Hawk Watch Friday November 26, 2010

Well, it was another slow day on the platform with only 16 migrating raptors. The dreary weather has kept migration at a crawl. Luckily, there were still some good birds to be had today including a minimum of 6 Cave Swallows (some of which flew only a few feet away from our heads!), 19 Snow Geese, and 104 Tundra Swans. The Tundra Swans were actually the favorite part my day. It was late in the afternoon (almost time to pack it in), when I picked up 2 separate flocks of Tundras off in the distance. Eventually, the 2 flocks merged creating a sweet flock of 86 Tundra Swans with 2 Snow Geese mixed in. It gets even better though because the impressive flock flew directly over the platform!

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 26, 2010
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Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0            293            469
Turkey Vulture               0           1379           2469
Osprey                       0             43           4573
Bald Eagle                   0             86            495
Northern Harrier             2            737           2368
Sharp-shinned Hawk          13           2056          19863
Cooper's Hawk                0            394           4079
Northern Goshawk             0             23             25
Red-shouldered Hawk          0            300            414
Broad-winged Hawk            0             18           1225
Red-tailed Hawk              0           1142           1724
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0             19             27
American Kestrel             0             89           5650
Merlin                       1             75           2248
Peregrine Falcon             0             42           1411
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:                      16           6697          47042
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Observation start time: 06:45:00 
Observation end   time: 15:30:00 
Total observation time: 8.75 hours

Official Counter:        Melissa Roach

Observers:        

Weather:
Overcast skies with scattered showers throughout most of the day. 
Southwest winds eventually becoming NNW by the end of the day.

Raptor Observations:
Another slow day with only 16 migrants dominated by Sharp-shinned Hawks.

Non-raptor Observations:
a minimum of 6 Cave Swallows, 19 Snow Geese, 104 Tundra Swans

Predictions:
Tomorrow looks more promising with clear skies and strong West wind.