine Falcon 0 20 27
Unknown 1 28 63
Total: 112 1279 6312
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 15:15:00
Total observation time: 6.25 hours
Official Counter: Ian Topolsky
Observers: George Wheaton
Visitors:
Woody Bousquet, Bob Gaven.
Weather:
Winds were out of the ESE today at 1-2. Cloudcover started out at 75%,
rising to 100% by the third hour of observation. Relatively high ceiling.
High Temp 59F.
Observations:
Sharpies are still the name of the game right now.
3 Osprey, none packin' a lunch.
I am most assuredly on file now. With our close proximity to a certain
military base (it shall remain nameless for my own safety) it is not
uncommon to see a vehicle or two make a pass through the lot to check us
out. But having a Dept. of Homeland Security helicopter extensively
photograph you at close range, and then leave as quickly as it came,
doesn't happen every day...
Maybe I shouldn't have waved; didn't quite think that one through all
the way...
Predictions:
What next, men in black at my door?
"YOU CAN COUNT ON IT"
========================================================================
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.
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
