Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, VA, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 27, 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 1 23 152
Northern Harrier 0 28 163
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 131 1387
Cooper's Hawk 2 33 206
Northern Goshawk 0 4 6
Red-shouldered Hawk 5 57 119
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 3365
Red-tailed Hawk 50 993 1552
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 2 14 28
American Kestrel 0 0 152
Merlin 0 0 29
Peregrine Falcon 0 3 58
Unknown 0 9 95
Total: 60 1297 7566
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Observation start time: 11:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 5 hours
Site Coordinator: Ian Topolsky
Observers:
Visitors:
Charlie Brown's sinister older brother, Laddie, snuck up to the gap
today.
Weather:
Extremely cold and windy, just the way I like it. Winds were out of the
NW at 4-5 on the Beaufort scale with some heavy gusts around midday.
Cloudcover was at 100% to start with and gradually dissipated to 15% by
4:00. Temps topped off at a balmy 38F.
Observations:
2 more GEs today, both adults. 1st at 11:40 and the 2nd at 2:20.
The Canada Geese were really pouring through. 20 flocks throughout the
day totalling 776+. Common Loons 78+. Also, a single large Flock of
Seagulls 80+; and I ran, I ran so far awaaay...
Predictions:
Could be good but we'll all be filling our crops along with friends and
family.
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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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