Category: Raptors

Last night I received an email posting through the Mearns Bird Club. Elizabeth McKnight had located a SNOWY OWL in the Black Dirt Region, not 15 minutes from our house! I was losing my mind last night thinking about this bird. I got up early to look for the bird before work. While I was out, it started to snow pretty good, making the task a bit more difficult. I looked for just over an hour, but I was unsuccessful in relocating the bird. Off to work I went. Just before noon I received a call from Bruce Nott. The bird had been relocated! I believe it was Curt McDermott and Scott Baldinger that found the bird. I jumped on the phone with my boss, and he was kind enough to let me go run for this bird. On my way there I called Tricia and Karen Miller to give them the heads up. I joined Bruce, Curt, John Haas, and Ajit Antony who were viewing the bird. Ken McDermott, Tricia, and Karen Miller joined us not long after that. Rob Stone, his son Anthony, and Jeff Goulding were the last to arrive. We were not disappointed as we all got really great looks at the bird. The folks who know more than I do generally agreed that it was likely a first year female. Thanks to everyone involved, this was a life bird for me and a really special one at that.

Here’s my report for the day:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 02, 2013
——————————————————————-

Species            Day’s Count    Month Total   Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture                2              2             50
Turkey Vulture               2              2             81
Osprey                       0              0            123
Bald Eagle                   4              4             98
Northern Harrier             2              2             41
Sharp-shinned Hawk           6              6            993
Cooper’s Hawk                1              1             52
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          7              7             93
Broad-winged Hawk            0              0           7611
Red-tailed Hawk              9              9             88
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              1
American Kestrel             0              0            112
Merlin                       0              0             14
Peregrine Falcon             0              0             13
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              3
Unknown Buteo                0              0              6
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              1
Unknown Raptor               0              0             21

Total:                      33             33           9401
———————————————————————-

Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end   time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 7 hours

Official Counter:        Matt Zeitler

Observers:

Weather:
Mix of clouds and sun, seasonably warm. Temperatures ranged from 11 degrees
Celsius to 17 degrees Celsius.

Raptor Observations:
Bald Eagles: 3 Adult and 1 Immature
Northern Harrier: 1 Male and 1 Unknown
Red-shouldered Hawk: 2 Adult and 5 Unknown

Non-raptor Observations:
Non Raptor Species: Downy Woodpecker (2), Pileated Woodpecker (1), Common
Raven (2), Red-bellied Woodpecker (1), Black-capped Chickadee (4), Tufted
Titmouse (1), Dark-eyed Junco (1), Blue Jay (10), Canada Goose (39), Cedar
Waxwing (12), American Robin (3), Yellow-rumped Warbler (1), American Crow
(22)

I had a nice day out at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch today. I had nearly 40 migrating raptors which is not too bad considering that we had a Southwest wind all day. I had a nice variety of birds, with the highlight being 5 Bald Eagles – 3 adults and 2 immatures. Many birds flew over pretty low, which gave me the opportunity to take some photos. I was generally disappointed with my efforts, but I did manage a few decent shots.

Here’s my report for the day:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 26, 2013
——————————————————————-

Species            Day’s Count    Month Total   Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture                0             22             47
Turkey Vulture               0              6              9
Osprey                       0             18            121
Bald Eagle                   5             22             93
Northern Harrier             2             10             37
Sharp-shinned Hawk          25            541            941
Cooper’s Hawk                0             26             50
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          3             37             58
Broad-winged Hawk            0              0           7611
Red-tailed Hawk              2             35             41
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel             1             21            111
Merlin                       0              8             13
Peregrine Falcon             0              7             13
Unknown Accipiter            0              3              3
Unknown Buteo                0              3              6
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              1
Unknown Raptor               0              2             20

Total:                      38            762           9176
———————————————————————-

Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end   time: 15:15:00
Total observation time: 7.25 hours

Official Counter:        Matt Zeitler

Observers:        Rob Stone

Visitors:
Girl Scout Troop 670

Weather:
Cool, sunny with a SW wind. Temperatures ranged from 4 degrees Celsius to
12 degrees Celsius.

Raptor Observations:
Three adult Bald Eagles and 2 immature Bald Eagles migrated. Three
Red-shouldered Hawks included 1 unknown, 1 adult, and 1 immature. One
unknown Northern Harrier and 1 male Northern Harrier came through, and the
first bird of the day was a female American Kestrel.

Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor species: Bluejay (22), American Crow (42), Downy Woodpecker (2),
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1), Tufted Titmouse (3), Black-capped Chickadee
(2), Mourning Dove (1), Common Raven (1), Yellow-rumped Warbler (1),
American Pipit (5), Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)

Well, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I had another slow day at the hawk watch with a total of 24 migrating raptors (a lot less than the 122 from the day before!). The highlight for me was stumbling upon a Hermit Thrush when I first arrived at the watch in the morning. It’s a miracle that I had the camera out and was able to get a shot. Here’s  a shot of a low flying Turkey Vulture:

And, here is my report for the day:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 19, 2013
——————————————————————-

Species            Day’s Count    Month Total   Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture                0             20             45
Turkey Vulture               0              4              7
Osprey                       1             16            119
Bald Eagle                   0             14             85
Northern Harrier             0              7             34
Sharp-shinned Hawk          18            354            754
Cooper’s Hawk                3             21             45
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0             11             32
Broad-winged Hawk            0              0           7611
Red-tailed Hawk              0              3              9
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel             1             18            108
Merlin                       1              6             11
Peregrine Falcon             0              6             12
Unknown Accipiter            0              2              2
Unknown Buteo                0              1              4
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              1
Unknown Raptor               0              1             19

Total:                      24            484           8898
———————————————————————-

Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end   time: 14:30:00
Total observation time: 6.5 hours

Official Counter:        Matt Zeitler

Observers:

Visitors:
Lynne Snyder, Eileen Fox, and Allen Herron.

