Hawk Watch Thursday October 13, 2011

A very, very, VERY slow day at the platform. As the point was blanketed in fog for the entire morning, we had virtually no raptor movement. The few visitors that did venture out had a fairly good chance of seeing a Merlin or Peregrine in the state park, but these birds were not on the move today; they were simply picking off some of the songbirds that were present.

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 13, 2011
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Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             24             39
Turkey Vulture               0            130            151
Osprey                       1           1020           2367
Bald Eagle                   0            140            265
Northern Harrier             0            253            424
Sharp-shinned Hawk           0           5703           9374
Cooper's Hawk                0           1324           1808
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0             21             30
Broad-winged Hawk            0            844            923
Red-tailed Hawk              0             62            105
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              1              1
American Kestrel             0           2448           4658
Merlin                       0            538           1296
Peregrine Falcon             0            371            900
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              0
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              0
Swainson's Hawk              0              1              3

Total:                       1          12880          22344
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Observation start time: 06:00:00 
Observation end   time: 16:00:00 
Total observation time: 10 hours

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

Observers:        

Weather:
The point was blanketed in heavy fog the entire morning.  When the fog
finally eased up around 11:30 EST there was still light mist and poor
visibility the remainder of the day (except for the last half hour when the
sun finally came out, and we saw blue sky).  There was a light to moderate
East wind for most of the day that eventually turned Southeast for the last
3 hours.

Raptor Observations:
Can you say slow?  We only had 1 migrant today...a lone Osprey that powered
overhead.

Non-raptor Observations:
1 Chimney Swift, 1 Cattle Egret, 5 Common Loon, ~2000 Double-crested
Cormorant, 1 Common Eider, 1 Pine Warbler, 1 Prairie Warbler, ~50
Yellow-rumped Warbler, 2 White-crowned Sparrow, 2 Song Sparrow, 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet, 1 Caspian Tern, 6 Royal Tern, ~200 Tree Swallow, 1
Cliff Swallow, 1 Palm Warbler, 1 Eastern Phoebe, 1 Common Yellowthroat, 2
Forster's Tern, 1 Parasitic Jaeger, 4 Pied-billed Grebe, 1 Greater
Yellowlegs 

Predictions:
It looks like tomorrow is going to be yet another slow day with South winds
and a chance of thunderstorms throughout the day.
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Report submitted by Melissa Roach (roach.mc1@gmail.com)
Cape May Hawkwatch information may be found at:
http://www.njaudubon.org/Centers/CMBO/