Hawk Watch Saturday October 16, 2010

Another windy day at the Hawk Watch, but the birds didn't seem to mind...too much. We ended the day with just over 1000 raptors thanks to the variable Northwest winds that persisted throughout the day. Dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks, the count had a very nice push of small falcons as well. Even more exciting were the many adult accipiters and Merlins coming through which is always a nice change from the mass of immature raptors that make their way to Cape May.

Bullied by the wind, birds were flying right past the platform giving some incredible looks. To go along with the raptors, we had 2 Cattle Egrets, 1 Sandhill Crane, 1 Whimbrel, and 2 Pectoral Sandpipers fly past very close.

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 16, 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                4             57            103
Turkey Vulture              34            321            519
Osprey                      34           1641           4382
Bald Eagle                   9            160            336
Northern Harrier            13            558           1029
Sharp-shinned Hawk         409           7803          13023
Cooper's Hawk               85           1867           2751
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0             22             27
Broad-winged Hawk            1            692           1145
Red-tailed Hawk              8            107            246
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel           296           1892           4691
Merlin                      95            961           1782
Peregrine Falcon            26            872           1149
Unknown Accipiter            0              0              0
Unknown Buteo                0              0              0
Unknown Falcon               0              0              1
Unknown Eagle                0              0              0
Unknown Raptor               0              0              0

Total:                    1014          16953          31184
----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

Observers:        

Weather:
Very strong NNW/NW winds throughout the day with clear skies.

Raptor Observations:
Nice movement today with birds staying low because of the strong winds. 
The count was dominated by Sharp-shinned, Cooper's, American Kestrels, and
Merlins.

Non-raptor Observations:
2 Cattle Egret, 1 Sandhill Crane, 1 Whimbrel, Northern Gannets, Snow Geese,
Dunlin, 2 Pectoral Sandpipers, 1 Ring-necked Duck

Predictions:
Lighter West winds tomorrow should produce a good number of migrants that
won't be struggling in the gusts.