Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, Virginia, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Aug 31, 2003
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
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Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 10 13 13
Bald Eagle 2 6 6
Northern Harrier 5 5 5
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 2 2
Cooper's Hawk 0 1 1
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 13 28 28
Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 0
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 0 0 0
Merlin 1 1 1
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown 0 0 0
Total: 32 56 56
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 17:30:00
Total observation time: 6 hours
Official Counter: Joan Boudreau and Bob Abrams
Observers: Jon Little, Sue Heath, Todd Day
Weather:
Easterly winds 5-10MPH, 100% cloud cover for nearly entire day (only about
a sixty minute break of 60% clouds between 4:30 and 5:30 EDT), 60-70F.
Observations:
Decent late Osprey flight with six coming after four PM EDT; first Harriers
and Merlin of the season, the latter out second earliest on record.
2 Ring-billed Gulls at 5:30 PM
2 Common Nighthawks at 5:05 PM
Mourning Warlber, American Redstart, 2 Magnolia Warblers, Common
Yellowthroat, Canada Warbler, Ovenbird, Black-throated Blue Warber, 3
Black-throated Green Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Wood Thrush, 3
Red-eyed Vireos, Baltimore Oriole, 17 Hummingbirds, Empid sp, 4-6 Brown
Thrashers, and a flock of 250 Grackles with a few other icterids mixed in.
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Report submitted by Todd Day (blkvulture@xxxxxxx)
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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