Hawk Watch Sunday October 3, 2010

Needless to say, the weekend wasn't as epic as predicted, but it certainly wasn't bad. We had a good number of birds both days, even with today's scattered showers. We had good numbers of Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks this morning including 1 adult Cooper's (which is always nice to see here on the coast). Not surprisingly, it slowed down drastically once the rain started, but the falcons kept moving through at a steady pace.

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Oct 03, 2010
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Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              7             53
Turkey Vulture               0             23            221
Osprey                     135            442           3183
Bald Eagle                   4             30            206
Northern Harrier            32             78            549
Sharp-shinned Hawk         244            857           6077
Cooper's Hawk               65            236           1120
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              4              9
Broad-winged Hawk            2             84            537
Red-tailed Hawk              0             17            156
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            34            122           2921
Merlin                      84            207           1028
Peregrine Falcon            46            142            419
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:                     646           2249          16480
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Observation start time: 05:45:00 
Observation end   time: 16:00:00 
Total observation time: 10.25 hours

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

Observers:        

Weather:
NNE winds gradually turning to East by the end of the day.  Rain started
around 10 am and continued off and on for the remainder of the day.

Raptor Observations:
Osprey were still moving steadily today along with Sharp-shinned, Cooper's
Hawks, and some falcons.  Good numbers of Merlin and Peregrine near the end
of the day (and in the rain).

Non-raptor Observations:
Good movement of Great Blue Herons.

Predictions:
Northeast winds are a good sign, but the rain and thunder predicted for
tomorrow are not.