Mt. Peter Hawk Watch

This Osprey flew right over the platform with a fish in its grasp. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch 9/14/13.
This Osprey flew right over the platform with a fish in its grasp. Mt. Peter Hawk Watch 9/14/13.

Today was my first day counting out at Mt. Peter Hawk Watch. It was a good day for me, we had enough hawks to keep it interesting, but not too many to make it difficult for me as the counter. The birds were flying high, but we had 200 migrating hawks today. Here is my report from hawkcount.org:

Mount Peter
Warwick, New York, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 14, 2013
——————————————————————-

Species            Day’s Count    Month Total   Season Total
—————— ———– ————– ————–
Black Vulture                0              0              0
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                      15             61             61
Bald Eagle                   3             29             29
Northern Harrier             0              8              8
Sharp-shinned Hawk          17             87             87
Cooper’s Hawk                1              7              7
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          1              6              6
Broad-winged Hawk          156            870            870
Red-tailed Hawk              0              4              4
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel             3             36             36
Merlin                       1              3              3
Peregrine Falcon             1              2              2
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                1              2              2
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              1              1
Unknown Raptor               1             10             10

Total:                     200           1126           1126
———————————————————————-

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

Official Counter:        Matt Zeitler

Observers:        Ajit I. Antony, Beverly Robertson, Bill O’Keefe,
Judith C. Cinquina, Rob Stone, Scot Marchal

Visitors:
Penny Whitlick, Enid Hayflick, Mike Ipp., Jan Hesbon, Diane Brown

Weather:
Cool and cloudy for most of the day with a steady NW wind that was strong
at times. Temperatures ranged from 11 to 16 degrees Celsius.

Raptor Observations:
Raptors were flying high today even in the first hour of the watch. (3)
Adult Bald Eagles migrated and we had one adult Bald Eagle that headed
north. Also migrating were (1) Red-shouldered Hawk (unknown) and (3)
American Kestrels (2 unknown, 1 female).

Non-raptor Observations:
Bird Species identified: Tree Swallow (17), Canada Goose (34), Cedar
Waxwing (36), Common Raven (4), Chimney Swift (11), House Wren,
Black-capped Chickadee, American Crow (2), Blackburnian Warbler, Blackpoll
Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, American Redstart, Red-eyed Vireo,
and Magnolia Warbler. Non-raptor highlight was two Common Ravens flying
very close to one another and one of them doing a barrel roll.

After the hawk watch, I headed back to the Pine Island Turf Nursery to try for a better shot of the American Golden-Plovers:

American Golden-Plover out at the Pine Island Turf Nursery, 9/14/13.
American Golden-Plover out at the Pine Island Turf Nursery, 9/14/13.