Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 22, 2004
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 5 168 186
Bald Eagle 2 56 63
Northern Harrier 1 31 33
Sharp-shinned Hawk 33 241 246
Cooper's Hawk 8 65 77
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 4 16 16
Broad-winged Hawk 12 3236 3346
Red-tailed Hawk 3 51 65
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 2 43 47
Merlin 0 6 6
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown 1 23 23
Total: 71 3936 4108
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Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end time: 16:15:00
Total observation time: 8.25 hours
Official Counter: Ian Topolsky
Observers: BJ Westervelt, Lad Topolsky
Visitors:
A local Bluemontian stopped by briefly to better familiarize herself with
the raptors that grace our skies. It's not always this slow, I promise...
Weather:
Clouds are overrated anyways...
Some thin cirrus peered over the N-NE ridgeline late afternoon. 0-5%
Cloudcover much of the day. Winds were out of the NW at 2 for most of the
observation period. High Temp 85F. Visibilty was decent.
Observations:
Peanut butter but no jelly...
The past 4 days at Snickers may very well be summed up using the
contents of my refrigerator. There's ALMOST enough items to make something
good.
One main ingredient we don't have right now is birds. Broad-wingeds tore
through on the 18th and basically shut us down immediately after. One
chapter of the season comes to a close, adieu.
Bald Eagle breakdown: 1- 1st yr, 1- 3rd yr.
No Osprey packin' a lunch.
Predictions:
More of the same?
The Eightball dodges the question, "ASK AGAIN LATER"...
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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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