Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, VA, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 31, 2002
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Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 0 0
Osprey 1 50 252
Bald Eagle 2 44 129
Northern Harrier 3 87 135
Sharp-shinned Hawk 16 815 1256
Cooper's Hawk 2 107 173
Northern Goshawk 0 2 2
Red-shouldered Hawk 2 40 62
Broad-winged Hawk 0 30 3365
Red-tailed Hawk 210 502 559
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 1 8 14
American Kestrel 1 97 152
Merlin 1 20 29
Peregrine Falcon 2 42 55
Unknown 3 39 86
Total: 244 1883 6269
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Observation start time: 09:00:00
Observation end time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 7 hours
Site Coordinator: Linda Millington
Observers: Dorothy Tella, Ian Topolsky
Weather:
A beautifully frigid day. Wind was out of the WNW, steady @ 3 on the
Beaufort scale. Temp 39-41F. 100% CC until 3:00, then some clearing.
Observations:
The Red-taileds were coming through steadily today; pretty much following
the same line out of the NNW.
8 GBHEs were noted at different times throughout the day.
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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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