Hawk Watch Wednesday November 17, 2010

It was quite the slow day at the Hawk Watch platform with only 17 countable raptors. The best highlight by far was the subadult Bald Eagle at 1:18 pm that officially broke the Bald Eagle season record! Chris Hajduk pulled his weight today by finding the record-breaking bird as the rest of the crew looked unknowingly in the opposite direction at a Cave Swallow.

Disclaimer: This is a reenactment.

Associate Naturalist, Chris Hajduk, diligently scans the skies...

...only to find the 477th Bald Eagle that breaks the season record!!

Cape May
Cape May Point, New Jersey, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Nov 17, 2010
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Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0            225            401
Turkey Vulture               0           1095           2185
Osprey                       0             34           4564
Bald Eagle                   3             69            478
Northern Harrier             1            667           2298
Sharp-shinned Hawk           4           1844          19651
Cooper's Hawk                4            353           4038
Northern Goshawk             0             16             18
Red-shouldered Hawk          0            241            355
Broad-winged Hawk            0             14           1221
Red-tailed Hawk              0           1013           1595
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0             17             25
American Kestrel             1             75           5636
Merlin                       2             65           2238
Peregrine Falcon             2             26           1395
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:                      17           5755          46100
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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:
Strong SSW winds first thing becoming West for the majority of the day.
Mostly clear skies.

Raptor Observations:
Very slow today with only 17 migrants.  We did break the season record for
Bald Eagles today though!

Non-raptor Observations:
Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, multiple sightings of Cave Swallow

Predictions:
Moderate to light West winds all day tomorrow with clear skies should
produce a fair number of birds but not a large amount of migration.