Mount Peter Hawkwatch, 10/31/15

My day of counting hawks at Mount Peter Hawkwatch definitely exceeded my expectations. With gentle southwest winds in the forecast, I was thinking it would be a long day with very few birds. Instead, it was a pretty good day with a total of 52 migrating raptors, which put the total number to over 13,000! It was a gorgeous day, sunny and cool with just enough clouds to help find birds in the sky. Huge thanks to the hawkwatch’s fearless leader, Judy Cinquina, for the company and the help on the mountain today. Here’s my report:

Total observation time: 7.5 hours
Official Counter Matt Zeitler
Observers: Judith C. Cinquina

Visitors:
Amy Greher

Weather:
Sunny and cool with some clouds. Temperatures ranged from 2 to 15 degrees Celsius; there was a light wind primarily from the southwest all day.

Raptor Observations:
One female Northern Harrier, and Red-shouldered Hawks included 3 unknown, 2 adults, and one immature.

Non-raptor Observations:
Non-raptor species: American Robin (57), Cedar Waxwing (23), Blue Jay (27), White-breasted Nuthatch (1), American Crow (13), Tufted Titmouse (5), Eastern Bluebird (4), Yellow-rumped Warbler (5), American Goldfinch (7), Mourning Dove (6), Common Raven (3), Red-bellied Woodpecker (1), Pileated Woodpecker (1), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1), Canada Goose (25), Dark-eyed Junco (15), Black-capped Chickadee (4).