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
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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
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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.
Matt,
I agree with your identification of this bird as a juvenile Broad-winged Hawk. The streaking on the belly Is extremely course and not what I would expect of a juvie Red-shouldered Hawk. I don’t see any crescents in the wings either. Hope this helps. John
PS thanks for joining us at the watch today, always glad to have the help and the company.
Thanks for the ID help John it is always appreciated. I had a great time at the watch and it was really nice to meet Renee. Matt