Snickers Gap Hawkwatch
20 Miles West of Leesburg, VA, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 20, 2002
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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 15 135 148
Bald Eagle 6 51 56
Northern Harrier 1 27 30
Sharp-shinned Hawk 23 190 198
Cooper's Hawk 2 35 37
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 10 10
Broad-winged Hawk 422 2422 2442
Red-tailed Hawk 0 41 42
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 2 3
American Kestrel 2 35 38
Merlin 1 5 5
Peregrine Falcon 1 6 6
Unknown 1 32 32
Total: 474 2991 3047
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Observation start time: 06:00:00
Observation end time: 17:00:00
Total observation time: 11 hours
Site Coordinator: Sam Young
Observers: Dwayne Schilling, Ian Topolsky, Jesse Fulton, Todd Day
Visitors:
BJ "up high" Westervelt, Linda "new couch" Millington, Richard & Heather
Taylor, Jon Little and others.
Weather:
We had some good skies today after the early morning fog burned off,
despite the haze. East wind decreasing from 3-1 on the Beaufort scale.
Temps from 61F rising to around 82F. Pressure fell from 30.07-29.97.
Observations:
We knew what were hoping for and, in the back of our minds, expecting but
it just wasn't to be.
Other birds were E.Starling 2094, A.Crow 52+, B.Jay 3 (plus a
Westervelt), P.Woodpecker 1, C.Swift 75+, Magnolia Warbler 3, White-eyed
Vireo 2, Blue-headed Vireo 1, YB Cuckoo 1.
Predictions:
????
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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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