Hawk Watch Saturday October 23, 2010

Before the winds turned to the Southwest (and migration came to a crawl), there was good raptor movement for most of the day. Although not jaw-dropping numbers, we had a nice movement of Sharp-shinned Hawks and Northern Harriers again today. We also had quite the kettle of Turkey Vultures that hung around for most of the day and would occasionally host another species or two. A distant and very low immature Golden Eagle was picked up in the morning but quickly drifted out of sight. I think one of the best raptor highlights from the day came from one crazed Merlin that came barreling right past my head! That sneaky fiend apparently made a breathtaking stoop from behind me and zipped just a few inches above the platform (and a few inches by my head). Clearly, I didn't see the bird coming, but it got my heart racing as I heard a swoosh and saw a flash of dark going past!

The best non-raptor highlight definitely goes to the Short-eared Owl that was cruising over the ocean. Plenty of people got on the bird before it went behind the bunker and proceeded to disappear.

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 23, 2010
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Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0             81            127
Turkey Vulture              70            624            822
Osprey                      12           1744           4485
Bald Eagle                   6            206            382
Northern Harrier            43            766           1237
Sharp-shinned Hawk         337           9949          15169
Cooper's Hawk               49           2445           3329
Northern Goshawk             0              1              1
Red-shouldered Hawk          1             54             59
Broad-winged Hawk            3            748           1201
Red-tailed Hawk             14            247            386
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 1              3              3
American Kestrel            56           2305           5104
Merlin                       6           1174           1995
Peregrine Falcon             1            954           1231
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:                     599          21301          35532
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Observation start time: 06:15:00
Observation end   time: 16:00:00
Total observation time: 9.75 hours

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

Observers:       

Weather:
Light to moderate WSW winds turning to SW around 10 (STD) with clear skies
the entire day.

Raptor Observations:
Good movement of birds until the afternoon when things slowed down
considerably.  As usual, the count was dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks,
but we also had good numbers of Northern Harriers and Turkey Vultures.
Another immature Golden Eagle was seen from a distant as well.

Non-raptor Observations:
A handful of Northern Rough-winged Swallows kept passing over the platform
(literally buzzing our heads at times).  We also had a Short-eared Owl
flying fairly close over the ocean!

Predictions:
Light SSW/SW winds tomorrow so I'm not expecting a significant number of
birds.