Weather:
Cool and sunny at the start of the watch with very little wind.
Temperatures and clouds both increased and wind picked up from the south as
the day progressed. Temperatures ranged from 11 to 18 degrees Celsius.

Raptor Observations:
The height of the flight was highly variable today with some birds flying
just over the observation platforms and others at the limit of binoculars.
For migrating raptors we had (1) unknown American Kestrel. In the third
hour of the watch (2) adult Bald Eagles were spotted to the west of the
platform and eventually headed northeast. In the fourth hour of the watch a
single adult Bald Eagle soared over the valley for a while before heading
north.

Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor species: Brant (10), Blue Jay (11), Tufted Titmouse (4),
Black-capped Chickadee (2), Cedar Waxwing (16), Canada Goose (102), Downy
Woodpecker (1), Red-bellied Woodpecker (1), Northern Flicker (1), American
Robin (2), Common Raven (2), American Crow (6).

I spent the day counting hawks out at the Mt. Peter Hawk Watch. I feel a little snake bit this year; I had another slow day with a total of only 28 migrating raptors. The highlights for me were an immature Bald Eagle and a Peregrine Falcon in the afternoon. Here’s my report:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 12, 2013
——————————————————————-

Species            Day’s Count    Month Total   Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture                0              3             28
Turkey Vulture               0              0              3
Osprey                       0             10            113
Bald Eagle                   1             11             82
Northern Harrier             1              4             31
Sharp-shinned Hawk          23            208            608
Cooper’s Hawk                1             13             37
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              3             24
Broad-winged Hawk            0              0           7611
Red-tailed Hawk              0              2              8
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel             0              9             99
Merlin                       0              4              9
Peregrine Falcon             1              4             10
Unknown Accipiter            0              2              2
Unknown Buteo                0              1              4
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              1
Unknown Raptor               1              1             19

Total:                      28            275           8689
———————————————————————-

Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end   time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours

Official Counter:        Matt Zeitler

Observers:        Don Leak

Visitors:
Terry Ann Gmelch, Don Leak, Caroline and Richard Kurtz, and Jeane
Thelander.

Weather:
Sunny and warm with some clouds. There was a light NE wind for the duration
of the watch. Temperatures ranged from 11 degrees to 23 degrees Celsius.

Raptor Observations:
Migrating Raptors: One immature Bald Eagle and one unknown Northern
Harrier. The local Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures were very active and
could be seen in flight or on the cell tower for the duration of the watch.

Non-raptor Observations:
Non Raptor Species: Canada Goose (713), Eastern Bluebird (4), Blue Jay
(105), White-breasted Nuthatch (1), Downy Woodpecker (1), Red-bellied
Woodpecker (1), American Crow (9), Common Raven (4), Titmouse (2),
Black-capped Chickadee (2), Yellow-rumped Warbler (1), and (4) unidentified
gulls.
========================================================================
Report submitted by Matt Zeitler (mattzeit@yahoo.com)

Wow, today was a slow day at the hawk watch. Just one day after having over 2,700 migrating raptors, I had only 23 today. The good news is that the birds were flying a little lower so I was able to snap a few photos. Here is my report for the day:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 21, 2013
——————————————————————-

Species            Day’s Count    Month Total   Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture                0              0              0
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                       0             81             81
Bald Eagle                   0             46             46
Northern Harrier             0             11             11
Sharp-shinned Hawk          16            208            208
Cooper’s Hawk                0             15             15
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          1             18             18
Broad-winged Hawk            4           7109           7109
Red-tailed Hawk              0              5              5
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel             2             49             49
Merlin                       0              4              4
Peregrine Falcon             0              3              3
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              3              3
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              1              1
Unknown Raptor               0             13             13

Total:                      23           7566           7566
———————————————————————-

Observation start time: 08:00:00
Observation end   time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 8 hours

Official Counter:        Matt Zeitler

Observers:        Bill Connolly, Bill O’Keefe, Rob Stone

Visitors:
Lee Geiger, several families.

Weather:
It was a little cool and very cloudy in the morning but warm and partly
sunny in the afternoon. Temperatures ranged from 15 to 24 degrees Celsius.

Raptor Observations:
For migrating raptors we had one adult Red-shouldered Hawk, one male
American Kestrel, and one unknown American Kestrel. Non-migrating raptors
included Turkey Vultures, Black Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks (2) and a low
flying Coopers Hawk that passed 50 yards to the west of the platform, below
eye level, and darted into the trees.

Non-raptor Observations:
Non Raptor Species: American Goldfinch (1), Cedar Waxwing (15), Blue Jay
(20+), Canada Goose (1), Ruby-throated Hummingbird (1), and Chimney Swift
(13). Non-raptor highlight was a Common Loon to the west of the platform,
heading north.