Hawk Watch Tuesday November 23, 2010

It was an interesting day at the Hawkwatch in terms of weather, if nothing else. The sky started off clear and the winds were out of the SSW making it quite warm. The winds slowly shifted to the west and died down a bit, and there was a brief time in the middle of the day where the winds were west and the sky was still clear. This small time period accounted for over 80% of the raptors counted today. Of course this window of raptor movement closed rather abruptly. While the wind continued to shift to a more favorable direction (it finished out the day coming out of the NW), the sky clouded over and migration stopped dead.

The non-raptor "highlights" should indicate how slow of a day it was: 3 Cave Swallows, 4 Barn Swallows, a Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin, 4 Greater Yellowlegs. There were also a Monarch Butterfly and a Cloudless Sulphur while it was still sunny and warm.

Strong NW winds and a clear sky tomorrow could mean some raptors, although there is a lot of inclement weather around us, so raptors from farther away may be blocked from moving towards us.

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 23, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture               10            266            442
Turkey Vulture              35           1225           2315
Osprey                       0             42           4572
Bald Eagle                   1             80            489
Northern Harrier             4            728           2359
Sharp-shinned Hawk          14           2006          19813
Cooper's Hawk                4            384           4069
Northern Goshawk             0             20             22
Red-shouldered Hawk          0            272            386
Broad-winged Hawk            0             16           1223
Red-tailed Hawk              5           1072           1654
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0             19             27
American Kestrel             1             87           5648
Merlin                       1             73           2246
Peregrine Falcon             1             40           1409
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              1              2
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              0

Total:                      76           6331          46676
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Observation start time: 06:45:00
Observation end   time: 15:30:00
Total observation time: 8.75 hours

Official Counter:        Doug Gochfeld

Observers:       

Weather:
SSW Winds and clear skies early, giving way gradually to NW winds and 100%
cloud cover.

Raptor Observations:
Not much.

Non-raptor Observations:
Not much. 3 Cave Swallows, 4 Barn Swallows, 4 Greater Yellowlegs, decent
morning movement of American Goldfinches considering the SW winds.

Predictions:
Strong NW Winds and clear skies. Melissa will show you raptors.



Location:     Cape Island--CMPSP--Hawkwatch Platform (CMBO hawkwatch)
Observation date:     11/23/10
Notes:     SW winds and sunny early, shifting W and eventually NW and clouding
over 100%.
Number of species:     58

Snow Goose     2
Canada Goose     X
Mute Swan     X
Gadwall     X
American Wigeon     X
American Black Duck     X
Mallard     X
Northern Shoveler     X
Northern Pintail     X
Green-winged Teal     X
Surf Scoter     X
Black Scoter     X
Hooded Merganser     7
Red-throated Loon     25
Common Loon     2
Pied-billed Grebe     X
Great Blue Heron     3
Great Egret     1
Black Vulture     10
Turkey Vulture     35
Bald Eagle     1
Northern Harrier     4
Sharp-shinned Hawk     14
Cooper's Hawk     4
Red-tailed Hawk     5
American Kestrel     1
Merlin     1
Peregrine Falcon     1
Greater Yellowlegs     4
Pectoral Sandpiper     1
Dunlin     1
Ring-billed Gull     X
Herring Gull     X
Great Black-backed Gull     X
Rock Pigeon     X
Mourning Dove     X
American Crow     X
Tree Swallow     40
Barn Swallow     4
Cave Swallow     3
Carolina Chickadee     X
Carolina Wren     2
Golden-crowned Kinglet     1
American Robin     X
Northern Mockingbird     X
European Starling     X
Cedar Waxwing     45
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)     X
Palm Warbler     1
Savannah Sparrow     X
Song Sparrow     X
White-throated Sparrow     X
Northern Cardinal     X
Red-winged Blackbird     X
Brown-headed Cowbird     10
House Finch     15
American Goldfinch     300
House Sparrow     X